Children's Home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in ShropshireOfsted inspection, 10 Dec 2015

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The young person does not have access to specialist services to meet their specific health needs.  Staff do not implement consistent strategies to support the young person to lead a healthy lifestyle.  The young person fails to achieve their full potential. They do not have access to enough activities within their community.  The registered manager and staff do not always follow up on the young person’s allegations of being bullied.  The registered provider does not work in partnership with a wide range of services.  The young person does not learn how to adopt different strategies to manage their emotions.  Boundaries are inconsistent.  Staff do not ensure that the young person has debriefs after physical interventions and access where required medical advice following a restraint.  The registered manager and staff do not refer allegations of harm to the local authority designated officer in a timely manner and they do not always

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

follow their safeguarding procedure.  The registered manager does not ensure that there is robust management oversight after incidents within the home. She does not evaluate or review behaviour management strategies in order to support young people to reach their full potential.

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The children's home strengths

 Staff are committed to the one young person in their care.  There is a stable core staff team.  The young person is making some progress in their education.  Staff work in partnership with schools.  The young person has joined a local darts team which they enjoy.  The registered manager ensures the staff receive regular supervision, training and team meetings.

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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

5. Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the engaging with the wider system standard the registered provider must ensure that staff;

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Requirement Due date

(b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs 05/02/2016

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Requirement Due date

6. The quality and purpose of care standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered person must ensure that staff

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Requirement Due date

(2) (b) (iii) treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

(iv) provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background

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Requirement Due date

(vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. 05/02/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered provider must ensure that

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Requirement Due date

(c) children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles 05/02/2016

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that staff; 05/02/2016 (a) (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child

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Requirement Due date

(v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person

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Requirement Due date

(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies

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Requirement Due date

13. The leadership and management standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must ensure that they;

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Requirement Due date

(2)(f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home

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Requirement Due date

(g) (ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received

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Requirement Due date

(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home 05/02/2016

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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 any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable. Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, page 49, Paragraph 9.60)

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately run children’s home caring for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is registered to care for one young person.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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requires improvement

Boundaries are inconsistent. The young person does not learn how to change behaviours. Staff do not have structured and clear guidance as to how to manage challenging behaviours. As such, the young person receives inconsistent and unclear messages. The registered manager and staff do not work closely with therapists; they do not receive adequate input from them after therapy sessions and they do not receive guidance regarding strategies to manage presenting behaviours. This leaves the young person without the support he needs to enable him to self-regulate his emotions and make safer decisions. The young person is not achieving healthy growth and development as staff do not promote enough opportunities for him to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Incentive plans are in place to encourage him to lose weight and exercise. However, staff do not consistently implement them. They do not work with health professionals to find

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requires improvement

ways to manage health issues, such as obesity. There is a lack of promotion of healthy food options with staff using take away food as a reward for behaviour. This does not help the young person to learn about healthy eating or promote his overall well-being. Staff have worked hard to support the young person back into school. They have supported this by going into school to offer support and through regular liaison with teachers. However, staff have failed to give the young person all the encouragement they need to maximise their learning. For example, staff have not ensured the young person accesses various educational input when not in school. This has meant he has not had enough opportunity to reach his full potential. There is a lack of nurturing care. Whilst staff try to provide some level of personalised care to the young person, they do not always provide him with advice and guidance which is sensitive to his emotional well-being. For example, around

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requires improvement

issues such as personal hygiene. There are behaviour management plans in place although these lack specific guidance around how staff can support him to progress taking into account his history. The young person engages in regular key working sessions although relevant issues are not consistently addressed. This means that the young person is not making as much progress as he could. The young person enjoys some positive relationships with a few staff. However, this is not consistent throughout the whole team. Staff do not always challenge the young person’s views regarding gender. This means that he does not receive consistent challenge to views which are harmful to others. The young person has enjoyed camping trips and holidays. Staff promote some of his interests such as encouraging him to join the local darts team. However, the young person’s requests to join other community clubs are not always followed up.

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requires improvement

This increasingly isolates him and means he has less chances to be able to contribute and engage in his local community.

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requires improvement

Staff do not consistently recognise risk. They work reactively rather than proactively. Concerning behaviours such as threats towards members of the public and negative views about female staff members go unchallenged. Limited sharing of key information with the relevant professionals including therapists mean co- ordinated care fails to be secured.

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requires improvement

Staff do not always follow up on the young person’s allegations of bullying at school. Staff focus on what the young person needs to change to stop the bullying as opposed to challenging the bullying behaviour itself. This delay in action means concerns about their safety or well-being go unaddressed.

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requires improvement

The young person’s welfare is not consistently promoted. The registered manager and staff do not always follow safeguarding procedures when the young person has made allegations about staff. They do not always refer the allegation to the relevant safeguarding professionals and local authority designated officer in a timely manner. Staff do not follow up on the young person’s complaints of injuries after a physical intervention. They do not seek medical input for the young person or review the intervention to try to prevent any future occurrences of potential harm. Staff do not always ensure that the young person receives debriefs after physical interventions. This reduces the opportunity for the young person to discuss any concerns that he may have. The young person has risk management plans in place but staff do not review them or take into account any health issues. For example, back problems which impact on physical intervention techniques.

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requires improvement

There has been a reduction in the amount of physical interventions, with staff focusing on allowing the young person to have time away. Missing incidents are rare, although staff remain alert to risk including exploitation. Judgement grade

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requires improvement

There is a registered manager in post. She is qualified up to National Vocational Qualification level four in leadership and management and manages another home within the company. She has been in post since the home was registered in 2014. She has advocated strongly for the young person to be reintegrated back into school. She has worked closely with the school to implement a plan of reintegration which meets his needs. However, there is a lack of robust challenge with regards to allegations of bullying which have occurred at school. The registered manager does not always link well with relevant professionals such as health and therapists to enhance the practice of staff in order to fully meet the needs of the young person. As a result, many of his emotional needs go unmet. Management oversight of incidents within the home is inconsistent. The registered manager does not always follow up on the young person’s allegations in a timely

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requires improvement

manner. She does not sufficiently ensure that safeguarding procedures are followed with regards to the referring of allegations to the local authority designated officer. The registered manager does not always learn from the young persons’ feedback and complaints regarding physical interventions or integrate new ways of managing his behaviours. There is a lack of analysis of the progress and experiences of the young person which means that staff do not receive effective guidance around new ways of working with the young person which will help him to make progress. Training and team meetings are strength of the home. These developmental opportunities help staff to acquire the skills that are aimed at meeting the needs of the young person. However, the lack of consistent implementation of new strategies compromises this learning. The registered manager knows the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She is

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requires improvement

aware of changes that she and the staff team need to make. She is an experienced and competent manager who is committed to improving the service for the young person. The home is delivering its aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose.

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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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