Children's Home run by White Orchid Care Limited in Milton Keynes

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children continue to make good progress since the last inspection. The manager has been in post since January 2015 and has the relevant experience and qualifications to run the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff feel supported by the manager and she has a clear vision for the service and aspirations for the children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There was one recommendation from the last inspection, this has been implemented. There are robust monitoring systems in place giving a clear insight into the effectiveness of care practice in the home. The manager is currently looking at further improving this system to make it easier to establish triggers and monitor patterns in a more visual way, which can be used as a visual aid for the children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Supervisions are regular, detailed and support staff to review their care practice and further development.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Recruitment is robust with all checks being completed and verified before staff can start to work in the home. The manager has recently recruited two new staff members and was in the process of setting up inductions.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children continue to have positive relationships with a staff team that know and understand their individual needs. A child commented, ‘I have been here ages, I love it. Staff are fun and we do lots of things; if I’m not happy I just tell the staff and they help me.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff were observed having positive interactions with children on their return from school and were interested in their day. Praise was given to a young person who had had a positive day at school despite not wanting to attend that morning.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff understand the importance of transitions for children both into the home and leaving and the impact that this can have on the group. Recent transitions have been planned and managed well; in a young people’s meeting, children were informed of a new admission and were asked to think about how they felt when they first moved into the home. The children were able to reflect on feelings they had and decided to make him a welcome poster, this shows that the children have learned to have empathy with others. A young person who recently moved to the sister home still has contact with the staff and children from the home. Staff spoken to understood that maintaining friendships is important.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff understand the importance of contact for young people and work hard with families and children to support this. A social worker commented, ‘the home is excellent with contact. X hadn’t seen Mum for a while, they did some brilliant work with X around his anxiety as well as with Mum about what to expect and how to respond. They also facilitated the contact; the staff had to do a lot of work both before and after which was significant to X having a successful contact.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff recognise that education is an important part of the children’s lives. There is regular contact between school and home. One young person who was struggling with Maths is now having extra tuition. Another young person is due to sit her SATS and staff were looking at how they can support her with her revision. A social worker commented ‘there is good communication between the home and school; they transport X there and back which supports him in attending’.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a laptop, which the children use with staff. One young person has recently begun to use Facebook. Staff are very aware of the risks, the young person has had a key work session around the use of Facebook; staff have access to her account and monitor this daily to ensure that privacy settings are high. She can only go on Facebook when sitting with staff. She currently has three school friends and staff have contacted the school to ensure that these are suitable friends to have on Facebook.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are aware of child sexual exploitation and have recently updated their training. The manager and CSE trainer are looking at her doing some sessions with children to look at how they can keep themselves safe. All staff are up to date with safeguarding training. This is also discussed in staff meetings and supervision ensuring that staff are able to safeguard the children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Due to the high staff ratio, children have not gone missing since the last inspection, one young person ran from staff and was out of sight for a few minutes, staff reported her missing, the manager has worked with staff around what is missing and what is unauthorised and when young people should be reported.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Behaviour management in the home is fair and proportionate. Young people have and use opportunities to comment on any sanction they have been given and the manager reviews these. Young people can earn gold coins for positive behaviours, which go towards something of their choice. These are celebrated with young people but the manager is currently looking at how this can be improved.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been 24 physical interventions since the last full inspection. A young person was admitted into the home in October and in November staff held him 15 times, staff looked at patterns of behaviour and triggers. Bedtimes were an issue, the manager put in extra staff and a plan was put in place to help him settled. This resulted in a significant decrease and there were only 3 physical interventions in December. All physical interventions are recorded appropriately and young people comment following a discussion with staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a good ratio of staff to children, which enables then to attend activities and have quality time with staff. Staff see activities as an important part of them learning social skills and mixing with their peers. The children enjoy going out with staff; for example, one was observed going to the park after school. A young person commented ‘I do lots of things; swimming is my favourite’.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people went camping with staff over the summer holidays and have taken lots of pictures for their memory books. The children are encouraged and supported to visit friends and have had sleepovers. Friends are also encouraged to visit the home and have stayed the night. A young person was observed arranging with the manager for a friend to come to the home for a play date. Staff understand the importance for children to learn how to build and maintain positive friendships in school and the community.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff have good links in the community, some children attend clubs regularly, one young person attends church on a Sunday, others have opted in and out, but all children requested to attend church over Christmas which was facilitated by staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has built good links with the local GP surgery and the Looked after children’s DR. and has sent her the homes health and medication policy. An agreement has been made for children to have the same DR for consistency. The home is also working closely with health professionals at the local hospital supporting a child and parent in attending joint health appointments.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has good links with the local police officer, one of the children had started to become violent towards staff, the officer come to the home to talk to him, this had a good impact, he will often pop in and spend time with the young people playing pool or board games.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has a warm nurturing and supporting environment, and is decorated and maintained to a high standard, young people are involved in choosing furnishings and decoration of the home. There is a well-kept garden, the children are supported and encouraged to look after their guinea pigs and rabbits. A young person who showed me around the garden informed me ‘one of the guinea pigs died before Christmas, we buried her in the garden, and I was really upset’. Staff worked with the children around the loss of their pet. The home has recently acquired a cat. The children are very proud of him and were very keen to introduce Mr Tumble; they were very knowledgeable about how he needs to be looked after. Staff understand that sometimes children have to leave pets behind when they move into the home and it is important for them to have something that they can care for and look after.

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Information about this children's home

This service is a 52 week, four bedded therapeutic children’s home for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties aged between 6 and 14 years old, and is run by a small private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/03/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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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