Children's Home run by Care Afloat Ltd in Lancashire

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceeds the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The young person is making exceptional progress in relation to achieving and safely managing free time. He has recently been able to enjoy time in the community and develop friendships.  The young person has successfully completed their education and moved on to a college placement with much reduced on-site support.  The staff team provide consistency and stability to the young person which is particularly important due to consistency not being present in other areas.  Contact has significantly progressed for the young person who is now enjoying regular weekend contact visits.  Opportunities for leisure and social activities are varied and although the young person has friends of his own he still chooses to spend some time on activities with members of staff.  Boundaries are applied firmly and consistently and the young person therefore understands what is expected of him and the difference between

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.  Sanctions and consequences are kept at a minimum. When sanctions are used they are relevant to the incident being sanctioned for and therefore add to the learning experience for the young person.  Any safeguarding issues arising are responded to robustly, reducing the likelihood of recurrence.  The young person and staff have shown tenacity and persistence in engagement with therapeutic support.  The quality of staff supervision is high, and staff are encouraged to continuously develop their skills through training and ongoing learning through team meetings.  Managers are strong advocates for the young person and have challenged the placing authority where their services have not been effective.  The home is decorated and maintained to a high standard and provides a homely environment.

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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 notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision (16 (3)(b) 14/12/2015

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Information about this children's home

This home is one of a number of children’s homes run by a private company. The home provides care and accommodation to one young person of either gender between the ages of 11 and 17 who may be suffering from emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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outstanding

The young person has made fantastic progress over the course of the placement. From his starting point he has progressed in every area and in some areas his progress far exceeds expectation. One parent stated ‘They are brilliant, they’ve been a godsend, he is a different boy to the one he was when he went there.’

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outstanding

Staff have drawn upon their resources of patience and tenacity to provide firm, consistent and nurturing care to the young person which has enabled him to grow and develop in a secure and trusting environment which challenges him to progress.

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outstanding

The young person is recognised as an individual and plans are specific to his needs. The staff understand him well and use a range of strategies to support and develop him and encourage him to engage and take responsibility for his own progression.

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outstanding

The young person is helped to develop the skills and confidence he will need to manage his adult life. He is developing all the necessary skills such as budgeting and saving, cooking and cleaning and is currently learning to drive. There are clear aims and objectives to developing independence skills and he regularly completes units of an independence qualification which enables him to measure his progress and feel a sense of achievement.

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outstanding

There have been significant changes to the young person’s contact arrangements and he has steadily shown an increased ability to manage himself on extending periods of family contact. This has enabled him to further secure his relationships with family members who will be a support to him when he progresses at this key time into adulthood.

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outstanding

Free time has also progressed rapidly for the young person. He has evidenced that he can be trusted to socialise responsibly with his peers in the community and consequently his free time has been gradually increased. Where there have been occasions of negative behaviour or when he has put his safety at risk these have been robustly and appropriately addressed by the home.

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outstanding

There are ample opportunities for the young person to participate in a wide range of activities which contribute to his social development and keep him active and healthy. A very successful summer holiday abroad provided him with positive experiences and new opportunities. Judgement grade

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outstanding

The young person lives in a safe environment where his risks are well understood and managed which ensures that he makes progress in the identified areas of risk and his risks reduce over time.

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outstanding

Therapeutic support is delivered, funded by the company, in order to address specific areas of risk. Any challenges and emotional fallout the young person expresses through the course of his therapeutic intervention are dealt with sensitively and safely.

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outstanding

Missing from home episodes are rare. When they do occur there is a joined up response to ensure that the young person is located and returned safely. Drugs and alcohol are not identified as high risk for this young person. Where there has been an instance of alcohol use the response has been proportionate and in line with his age and development.

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outstanding

Offending behaviour is minimal and the young person is not unnecessarily criminalised on the occasions when minor damage is caused to the home, although he is encouraged to take responsibility via reparation. Where there is cause for police involvement the home work proactively with the police and the young person to secure his co-operation and to ensure the young person learns from mistakes.

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outstanding

Rules and boundaries are applied consistently. The young person understands the boundaries, knows that they are in place for his safety and feels they are fair. There is no use of physical management in this home. The use of sanctions is rare and on the occasions they are used they are proportionate and relate specifically to the behaviour being sanctioned for. For some safeguarding issues more restrictive sanctions are used (such as the loss of free time) and the young person is helped to understand that these measures are not punitive but implemented to ensure his safety.

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outstanding

Where very occasional incidents occur which compromise the young person’s safety the home responds proactively and robustly to address the issues and to put measures in place to ensure the young person’s safety and wellbeing. This impacts positively on his safety and allows the young person to learn from mistakes whilst being kept safe.

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outstanding

Staff are carefully selected and vetted for suitability to work with young people thus preventing unsuitable people having the opportunity to place them at risk. Where inappropriate behaviour of an adult is identified the relevant authorities are informed of the concerns.

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outstanding

The home is one of three single-bedded units managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager with the support of a deputy manager. The home has sufficient staffing and is adequately resourced to meet the needs of the young person placed there.

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outstanding

Managers prioritise the needs of the young person and keep him central to all areas of planning and activity in the home. They communicate this message clearly and regularly to staff so that there is an ethos of child centred care throughout the whole team.

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outstanding

The progress of the young person is kept under review and there is drive and commitment to ensuring he makes continuous progress towards his goals. Managers see the wider picture and understand that progression is not always continuous and without hiccups and they convey a positive message to the staff team to ensure they continue to bring enthusiasm and motivation to the young person to keep moving forwards.

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outstanding

Team meetings are used to good effect to review the care given to the young person and to monitor his progress. The meetings are also used as a forum to disseminate information and training that improves the quality of care.

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outstanding

There is a training programme in place that is thorough and staff report positively about the amount and quality of the training offered. Induction is thorough and staff are well prepared to work with the young person before they start to work care shifts.

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outstanding

Staff report feeling well supported through supervision and appraisal. Managers identify areas of strength in staff and encourage development by providing progression opportunities. Female staff are protected through a no lone-working policy.

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outstanding

The home is in regular communication with external agencies to ensure all-round support to young people. They make challenges to placing authorities where their services fall below expectation.

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outstanding

The statement of purpose clearly sets out the objectives of the home and provides placing authorities, families and young people with relevant information about the services and care provided. When the statement of purpose has been amended, a copy of the amended version has not always been sent to the regulator.

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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

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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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