Children's Home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Bracknell Forest

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

The nurturing environment of the home provides young people the opportunity to develop appropriate relationships and progress in their lives. Young people happily engage in therapeutic services and adhere to the rules of the home while working on their behaviours. The young people form positive relationships with the staff team. The staff team make them feel valued. The staff understand the needs of the young people and implement effective behaviour management strategies. Young people understand and contribute to their care plans while making reasonable progress. The health, education and emotional needs of the young people continue to be met in accordance with their care plans. The process for admission is detailed and offers the best opportunity for young people to make progress. Young people feel safe and protected by the staff. Incidents of safeguarding rarely occur but the policies and the staff know procedures.

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The children's home provision is good because:

Internal process are in place that allow management to review all incidents. The home has effective leadership and management that care about the young people. The management monitor the service and create new ways to improve the service. Professionals speak highly of the quality of engagement with the staff and believe they have a positive impact on the young people. The ethos of the home continues to be instilled in the care planning for all young people. The staff are safely recruited, receive regular training and attend team meetings to further develop of practice. There were three recommendations pertaining to the quality of supervision.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure that all staff receive supervision of their practice which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 61 paragraph 13.2 )

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Recommendations

 ensure a record of supervision should be kept for all the staff. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with the regulation (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 61 paragraph 13.3 )

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Recommendations

 ensure a note of the content and outcome of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member sign and have a copy. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 61 paragraph 13.4 )

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Information about this children's home

This section should outline:  SC431803  The service is a four-bedded children's home registered for single sex occupancy and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.  The home is owned and operated by a private organisation.  The service specialises in the assessment and treatment of male adolescents who have experienced some form of abuse and have subsequently been involved in perpetrating abusive behaviour themselves.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

06/02/2015 Interim improved effectiveness

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good

Young people enjoy a nurturing atmosphere that provides them with a substitute family environment. They are supported and nurtured by the staff to understand their individual needs. The willingness of the young people to actively participate in therapeutic services available to them has resulted in positive progress for some. They form positive relationships with the staff as well as each other, this was observed on inspection.

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good

The young people benefit from their relationships with the staff. They feel valued and appreciate the efforts that that staff undertake to make their time in the home productive. The staff understand the underlying behaviours of the young people; it is this genuine concern that has contributed to the young people respecting the guidance and boundaries given to them. A theme among the young people when spoken too was that they all believed the staff to be a positive aspect of the home and they listened to them when they expressed their views.

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good

The young people have insight into their care plans and understand how long they are expected to remain in the home. They are encouraged to express their views on their day-to-day routines and understand that they can often influence some decisions made on their behalf. The young people say they feel listened too by the staff and are offered the opportunity to complain if needed.

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good

There are good examples of young people thriving and achieving while residing in the home. Some achieve full independence status and are confident in their ability to live independently. A young person has successfully completed the gateway therapeutic aspect of their programme, attends college while maintaining employment in the community. The young person said, ‘the staff are good and I owe my positive progress to them’.

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good

The health needs of the young people are met in accordance with their care plans and specialised assistance is available, in addition to the therapeutic services already being supplied. Young people attend therapy regularly and are benefiting from having the emotional support to deal with current and historical concerns.

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good

Attendance at school is encouraged and well received by the young people. All young people are in education. Those that attend the educational provision attached to the home benefit from the daily communication held between the home and school staff. Discussions regarding the young people take place at the beginning and end of each school day allowing consistency in their care Young people newly admitted to the home are excited about residing in the home and settle quickly, as they receive a warm welcome from the other young people and the staff. The process for admission is well organised and undertaken in partnership with professionals, the young people and their parents. A young person new to the home complimented the staff by saying, ‘they have done more for me in two weeks that the local authority has in two years.’

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good

The referral process includes reviewing key information about a young person, routine home visits by the management team and the young person visiting the home. This gives them an opportunity to interact with the staff and other young people. The process creates open and honest relationships resulting in young people having a clear understanding of what is expected from them before being admitted. A parent of a young person recently admitted, spoke highly of management during the referral process: ‘They were supportive, clear and showed a genuine interest in my child, but never misled us about whether he would be accepted until it was agreed’.

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good

The young people continue to expand upon their life experiences by undertaking in a wide selection of group and individual activities. These enhance their ability to interact in group activities while developing social skills and a sense of belonging. The staff have painted an activity tree in the stairwell of the home, after each activity is undertaken a leaf with the activity on it is painted on the tree providing a visual reminder. Judgement grade

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good

Safeguarding the young people is a priority and their welfare is essential to the practice of the staff. They are supported to learn how to keep themselves safe from harm and the implications of their actions. When there are, concerning risks identified for young people prompt risk assessments are put in place and discussions held with them. Extreme consideration was given to the safety of the young people and the staff when a young person recently transitioned out the home. The transition was completed while considering the complex needs of the young person negating the emotional impact.

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good

The young people clearly expressed that they feel safe and comfortable with the staff. The positive relationships that have developed allow the staff to manage the behaviour of the young people without compromising their safety. The staff create opportunities for the young people by preparing thorough assessments that identify and minimise risks allowing young people to undertake task that they ordinarily would not be able too.

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good

The staff incorporate clear and consistent boundaries for the young people in their practice. The staff challenge the young people when they portray negative behaviours, prompting them to take ownership for their actions before situations escalate. This approach feeds into the no physical intervention policy of the home and promotes safe behaviour management practices for all staff.

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good

Young people are not currently going missing; a missing from care policy is in place that addresses the risk and impact of young people when they go missing from care. The staff are able to implement the procedures effectively resulting in the safe return of the young people. The number of incidents recorded have decreased due to some young people no longer feeling the need to go missing, based upon the staff’s intervention.

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good

The staff receive annual safeguarding training and are able to access information electronically. They understand the actions to take should any concerns arise for safety and well-being of the young people. The internal process of the organisation for reviewing potential child protection situations has been an effective tool for the service.

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good

The process of recruiting new staff is robust and places the safeguarding of the young people at the forefront. Information provided by potential staff is reviewed, and verified resulting in safe recruitment practices for the staff working with the young people. Young people are safely able to enjoy the premises. The manager ensures that regular monitoring of health and safety takes place to make sure the home is physically safe and secure. All fire and maintenance checks are completed and documented. The staff and young people are aware of the fire procedure and what action to take in the event of a fire.

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Good

The highly valued manager is competent and has six years of experience managing the children’s home. She has been with the organisation for 12 years and has a level five qualification in leadership and management. The manager has an extensive knowledge of the needs of the young people and is actively involved in their care.

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Good

The leadership and management are well organised with the care planning for young people; care plans are purposeful and achievable. Reviews take place and achievable goals are set for the young people with their views included.

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Good

The service continues to monitor the progress and outcomes for the young people through monthly and quarterly reports. Visits by the independent visitor are timely and informative with insight into the young people. The management analyse the information available from the monthly visits and develop their own plan of action. Any action is quickly undertaken with management oversight

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Good

The ethos and services outlined in the statement of purpose are clearly evidenced in the records of young people. The manager has a great understanding of the strengths and weaknesses within the home that are being addressed in the development plan for the home. The manager ensures that the young people are provided with creative opportunities for them to develop their individual personalities and interest. A young person is going to perform at Disney World based upon the creative efforts of the manager.

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Good

Quality professional links have been established that benefit the young people. Professionals believe that the staff are good at communicating on their behalf. A placing social worker offered high praise regarding the relationships with professionals which is appreciated due to being well informed.

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Good

The experiences and progress of young people are discussed in monthly team meetings resulting in clear information about young people being shared among the team. The staff are offered the opportunity to formally resolve issues with the young people by a formal process titled ‘restore justice’. The meeting that can be raised by the staff or young people provides an opportunity to resolve any misunderstanding that may affect the home.

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Good

The majority of staff are confident in their abilities but those staff that are new to the home would benefit from additional support and guidance from management. They need further support to assist them with developing their day-to-day responsibilities for young people. In addition, supervision records were brief and did not present as purposeful in addition the staff had not signed off on them resulting three recommendations made to improve the practice.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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