Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Westmorland and Furness

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 benefit from highly individual care planning that takes full account of their development needs.  Staff encourage young people to participate in planning activities to promote their understanding and ownership of the plan.  Young people share positive relationships with most staff and say they feel able to confide and trust in them.  Young people understand the boundaries set within the home and what is expected of them.  Staff generally, respond well to young people’s challenging behaviour, successfully de-escalating situations and avoiding any need for physical intervention.  Staff proactively support young people in the home, their education and work placements to learn and develop new skills that will prepare them for independence.  Staff use the quality of their relationships and vigilance to deter young people from going missing or absent. From young people’s starting points this has meant a significant reduction in this type of behaviour.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Leaders and managers demonstrate a good awareness and understanding of where shortfalls exists in the operation of the home and have initiated some action to address some of these.

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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: In order to engage with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met the registered person must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(c) challenge the placing authority to seek to ensure that each child’s need are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. This is with particular reference to clarifying consistent expectations with placing authorities surrounding young people’s supervision and learning opportunities. (Regulation 5 (c)) 29/01/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. This relates specifically to ensuring comprehensive records are maintained and information is accessible and included in the home's monitoring activity (Regulation 39(3)) 29/01/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify Ofsted and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or person working there; and if there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious (Regulation 40(3)(c);(e)) 29/01/2015

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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 that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home and are encouraged to participate in those activities. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 31 paragraph 6.5)

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Recommendations

 Develop and maintain effective working relationships with local youth justice and police services where children have targets to achieve in reducing offending or socially unacceptable behaviour (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 38 paragraph 8.5)

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Recommendations

 Ensure the home's records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. This relates specifically to ensuring key worker records are maintained to a consistently good standard that clearly reflects young people's contribution. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62 paragraph 14.5)

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Recommendations

 Ensure the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care. This relates to the visitor reporting a more comprehensive evaluation of their findings and avoiding repetition across the reports provided. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 65 paragraph 15.5)

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Recommendations

 Decide what each six monthly review should focus on based on the specific circumstances of the home and any areas of high risk to children. The review does not need to address every part of the Quality Standards but should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 65 paragraph 15.4)

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Information about this children's home

 The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 3 children  It is privately owned and operated by a private company  It is registered to care for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

good

Despite the improvements that are required to the leadership and management of this home, the overall experience and progress for young people living in this home are good. Young people say that staff create a warm and welcoming atmosphere that makes them feel comfortable and at home. As a result, they say they feel able to settle quite quickly into the home’s routine; feeling safe and appropriately secure. One young person commented, ‘I am happy and settled. I have felt since moving to this home that I will be ok.’ Young people benefit from detailed and individual planning that addresses the full range of their developmental needs. Staff involve young people in their placement planning to ensure that their preferences, views and wishes are fairly identified and included. This also encourages them to feel ownership of their plan and to be clear on their targets and how their progress in this home will be measured. For some

p.7

good

young people this has already made a positive impact in improving their sense of responsibility and maturity. Young people generally share positive and constructive relationships with staff that are sensitive to their needs and wishes. They enjoy spending time with individual staff, acknowledging that they have preferences within the staff team. Young people benefit from the consistent approach shown by staff in communicating boundaries and expectations and mostly they respond positively. There have been a few occasions where young people have become very challenging towards staff refusing to co-operate. Staff generally respond well in these situations, de- escalating negative behaviour appropriately and supporting young people to discuss and explore their feelings to make sense of their frustration and anger. Staff are quick to repair relationships to ensure that young people retain their feelings of safety and trust.

p.7

good

Young people say that they can talk to most staff and feel that their views and opinions are listened to and taken seriously. Staff encourage young people to have a voice in the home and as such have an influence in how the home operates. Staff provide frequent opportunities for young people to share their views individually or as a collective. Young people participate sporadically with regular weekly young people’s meetings that are organised. However, their preference tends to be discussion during key worker or individual sessions with staff.

p.7

good

Young people report to having established good relationships with their individual keyworkers; they have a choice in identifying a member of staff that they felt they could confide in and trust. These arrangements are positive in supporting young people to move forward and make progress. Although young people’s records generally reflect their views well, the quality of recording in individual key worker sessions is variable. This means in some cases it is difficult to establish from those records alone young people’s views and the detail of discussion that took place. This detracts from the general good quality the home presents of maintaining young people’s records.

p.7

good

Young people understand and are familiar with their rights. Staff advise young people on the range of advocacy support available and make sure that they know how to complain should they feel worried or unhappy about anything. The home responds positively when young people do make a complaint. Matters are dealt with swiftly and are well documented, ensuring that the young person has a clear explanation and understanding of the outcome.

p.8

good

Staff consistently support young people to engage and make progress in their education and learning. From their starting points, young people have often disengaged with learning and have missed a considerable amount of time in education prior to coming to this home. Staff encourage and practically support attendance at school and alternative provision. For some young people this has included voluntary work and paid employment that has been successful in promoting young people’s self-esteem as well as enabling them to learn and develop new skills.

p.8

good

Staff also encourage young people to develop their independence skills while at the home, encouraging their participation in a range of household and maintenance tasks. These include tasks such as completion of household chores, budgeting, meal planning and preparation. This means that young people will have a good range of skills that will support their ultimate transition to adulthood.

p.8

good

Young people enjoy getting involved with activities in the home, such as puzzles, arts and crafts and prefer outings that include shopping and meals out. As staff tend to accept their reluctance to consider outdoor or other sporting activities, young people are not sufficiently encouraged to increase opportunities for exercise and improving well-being.

p.8

good

Young people’s health needs otherwise receive good attention. Young people are quickly registered with routine health care providers and assessments completed to ensure that staff have a full knowledge and understanding of individual and specific needs. Staff receive helpful support and guidance from an independent psychologist that is commissioned by the provider. The home involves the local authority’s children looked after nurse (CLA nurse) to assist their health care planning and monitoring of young people’s progress. These arrangements ensure that young people’s health care needs and provision are well understood and co- ordinated. A health professional commented, ‘I feel staff are really caring. I thought they were really good with X’s care. They were clear on medication requirements and discussed this well and fully with the consultant. I was quite impressed with that.’ Young people live in a home that is comfortable, well-furnished and maintained to

p.8

good

a high standard. Staff encourage young people to choose soft furnishings and decoration to personalise their own bedrooms. This enables young people to express their own personality and culture, promoting their sense of belonging in this home. One young person commented, ‘It’s a perfect home; not just good. Staff are nice to me. It’s really homely here.’

p.9

good

Parents speak positively of the home and the support staff provide. One noted, ‘I have found the staff and management at the home to be very helpful and supportive of our daughter and ourselves.’ Another parent commented,’ The home is a really nice place, I am in no doubt that staff are professional.’

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good

Young people say they feel safe and well cared for by staff who have a good understanding of their backgrounds and difficulties they have experienced prior to their admission to the home. All have been involved in a range of risk taking behaviours including being missing from home for significant periods that has increased their vulnerability to child sexual exploitation.

p.9

good

The home’s rural location is conducive to supporting those that are at high risk of going missing. Young people have generally moved some distance from their home area and are unfamiliar with the locality. Staff show vigilance in the supervision they provide and continue to review and revise young people’s safety arrangements in response to their behaviour and activities. Young people rarely go missing but have on a few occasions left the home without staff permission.

p.9

good

On such occasions young people have remained within the local area, having been successfully followed by staff and encouraged to return to the safety of the home. Staff are familiar with the procedures and local protocols to follow in these situations to ensure young people’s safety is prioritised. They seek to minimise reoccurrence of absence by spending time with young people, talking through their frustrations and supporting them to find alternative ways to express their feelings. From their starting points young people have made tremendous progress in reducing their involvement in such behaviour.

p.9

good

Staff invest time in developing positive relationships with young people that encourages them to feel trust and support. Although young people’s behaviour can be quite challenging at times, staff generally respond with patience and understanding, using approved behaviour management techniques to successfully de-escalate situations. The use of physical intervention is rare, with only one occurrence when this was deemed necessary to safeguard all concerned. Staff encourage young people to participate in formulating their individual behaviour management plans. This supports young people to understand the boundaries that exist within the home and the expectations placed on their behaviour. Staff have the necessary guidance to ensure that there is consistency in their approach.

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good

The home appropriately seeks comprehensive information and achieves a good understanding of young people’s risks prior to their admission. Individual risk assessments are completed and regularly reviewed and updated to support staff maintain and promote young people’s safety. Individual risk management is regularly discussed and evaluated in staff meetings and together these actions ensure staff have a sound understanding of young people’s vulnerabilities and how they can be best managed. The home has identified improvements to be made to enhance the quality of their risk assessment recording and is in the process of making changes to their current documentation.

p.10

good

The home responds quickly and effectively to any worries or concerns raised by young people. Good child protection practice and procedure is adhered to ensuring that concerns are reported, investigated and addressed without delay. Young people and staff feel supported and protected as a result and early resolution is achieved.

p.10

good

Staff are familiar with the home’s arrangements for safe handling and administration of medication and manage this effectively. The home works closely with health professionals and consultants to ensure that there is complete clarity on medication requirements and administration regimes. This protects young people, ensuring that their health and safety is not compromised.

p.10

good

Staff keep the home environment safe, making frequent and regular checks to ensure that all safety equipment and appliances are working and well-maintained. Staff and young people regularly participate in fire evacuation drills to ensure that they are familiar and well-rehearsed in leaving the home should they need to do so in the event of a real emergency.

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requires improvement

Although the home was registered by Ofsted in March 2015 it was not operational until August 2015. A new manager was appointed and successfully became the home’s Registered Manager in October 2015 following the resignation of the previous Registered Manager. The current Registered Manager is appropriately qualified, possessing a Level 5 diploma in Leadership for health and social care and children and young people’s services. She has considerable experience of working with children and young people and has previously managed a home for young adults. The manager and her staff team demonstrate a good knowledge of young people and the progress they have made since coming to the home. Staff are familiar with the information and assessments made prior to admission and use this effectively to plan, review and chart their progress from their point of admission to the home. The Registered Manager and provider acknowledge that some weakness in

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requires improvement

experience exists within the newly formed staff team. However, good support is available from the senior management team to assist the Registered Manager ensuring that staff receive appropriate support and guidance. All new staff have successfully completed the provider’s induction programme that includes familiarisation with the home’s policies and procedures as well as essential training in key areas such as child protection, health and safety matters and behaviour management. Staff performance and development is appropriately monitored and managed with frequent and regular supervision as well as day-to- day advice and mentoring. This ensures that staff feel well supported and guided in their roles. One staff member noted, ‘I feel we are a good strong team. We are all new but we work well together. There is still team building to do.’

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requires improvement

The management team does not yet consistently demonstrate confidence and decisiveness in all aspects of their responsibility. For example, there was some confusion surrounding the detail of one young person’s plan and the placing authority’s expectations. An opportunity existed, to challenge and clarify this at a statutory review, but this opportunity was missed. Although this had no immediate impact on the care provided or the young person’s safety, the home was not sufficiently proactive to ensure their arrangements were fully consistent with the placing authority’s plan. During this inspection it was identified that there were two recent occasions when despite informing other relevant parties of significant events that had occurred in the home, staff failed to notify Ofsted. Although the circumstances would suggest this was not a deliberate omission, it means that the home was not operating in a fully transparent manner with the regulator.

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requires improvement

The home has successfully established good monitoring arrangements to scrutinise the home’s activity and performance both internally and independently. The Registered Manager completes regular audits and checks of activity within the home and demonstrates a good understanding of where the home is performing well and those areas that she has identified for further improvement. However, her 6-monthly review report submitted to Ofsted does not express such a clear evaluation of her findings, nor does it highlight her plan for action in the months ahead. The quality of the document falls short in achieving the desired analysis of the home’s operation. The quality of the independent person’s report also falls short in analysing the information gathered from one visit to the next. At times it is repetitious in its content and equally falls short in recording an evaluation of how well the home is safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. Whilst these reporting

p.11

requires improvement

omissions do not directly impact on the care afforded to young people, they do not fairly reflect the positive impact the home is having on young people’s lives. The home is proactive in dealing with any issues or concerns that come to staff attention. Complaints are dealt with swiftly and the Registered Manager ensures that a clear response and an opportunity for further discussion is always provided. However, the home has yet to implement a clear recording system for complaints to ensure that these can be consistently and effectively monitored. Staff understand the importance of building and maintaining effective relationships and networks that will promote young people’s safety and well-being. The home has successfully engaged with young people’s family members, a number of key professionals and agencies to ensure that they receive comprehensive support during their time in the home. However, some relationships are not yet fully

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requires improvement

developed to be of maximum benefit. For example, the home has yet to secure a strong working relationship with the local constabulary that will help young people to develop a positive view of the police.

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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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