Children's Home run by Keys Education Ltd in South Gloucestershire

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:

 A qualified and caring staff team place young people’s needs at the very heart of their work. They are sufficiently trained and are led by a qualified and experienced registered manager.  The registered manager is passionate about achieving positive outcomes for each young person living at the home. Staff say ‘she goes above and beyond’ and ‘she makes things happen’. As such the registered manager is a strong advocate and leads by example; providing a strong role model for the staff team.  Everyone has a say in the running of the home, including young people; for example house meetings and key worker sessions provide fora for young people to share their views. This supports young people to feel listened to and valued.  Young people benefit from living in a home that is furnished and decorated well, and provides a lovely homely feel. Subsequently young people have learnt to call this ‘their home’, feel safe and treat their living environment

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The children's home provision is good because:

with respect.  Staff report feeling supported in their role and have access to regular formal and informal supervision. A robust training programme is provided to all staff ensuring they are equipped to meet the individual needs of the young people.  The registered manager has a good relationship with all parties involved in the young people’s care. The monitoring and development of the home is effective and various evaluative tools are used to improve the quality of the service.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and where possible, address any negative trends. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 54, paragraph 10.19)  The registered manager must ensure that staff understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. This relates to where possible avoiding the use of sanctions, and when they are used they are appropriately given and are reducing in numbers. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 47, paragraph 9.39)

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Information about this children's home

 The home is run by a private company that runs other children's homes in the surrounding area. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have 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

18/12/2014 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

20/01/2014 CH - Interim Satisfactory Progress

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Good

Some of the young people have lived in this home for several years. As a result of this stability, and from receiving personalised support, young people have made significant progress. ‘He’s come on in leaps and bounds’ is the comment from a grandmother, and a social worker endorses this by saying the young person is ‘noticeably more settled and making good progress’.

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Good

Young people benefit particularly from the manager and staff team’s attention to ensuring visits with family members and friends are regular, meaningful and positive. Special occasions for example, BBQ’s, birthdays and holidays are celebrated where possible with family members, and photos and memorabilia are collected and presented in beautifully crafted photo albums. As a result young people are helped to develop a sense of identity and pride in their achievements and successes.

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Good

Staff have an excellent understanding of the importance of ensuring young people are listened to. They have a good skill and knowledge base in this regard and use this to inform and underpin key worker sessions. Consequently young people are involved in their plans, and consulted when changes in the home take place, for example when there are proposals to move a new young person in.

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Good

For the period of time young people live in the home, changes to the staffing structure have, and are likely to take place. The manager and staff team are acutely aware of how these changes impact on the young people and work hard to ensure there is consistency in the care provided. For those young people that find difficulty in managing these transitions, extra time is spent with the young person, and an emphasis is placed on 1:1 fun time. In doing so young people are helped to feel safe, and the impact of increased anxieties on their behaviour or emotional well-being is lessened.

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Good

Some young people have made excellent progress in their education. Despite being disengaged from any form of learning prior to living in the home some young people are now attending school regularly and attainments are good. For those young people who continue to find formal education a challenge, and who may have experienced failures in school, staff work tirelessly to introduce learning opportunities that are tailored to the young person’s learning style.

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Good

Staff take time to carefully plan for young people that are maturing and learning to become independent. This is corroborated by the views of all other professionals and family members involved in the care of the young people. Communication between the home and other key people is good and is ensuring the young people’s safety is paramount as they spend less time supervised and more time away from the home. As a result one young person is now successfully employed in a fashion retail shop and considering further learning opportunities.

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Good

Some young people are routinely attending all their health appointments. Staff have undertaken additional training to ensure those young people with specific health needs, for example Type 1 Diabetes, have their health needs managed effectively. As a result a social worker and family member both report that a young person is in ‘very good health’ and ‘beginning to take responsibility for their own medication’. For those young people who have difficulty engaging with health professionals and exhibit mental health problems, therapy is provided regularly by experts.

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Good

It is of particular note that the young people live in a home that is extremely homely. The manager and staff team pay great attention to the details of what makes a home ‘homely’. For example young people return from school or work to the aroma of a cooked meal, and the staff take time to welcome the young people home and talk about their day. Because of this young people look forward to coming home.

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Good

Young people living in the home are safe and protected. The manager and staff team are sufficiently trained and skilled to support young people to take age and ability appropriate risks. They do this by adhering to individualised and up to date risk assessments. For example, one young person successfully uses public transport to go to and from work, and one young person is responsibly managing their type 1 diabetes.

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Good

Two of the young people rarely go missing, but for one young person placing themselves at risk by going missing remains a concern for all professionals. Regular communication between family and professionals ensures these concerns are shared. A social worker reports that they receive regular updates, including weekly reports about the young person saying ‘I am struggling to find any points to criticise but if I have had concerns, I have felt able to raise them and know they would be responded to’.

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Good

The manager and staff team routinely refer to appropriate systems and protocols when reporting concerns or allegations. They are skilled at recognising young people’s patterns of behaviour, and coupled with having a sound knowledge of young people’s care plans they are able to anticipate when a young person is becoming anxious or stressed. As a result episodes of challenging or confrontational behaviour are reducing. ‘I have been impressed with how they manage the young person’s complex and challenging behaviours’ reports one social worker.

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Good

All of the young people are praised and rewarded for achievements and successes no matter how small they are. However, for some young people sanctions are used to help them understand the consequences of negative behaviours. In the main these are used successfully and result in young people taking responsibility for their behaviours. It was noted nevertheless, that some of the sanctions imposed could have been avoided. The manager and staff are working towards reviewing the sanctions used.

p.8

Good

All staff are trained in a wide range of subjects for example, mental health, diabetes, ADHD and attachment and separation. By receiving a good level of supervision and refresher training workshops, the staff’s practice and interactions with the young people is underpinned by new and current research. As a result the need to use physical intervention has reduced, and has been replaced with positive behaviour management.

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Good

Recruitment procedures are sound and where possible young people are consulted with when new staff are being recruited to work in the home. The manager acknowledges the use of agency staff, but minimises the impact of this by using specific agency workers.

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Good

Staff are led and managed by a qualified registered manager. They have an excellent understanding of the complexity of each young person living in the home. Through a combination of experience, a good degree of training and the routine use of research findings, they are able to manage the staff team with confidence and determination. Staff said ‘the RM goes above and beyond’, ‘she makes things happen’, ‘she’s on the ball’, and ‘she stays positive even when we are having a challenging incident’.

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Good

High staffing ratios means there are always sufficient staff available to support young people in accessing a wide range of activities. However, as a result of some staff leaving in January 2016 there will be an inevitable change in to the staffing structure. The manager is aware, and is addressing this by recruiting new staff. Further to this the manager is making excellent use of the monitoring and reviewing systems the home has in place to ensure the impact on young people is kept to a minimum. A social worker was complimentary about the attempts made by the manager to ensure the staffing team remains stable, saying ‘I am aware of lots of other residential homes that struggle to retain a regular staff team but this home has managed this, it is fantastic that the manager has now been working there for some years and was promoted into the management position’.

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Good

The manager and staff team are committed to providing an environment which prioritises and supports the young people’s individual needs. To do this effectively the manager ensures all staff are supervised regularly. There are also detailed handovers, appraisals and team meetings. The staff team confirm that they benefit from a regular and varied training programme. The manager also ensures that for any emerging types of behaviour displayed by young people, staff have access to specific training, for example supporting young people who self-harm and CSE.

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Good

Since taking over her role, the registered manager has reviewed the home’s Statement of Purpose to ensure the home is achieving the stated aims and objectives. Young people are involved in the production of the Children’s Guide.

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Good

The quality of records kept in the home, and the monitoring of the home is excellent. Independent monitoring visits are taking place and the manager draws on these to review and quality check processes and procedures in the home.

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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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