Children's Home run by Footsteps a Path to Change Limited in Staffordshire

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 receive consistently good support.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Strong relationships are in place between young people and staff.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Care planning is strong and highly individualised. Staff are well aware of plans for young people and these are reviewed on a regular basis.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Good health promotion is in place and additional mental health support is used well to support both young people and the staff.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Educational placements are well considered and staff celebrate achievements that young people have made.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Independence training is a strength of the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 An experienced and well qualified staff team are in place.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are kept safe through staff being appropriately trained and having a good awareness of safeguarding procedures.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Levels of absence and restraint incidents are low.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are few minor shortfalls in practice. Some sanctions records lack details over their effectiveness. Young people’s meeting records lack detail to show the manager provides consistent feedback. Educational progress for some young people is limited due to low attendance.

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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 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes, the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure (Regulation 35.3 (a)(vii)) 31/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the education standard the registered person must ensure that -

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Requirement Due date

(1) young people make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 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):  ensure managers have the skills and confidence to communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they care for, specifically with reference to young people's meetings. (The Guide to the Quality Standards Page 22 Paragraph 4.10)

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Information about this children's home

The home is part of a small private organisation. It offers care up to three young people primarily with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is set within a rural environment.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

26/02/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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good

Young people enjoy being at the home and are positive about the staff team, saying, ‘the staff are really supportive, I just feel lucky that I have come here.’ Care is consistently of a high quality, with strong professional relationships formed between the staff and young people. Young people report feeling supported in all aspects of their lives, pointing out key workers as being particularly helpful, as well as appreciating the different approaches from different staff: One young person comments, ‘It’s great that you have a mix of staff, some young and some older because sometimes you want different people to talk to.’

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good

Young people are listened to consistently and are fully involved with the day-to-day running of the home. Key work and young people’s meetings encourage them to examine their lives at the home and promote involvement with menu planning and taking part in activities such as days out. However, young people’s meeting records lack detail to show consistent feedback from the manager is secured and that their views are formally considered.

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good

Contact is arranged at the point of young people’s admission. Staff support visits to families and also ensure that young people are supported where contact is not able to take place for safeguarding reasons. Young people living a greater distance from their homes are encouraged to talk to social workers and family regarding their previous areas.

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good

Placement plans give staff a high awareness of the differing needs of the young people and how these are to be met. Young people take part in the review process through attendance or sending their views. This helps to ensure they have a say in their placements and decisions made about it.

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good

Young people’s health is well supported. They attend a good range of medical appointments to support their physical well-being including opticians and dentists as well as having the Looked After Children’s nurse visit. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services support young people well, with regular appointments where necessary. Additional support is provided through the organisation’s own psychologist who works with young people and the staff team, providing guidance in differing responses to behaviours. Good consideration is given to promoting healthy lifestyles, sexual health and decreasing smoking behaviour.

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good

The majority of young people do not attend educational placements on a full time basis. Staff support and promote success within both school and work experience but this has not resulted in regular attendance. A social worker states that: ‘they have done a lot to try to keep her in education; they have tried to support as best they could.’

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good

The home is a pleasant and comfortable environment that is well looked after by both staff and young people. Young people enjoy personalising their bedrooms and having a say in the décor of communal areas.

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good

An independence flat gives young people a good experience of living on their own, with staff supervision, helping to highlight areas that they need to develop, such as personal health, budgeting and tidying.

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good

Young people’s safety is consistently considered, with good health and safety checks and effective safeguarding procedures. Where child protection concerns have been raised they are responded to swiftly and all necessary professionals contacted. Staff are up to date with safeguarding training and have a good awareness of their role should such concerns arise. Young people feel safe and well looked after by the staff, being aware of who they could talk to if they had concerns about their welfare.

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good

Incidents where young people have been missing from the home are rare. When they do occur staff respond well, searching local areas, informing necessary professionals and keeping a clear chronology of the events. On their return, young people discuss the incident and additional independent visitors are involved. Staff have a heightened awareness where there are sexual exploitation concerns, including individualised intervention plans and dedicated training packages for both the staff and young people. This develops awareness of possible risks and planned actions to decrease such behaviours.

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good

Young people that harm themselves are supported well. Individualised support plans and interventions are well known by the staff team and young people are encouraged to discuss such behaviours.

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good

Behaviour management systems promote positive relationships within the home. Where sanctions are used they relate well to the behaviours, although do not consistently record the effectiveness of such actions. Restraints are rare, used only as a last resort and are well recorded. Different reward schemes are used to develop both young people’s behaviours and their independence skills. Effective bridge building meetings are completed to develop relationships between young people where there are concerns about bullying.

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good

No new staff have started at the home since the last inspection. Recruitment checks were assessed as effective at the last inspection.

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good

The registered manager has been in post since 2010 and holds both the level 4 care and management qualifications as well as the Registered Managers award.

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good

Good monitoring systems are in place, completed by the manager and the external visitor. Issues raised during these visits are responded to swiftly, showing a commitment to the development of the home and care practices. A good plan is in place to move the home forward. A social worker highlights the effective way that the manager responds to professionals: ‘it’s good that the manager will challenge social workers when they disagree or want us to do something, they show that they respect the young people and constantly try to get the best out of them.’

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good

Links are in place with a range of professionals working with the young people, including the police, schools and health professionals. Records show that all of these are contacted regularly to help enlist their support and develop young people’s positive outcomes.

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good

The statement of purpose gives a good indication of the role of the home and the way that it works with young people. It is updated following changes to working practice or in the workforce. Young people are admitted in line with the statement of purpose and consideration is given to the mix of young people. A social worker states that, ‘They match really well. They don’t promise the world, they are realistic.’

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good

The management team have a high awareness of the young people’s needs and how the staff team are working with them. Care plans are examined regularly, ensuring they are pertinent and responsive to young people’s development.

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good

Staff state that they feel well supported. Regular supervisions examine their work with the young people, including how they are working as part of a team. Appraisals link well to training to develop their skills and highlight targets for their individual development over the coming year. A staff member states that, : ‘it was really useful to see how the manager thought I am getting on, I feel good about how much I have picked things up, it’s given me extra confidence.’

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good

The home has a good range of experienced and qualified staff that come from differing backgrounds. The home is well staffed, in line with it’s statement of purpose. This gives young people a wealth of supportive adults to aid their development. The majority of staff have completed the diploma level 3 qualification, and those that have not completed this are in the process of finishing.

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good

Staff notify relevant organisations, including Ofsted, of significant events in the home, including child protection concerns, hospital visits and missing episodes. Social workers say that they receive a wide range of information from the home to keep them up to date with the development of their young people.

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good

One previous requirement has been responded to well. A new monthly visitor is in place who examines all areas as required by the regulations.

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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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