Children's Home run by Fair Ways in Hampshire

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:

 Young people experience good care by a consistent staff team who put their needs at the centre of practice. Solid attachments are formed. They have a voice. Their views, wishes and feelings are taken seriously.  Young people make good progress. Behaviour that places them at high risk is significantly reduced. Young people, who historically have gone missing, no longer choose to do this.  Care staff work closely with academic staff to ensure success. Young people engage enthusiastically with their education. School attendance is excellent.  Adults are readily available whom young people trust. They are able to talk to them about their painful emotions. Staff develop excellent, child-friendly resources as an aid to talk to young people about pertinent issues.  Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are kept up to date and clearly guide staff in the control measures to keep young people safe.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There is effective leadership and management. The new manager acts on any recommendations made by the independent visitor as well as any requirements made by Ofsted. She ensures staff are well trained and supported. Morale is high.  There are good quality relationships with other professionals. Transitions into the home are carefully planned. There are successful outcomes for young people who come to the end of their placement.

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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

In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered person is required to: 30/11/2015 (c) ensure that each child has access to such medical and nursing advice and treatment as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person is required to:

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Requirement Due date

(e) review the effectiveness of the home's child protection policies, this especially applies to the arrangements for the on call safeguarding manager. (Regulation 12 (2)(e)) 30/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

Notify HMCI and each other relevant person if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 30/09/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

Full report Information about this children's home The home is privately owned and is registered to provide care and accommodation for a maximum of four young people of either gender who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home's operation is underpinned by a therapeutic approach and individual therapy sessions are available to young people according to their identified need.

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Recommendations

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recommendations

30/03/2015 CH - Interim declined in effectiveness

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good

Young people speak positively of the home and the care they receive. A young person said, ‘I like it here, I have no complaints’. Another young person spoke positively of the free time able to be given as they took individual responsibility for their own well-being in the community.

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good

Staff nurture the young people in their care. Young people form secure attachments. They have a solid base and live in an environment where they feel safe to express their difficult feelings. Staff are empathetic to the underlying reasons for behaviour. There is momentous improvement in negative behaviours, such as missing from care or substance misuse, which are now virtually unheard of. Young people develop alternate ways to manage their emotions.

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good

Young people have a voice in this home. Examples are the personalisation of bedrooms and the choice of activities. As well as the day-to-day interactions, there are more formal community meetings. There is little need for complaint. Any complaints are taken seriously and investigated independently with clear outcomes. There has been one complaint since the last inspection.

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good

Young people access education full time in the organisation's school, which is nearby. There is close and collaborative working, for example some academic staff work as bank staff during holidays. Young people, who previously have demonstrated difficulties with learning, engage enthusiastically with their studies. They are able to develop vocational skills in the organisation's workshop that is also in the vicinity.

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good

The approach to general health is good. Medication procedures are robust. Young people access professional treatment, such as the orthodontist. Staff engage with the looked after child nurse and seek to address poor health choices, such as smoking. Some young people, recently admitted, have more specialist health needs identified. They have a history of refusing assessment and advice. There are no clear plans to revisit their identified health needs, such as physiotherapy or magnetic resonance imaging.

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good

Independence is fully promoted. Young people learn skills that they will carry into their adult lives, such as budgeting and cooking. They are able to increase their free time as they demonstrate their understanding to keep themselves safe. A professional said there has been a breakthrough in this area. Minutes from a statutory review stated, '(Name) was very impressive in this review, showing considerable maturity and insight'.

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good

Staff create imaginative tools to help young people understand issues, such as equality and diversity. They challenge young people’s preconceived ideas about differences. Young people live in a culture where diversity is celebrated and any discriminatory behaviour is challenged.

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good

Transition into or out of the home is a particular strength. Careful consideration is given to the impact of others already living in the home. Effective placement planning, which includes young people visiting the home and meeting the others already living there, bodes for successful admissions. This is a home where there is placement stability.

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good

Young people live in an environment that feels like a family home. Communal areas are maintained to a high standard. Damage to bedrooms, due to underlying emotional disturbance, is repaired quickly.

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good

Staff fully support contact with the family and other people who are important to the young people. They are sensitive to their emotional well-being and the family dynamics. A professional said that staff would go to great lengths, including travelling considerable distance, to ensure contact takes place.

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requires improvement

Risk management is good. The previous requirement to address high-risk behaviour has been addressed. Young people are involved in the risk management process. The control measures are successful. Young people are currently not engaging in activities that place them at considerable risk. Likewise, behaviour management plans are of good quality. Positive rewards far outweigh sanctions. Young people learn how to behave appropriately. The use of physical intervention is minimal. It is of low level and short duration. Positive listening and learning after a significant incident ensures there is reflection and feedback into practice.

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requires improvement

Young people are empowered to keep themselves safe in the cyber world. Education and trusting relationships play a key role so young people share any e- media that concerns them. They are able to have more and more freedom as they demonstrate responsibility and maturity to keep themselves safe online.

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requires improvement

Senior managers are on call to provide help and advice. In one case, the communication was poor and the subsequent response to a situation was not robust. Although young people were not at risk, the care offered was not up to standard. The management team recognise this shortfall and have changed procedures to minimise the chance of a repetition. The effectiveness of the new arrangements are yet to be determined.

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requires improvement

There are procedures in place in the event of any safeguarding concern. This includes working with the relevant authorities. In one case senior staff acted independently without advice from other professionals. Although the actions taken were robust, relevant officers in the local authority were not consulted for guidance and Ofsted was not notified.

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requires improvement

Staff understand the underlying psychological reasons for behaviour, such as self- injurious behaviour. They act appropriately to keep young people safe, for example young people who are threatening to self-harm. Records do not always reflect the good practice, for example, failing to describe the retrieval of an item that a young person was threatening to use to hurt themselves.

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requires improvement

Young people live in a safe environment. All necessary health and safety checks, with certification by qualified contractors where necessary, are in place.

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good

The new manager is showing effective leadership. She has made application to Ofsted to register and is undertaking the relevant management qualification. She has been successful in retaining the suitably qualified and experienced staff. Young people benefit from a stable staff team and a consistency of practice.

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good

Staff speak highly of their induction, training and ongoing support. They clearly have the needs of young people at the centre of practice. They respond to situations very well in line with their training and the clear placement plan. The manager has recognised the need to provide further training in therapeutic care. There are clear plans in place to introduce this. Staff speak enthusiastically of their personal development. They are eager to develop their skills to provide the best possible care, in line with the therapeutic ethos in the Statement of Purpose.

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good

The manager ensures there is good oversight and monitoring. This includes reporting on the quality of care by an independent visitor. Reports are comprehensive. The manager takes recommendations seriously and acts upon them. There are improvements to procedures, agreed with the wider senior management team, such as changing the arrangements for staff to contact the on call safeguarding manager. Constructive relationships are formed with other professionals. They speak of the communication from the home in the most positive terms. A placing social worker said, 'There are fantastic staff that have a good understanding of every child's needs. Their expectations are realistic.' Staff ensure young people's views are represented, for example at statutory meetings. Young people are strongly encouraged to attend in person and some do.

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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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