Children's Home run by Family Care Associates Limited in Shropshire

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:

 Children and young people receive help and support to optimise their well- being, including access to effective healthcare.  Children and young people feel safe.  Children and young people thrive as a result of the nurturing care they receive from committed and caring staff.  Children and young people stay physically active and experience healthy growth and development.  Children and young people have meaningful engagement with staff and feel confident that their views matter.  Children and young people feel valued, respected and their self-esteem is promoted.  Staff are trained in aspects of safeguarding children and are alert to their vulnerabilities and risks of harm, especially through social media.  Children and young people achieve their potential and are proud of their achievements.  The manager ensures effective multi-agency and coordinated planning delivers positive outcomes for children and young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are two shortfalls in practice which both relate to record keeping.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records for each child which includes the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) 31/12/2015

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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 the children in the home's care understand their rights as a looked after child. Children must be informed of how to contact the office of the children's commissioner for advice and assistance about their rights and entitlements (The Guide to Quality Standards page 23, paragraph 4.19)

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Recommendations

 Ensure the children's guide includes how to contact the office of children's commissioner. (The Guide to Quality Standards page 24, paragraph 4.22)

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately-owned children's home for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

20/02/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

24/03/2014 CH - Interim Satisfactory progress

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good

Committed and motivated staff ensure the best possible outcomes for children and young people. Children and young people feel listened to, consulted and fully involved in decisions made about them. One young person describes the staff as doing an ‘exceptional job’ in looking after them. This includes ‘being supportive, caring and keeping us safe’ Good access to health services promotes children and young people’s physical, emotional and mental health. This includes having access to child and adolescent mental health services. (CAMHS), in house therapist services and all health surveillance checks. This extends to ensuring children and young receive screening for any potential hearing impairment. Strong advocacy from the manager ensures additional services are sought, such as speech and language services being approached following staff concern regarding a child’s speech development. Children and young people receive a varied and nutritious balanced diet that meets

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good

their individual needs. This is formally acknowledged by the children and young people who openly talk about their meals, especially the wonderful homemade soup made by the staff. Achieving qualifications is taken seriously and means children and young people receive prompt support to help them achieve their ability and aspirations, including GCSE’s and A-levels. Staff support young people to attend open days at colleges and obtain key information on courses to ensure all avenues are explored so that young people make informed decisions about their future. Young people’s aspirations are ambitious with clear goals set for university. What stands out is children and young people’s positive attitudes towards their own learning. Not only do they enjoy school, but for the vast majority their attendance is an impressive 100%, which they are proud of and staff positively praise. Children and young people get lots of opportunity to participate in activities that

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good

support their interests and sustain friendship circles. This includes going to football matches, music concerts and being able to spend time with friends. Children in particular talk excitedly about all their current activities and those in the future. Judgement grade

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good

Optimal support helps children and young people to develop a sense of self-worth and self-direction. This in turn strengthens their resilience and means they are more able to face everyday life challenges. For example, one professional commented about a young person’s transformation as a direct result of their stable and nurturing placement. From a child that struggled to sustain any facial contact is now a highly confident and inspiring young person. Staff are alert to children and young people vulnerabilities and risks of harm through social media. Staff are particularly aware of the risks that come from people who are prepared to exploit their vulnerabilities through these means. To reduce these risks, staff ensure all internet usage is appropriately supervised and history checks completed as part of their safeguarding measures. This level of vigilance plays a key role in keeps children and young people safe.

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good

Children and young people arrive with considerable emotional and behavioural difficulties. The various systems employed by staff play a key role in improving behaviour. This includes ensuring children and young people have daily routines, clear boundaries and consistent care. These effective measures result in low levels of physical intervention and children and young people increasingly more able to regulate their own emotions safely. Meaningful engagement means children and young people are confident their concerns are both listened to and actioned upon. The home environment is clean and free from everyday hazards whilst still taking into account children and young people’s rights to privacy, support and comfort. Close working with the local police ensures proactive strategies stay in place that help to keep children and young people safe. This includes ensuring every child or young person has a trigger plan around the potential risks they face in the

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good

community and by people prepared to exploit their vulnerability. This collaborative working helps to minimise the risks that can result in children and young people placing themselves at risk. This coupled with the staffs’ positive and caring nature means none of the children and young people have not put themselves at risk of going missing from care or being exposed to any potential risk around child sexual exploitation. Judgement grade

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good

The home’s registered manager left in October 2015. A new manager started in the same month. The new manager is in the early stages of registering with Ofsted. The new manager is experienced in residential childcare and already holds his level 4 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) with regard to children and young people. Systems for self-evaluation are well established and are being utilised by the new manager to benchmark the service. Successful recruitment means children and young people have access to a diverse staff team, who are experienced and can quickly embrace the organisation’s therapeutic model. The manager ensures all staff are supported, supervised and accountable in their work. Training and staff development is well established, enabling them to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and qualifications to enhance their practice. Key training includes, child protection, e-safety, first aid and self-harming.

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good

Delays in taking action to secure updated care and educational plans hinders the home having sufficient information to stay informed over placing authorities revised actions plans. This weakness impacts on staff ensuring children and young people’s care records mirror those of the placing authority. Staff, young people, parents and other stakeholders have a clear understanding of the home’s aims, core purposes and values through an informative statement of purpose and children’s guide. However, the guide fails to have all information which helps children and young people to understand their rights. This includes details of the children’s commissioner and helping children and young people to understanding their rights over making telephone calls. The home has a detailed workforce development plan which the manager uses effectively to ensure staffing arrangements are meeting children and young people’s needs.

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good

At the last inspection there were no requirements or recommendations.

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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, workbased 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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