Children's Home run by Wessex College Limited in Wiltshire

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 make good progress across all areas of their development. Engagement with education increases and risk taking behaviours, such as going missing decrease.  Young people feel safe. Robust risk management encourages young people to learn how to make safe choices with regards to relationships, when out in the community, and use of the internet and social media. Effective multi-agency working promotes the safety and welfare of young people.  Incidents of disruptive behaviour are managed well by the staff team. Young people feel confident that the staff ‘will sort it out’. All the social workers report positively on their satisfaction with this home meeting the needs of young people.  Healthcare and interventions support young people to make better choices to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing.  The staff team are enthusiastic and committed to providing good quality care. They receive training and support to enable them to succeed in their

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The children's home provision is good because:

professional development.  There are effective arrangements to cover the absence of a Registered Manager resulting in minimal impact on the quality of care to young people.

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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

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children's home at least once each month. (Regulation 44(1)) 31/12/2015

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the doors and walls are kept free from drawings and damage. In addition, repair or replace the chairs in the kitchen. For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15 paragraph 3.9)  Ensure that records are legible and stored in an accessible way, avoiding excess storage in folders that become too heavy and difficult to use. Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62 paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people of either sex, with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is one of four children’s homes operated by a private organisation. The organisation provides an independent school where young people from this home can attend.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11/11/2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

The impact of the good quality of care provided at this home enables young people to attend education, improve their health care and reduce their risk taking behaviour. Young people are making good progress in their development and they are gaining a better understanding of their own needs and vulnerabilities. Prior to living here some young people have not attended education for almost a year.

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Good

Social workers report that they are very satisfied with the quality of care young people receive from the staff at this home, describing how staff have a ‘real expectation of teenagers’. ‘It is all very positive, the young person is happy and supported well by staff’. Another social worker reports, ‘this is an excellent house where young people feel safe’.

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Good

Young people enjoy sound relationships with staff and most report that they like living in this home. Staff recognise the importance for young people to maintain contact with family members and connections with their home communities. Young people appreciate that their friends and family are made welcome in the home. A visiting social care professional reported that a young person welcomes her and offers her a cup of tea when she arrives to visit another young person. This polite social skill is an indicator of how settled the young person feels in this home, and how they are able to warmly welcome others into their house.

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Good

Young people benefit from the many activities provided for them. Staff support young people to pursue their hobbies and interests such as horse riding and membership of youth groups. Like most teenagers they enjoy spending time with their friends and are supported to do so with boundaries set on time restrictions and maintaining regular contact through use of mobile telephones. Such boundaries are reasonable, and generally adhered to, as young people recognise that staff are concerned for their safety and welfare when they are out in the community.

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Good

Young people have very good access to health services in the community and commissioned through the provider. These arrangements ensure that psychological services are available quickly to support young people with their emotional wellbeing. Art therapy, counselling and support with substance misuse effectively contribute to the progress young people make in their emotional, physical and psychological health. Young people who have missed out on routine vaccinations in early childhood are supported to have them. This attentive level of health care protects young people from highly infectious viral illnesses. All young people are attending education, either though the organisation’s school at an alternative educational placement or with home tuition. Some young people have gained some GCSE’s and all are working towards additional qualifications and vocational awards. Excellent communication between the staff and the education

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Good

providers links the interests of young people with their learning, for example work experience at riding stables and a veterinary clinic for those with a keen interest in horses and animals.

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Good

Consultation with young people is regular and meaningful. Their views contribute to the development of the home and the delivery of care provided to them. For example, they have a say in how the home is decorated and furnished, what activities and meals are provided and most importantly the arrangements in their care plan. One young person has been effectively supported to chair her own review meeting. This excellent example of empowerment respects the voice of young people and actively involves them in decision making.

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Good

The detached property is furnished and decorated to provide a homely environment. Some minor damage and drawings on the walls of the stairs and landing detract from the overall comfortable appearance of the home. Young people have already chosen new colours for this area to be decorated over the next few months. The farmhouse style kitchen provides opportunities for young people to cook alone, or with staff. The absence of any chairs in the kitchen restricts it from being a social space as the damaged chairs have been removed and not replaced.

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Good

Risk management is strong. Individual assessments are compiled using information from placing authorities, parents, previous placements and importantly, the young people themselves. These well considered documents include agreed strategies to minimise the risks of harm yet they also support young people to take age- appropriate risks as they grow into young adults. Young people are supported to make safe choices with regards to relationships, when out in the community, and use of the internet and social media. Risk assessments in relation to activities and the environment are equally very thorough with regular review.

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Good

The organisation has developed effective partnership working with the police and the missing person co-ordinator within the local authority through holding monthly meetings. This ensures that when there are incidents of young people going missing, information sharing enables agreed strategies to reduce these events. Discussions from these forums provide leaders and managers with an understanding of current risks in the local community.

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Good

There were several incidents of young people going missing from this home in the summer months. The peak of 11 incidents in July was attributed to the pull factors within the local community. Multi-agency meetings were held to discuss the safety and welfare of young people, and the possible risks of sexual exploitation. Effective interventions by staff and successful engagement with young people has resulted in a significant reduction of young people going missing with only two incidents over the past three months.

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Good

Staff actively follow young people when they leave the premises without permission and they continue to search for them. Staff are aware of the correct protocols and procedures to safeguard young people. Many young people are living away from their home area and social workers are not always able to visit them upon their return from having been missing. To ensure that there is an independent person to interview young people after such an incident the organisation has made arrangements for a member of education staff to undertake this role for good safeguarding practice.

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Good

Staff are suitably trained in the protection of young people from their induction as new staff, through to continual professional development. This includes an awareness of health and safety matters, and fire safety. An incident involving a small fire in a bedroom was dealt with swiftly and safely to protect all the young people and staff. A review of fire safety measures led to an increase in daily checks, to promote extra vigilance of personal safety to all.

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Good

Feedback from social workers is very positive, two commented how challenging the young people can be and both stated, ‘they manage her well’. Staff are skilled in de-escalation and negotiation to avoid the use of physical intervention. On the rare occasions that staff have physically intervened, this has been to prevent young people hurting themselves or each other.

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Good

There are incidents of young people being unkind and displaying bullying behaviour. Young people report that the staff team are quick to challenge these negative attitudes and intervene to protect young people. Individual and group discussions occur with good use of anti-bullying workbooks. These promote talking about friendship difficulties and how to tolerate group living. House meetings are used to good effect to discuss any disagreements and find solutions.

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Good

Young people say they understand the boundaries and house rules are there to keep them safe, even though they may push against them at times. They have experienced how the staff team will still be there for them when they make poor decisions, without being critical and judgemental. Through discussion, staff help young people to reflect on their actions, to take responsibility and to learn from mistakes. This enables them to make informed decisions and as a result, incidents of disruptive behaviour and episodes of going missing have significantly reduced.

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Good

This organisation has robust procedures for the recruitment of staff, ensuring layers of checks are undertaken beyond the minimal requirements. This is indicative of the priority given to ensuring young people are in a safe and nurturing environment.

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Requires improvement

This children’s home does not currently have a Registered Manager. The last manager left in November 2015 and there is an interim manager to cover the two month period before the new manager can take up their post. The interim manager works across the organisation as a peripatetic member of staff and is very well suited for this temporary position as she used to be the Registered Manager of this home. She is very experienced in residential care and holds the Registered Managers Award.

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Requires improvement

This is a reflective organisation, where leaders and managers seek to learn from inspection findings and complaints. Good practice examples are disseminated throughout the organisation as leaders and managers strive for continual improvement. Consultation with staff has led to some improvements across the organisation such as, a pay increase and a nomination scheme where staff can be recognised and rewarded with a monetary voucher. A staff member from this home received a nomination from young people with the following comments; ‘she is always there for me, she is a good person- reliable’ and ‘she is nice to me even when I am angry’. This demonstrates the strength of relationships and enables young people to provide some feedback to staff.

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Requires improvement

Monitoring of care practices within the home are effective in identifying progress for young people and any patterns or trends in behaviour. There is one shortfall with regards to the independent monitoring of this home where the visit did not occur in August 2015. This happened as a result of changes to the independent person. However, the new person in post has met the young people and monthly visits are now back on track.

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Requires improvement

Record keeping is generally good with regular involvement of young people making contributions in particular with ‘My Day’ and the ‘thinking and feelings’ form. These records reflect young people’s lives in the home and they are able to access them, being encouraged to take some ownership for contributing their views. Hand written entries by staff are not always legible, this makes the record difficult to read and review. This poses a great hindrance when young people may wish to access all their records in the future. In addition, several lever arch folders in use are too full. This makes them heavy and causes difficulty in finding records.

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Requires improvement

Social workers say that the information they receive, verbal or written, is timely and of good quality. ‘Excellent reports are provided for review meetings’ reports a social worker. They confirm that they have been informed of the changes with the manager and have not had cause to be concerned during these interim arrangements.

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Requires improvement

Staff report that they continue to receive good support and regular supervision from the interim manager and senior staff within the organisation. New staff are enthusiastic about their training and experience to date, ‘everyone is so supportive’. More established members of staff speak passionately about their work, their commitment to enable young people to achieve their best, and one describes it as, ‘a privilege to work here’.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers use an assessment tool to benchmark the progress of each young person. A colour coded wheel charts a range of skills covering practical abilities, social and emotional development. This tool provides staff with a structure to support young people to develop their personal skills and reach for goals. Personalised goals are linked to incentives and rewards to encourage and promote positive and sociable behaviour.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers instigate and maintain professional relationships with other agencies. This is particularly strong with regards to matters of safeguarding as evidenced with monthly meetings with the local police and missing persons co- ordinator. Other agencies include, local authority safeguarding teams, education providers, health professionals, drug projects and the youth offending team. These working relationships ensure that young people receive targeted services to support them in achieving positive outcomes.

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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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