Children's Home, Residential special school run by Amberleigh Care Limited in Shropshire

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 receive immensely personalised care and therapeutic interventions that reflect their individual needs and circumstances.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are safe because risk assessments are detailed and relevant.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff encourage young people to recognise their own risks and take some responsibility for reducing these.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Managers and staff work in effective partnership with other agencies. This means young people receive integrated and comprehensive care that supports their development.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people benefit from attending the organisations own registered school. They are supported to re-engage in formal learning and make sustainable progress.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff receive good quality training and supervision that supports them in their roles. This ensures they have the skills and knowledge they need to work effectively with young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Incidents of unacceptable behaviours are well managed although some records are confusing and require additional clarity to ensure that young people are enabled to reflect on these incidents.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Safeguarding policies are regularly reviewed and updated in partnership with specialist agencies and safeguarding boards. However, associated internal referral procedure are ambiguous in parts.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Some areas for improvement have been identified. These include ensuring that the use of monitoring systems in the home or any restrictions on young people’s privacy is regularly reviewed.

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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 ensure that the privacy of children is appropriately protected; and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; and is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21(a)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)) 14/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24(1)(a)(b)) 14/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34(1)(b) 14/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes all of the information required by the regulations. (Regulation 35(a)(i – viii) 14/03/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):   Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 58 paragraph 11.19)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 12 young people with emotional and / or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private provider and offers an integrated residential therapeutic care and education package to young men. The service provides for single sex occupancy only.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

04/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2014 CH - Interim Satisfactory progress

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good

Young people make good and sustainable progress. They receive personalised and tailored care that incorporates all aspects of their development. Relationships between young people and staff are positive. This is promoted by the success of the therapeutic intervention packages and programmes used in the home.

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good

Young people engage well with care staff and therapists. They participate in regular sessions to discuss their behaviours, emotions, risk factors, achievements and progress. Sessions are used to structure internal support plans, risk assessment and therapeutic intervention programmes. These are assimilated into statutory care planning processes. As a result, young people receive integrated care that promotes their continued development and progress. This enhances their day-to-day experience and personal growth. Staff ensure that case files are kept up to date to demonstrate the positive progress young people make, although these are not ‘child friendly’ and young people are not encouraged to read them.

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good

Staff work with a range of health professionals. The service operates under the national therapeutic community standards and directly employs psychologists and psychotherapists to deliver bespoke intervention programmes. Young people say they enjoy this one to one work and recognise the positive impact this has on their behaviours and emotional well-being. They are encouraged to reflect on their personal circumstances and backgrounds and consider how these influence their decisions, actions and development. This means that young people do not experience a delay in accessing the additional specialist support they need.

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good

Education is a priority in the home and the organisation operates its own registered school; and some young people attend external college placements. Young people benefit from individual education packages that reflect their leaning needs and challenge any barriers they face. These provide a combination of academic and vocational lessons that ensure that young people experience educational success. They are encouraged to celebrate their achievements and this helps them to recognise the importance of education.

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good

Young people are involved in decisions about their care and are encouraged to raise any concerns or issues they have. They are confident that any complaints they raise will be addressed. There has been no complaints since the last inspection. Young people recognise that other professionals are involved in decisions about their care and why other agencies need to be informed of their actions and behaviours. This means that young people appreciate how their behaviours in the home influences decisions about their care and the stability of their placement.

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good

Staff work with social workers and the placing authorities to ensure that when young people are placed a long way from home, they are able to maintain relationships with their families. When contact restrictions are in place, staff clearly explain these and provide young people with practical and emotional support to attend contact visits. As a result, young people are not isolated for their families.

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good

Transition planning and preparing young people for adulthood commences soon after young people are placed in the home. Independent living plans are bespoke and age appropriate. These reflect young people’s individual skills, abilities, emotional needs, and considers their personal risk factors. Staff work with placing authorities and other agencies throughout this process. This ensures that plans are realistic and this increases the likelihood of their success.

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good

Young people are safe in the home and say they feel safe. One young person said: ‘I feel safe because I know that staff care about me and look out for me.’ Staff devise detailed and relevant risk assessments that are tailored to reflect young people’s behaviours. These evolve to account for young people’s growing sense of personal responsibility. Risk assessments are reviewed in partnership with young people, keyworkers, and behavioural specialists; including external agencies when necessary. This robust approach to managing and promoting young people’s safety means that they develop the skills they need to keep themselves and others safe from harm.

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good

Staff ensure that boundaries in the home and clear and consistency applied. This means that young people understand the behaviours expected of them and the consequences of unacceptable behaviours. Personalised behaviour plans means that young people respond to individual incentives. The use of sanctions and physical restraint is rare for the young people currently placed in the home. Staff ensure that incident forms, sanctions records and physical restraint reports are cross referenced to case files. However, some information is not recorded in the required format. Although this is not detrimental to young people’s safety, the chaotic nature of the records means that young people are unable to review these.

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good

There have been no episodes of young people going missing from the home since the last inspection. All young people have multi-agency trigger plans. These specify their missing from home risk factors and consider the possibility of sexual exploitation, risks to others and their overall safety. Staffing ratio’s reflect young people’s supervision needs and boundaries are consistently applied. Nevertheless, the use of monitoring devises such as bedroom door alarms and CCTV, has become custom and practice in the home. There are no safeguarding risk assessments in place to determine why monitoring devised are required or how these promote young people’s safety and welfare. Young people are unable to leave their bedrooms without alerting staff. This compromises their privacy and access around their home. Although the negative impact of this practice is significantly reduced because young people say these measures make them ‘feel

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good

safe’ and that this is their preference, action is required to ensure that this practice acceptable.

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good

Staff receive regular training in safeguarding and child protection. Internal policies are devised in partnership with local safeguarding boards and police agencies. These are supported by internal referral procedures relating to allegations or suspicions of harm. There have been no referrals to the designated officer for the local authority since the last inspection. However, these procedures are ambiguous in parts and require clarity to ensure that young people’s safety is maintained.

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good

The home is maintained to a good standard. Health and safety and fire risk assessments are regularly reviewed and update. This means that young people reside in a safe home.

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good

The service benefits from a knowledgeable, experienced and skilled manager. She holds relevant higher level management and social care quantifications including a degree in psychology and a diploma in social work. She been registered with Ofsted since August 2015.

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good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has appropriately actioned the one requirement and one recommendation raised at that time. These related to ensuring that the independent visitor to the home consulted with young people, and making sure staff received regular formal supervision. This demonstrates the home’s continued capacity for improvement.

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good

Young people’s progress is effectively monitored against the aims and objectives of their internal and statutory care plans. Progress is continual and sustainable because the registered manager understands young people’s individual needs. She ensures that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet these and appraises their performance though regular supervision. In addition to mandatory training, staff complete bespoke courses that reflect the therapeutic model used by the service. As a result, staff practice is scrutinised and young people receive personalised care from a skilled team.

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good

The registered manager works in partnership with a varied range of professionals, in addition to those employed by the organisation to provide tailored therapeutic interventions. These include working with placing authorities, youth offending teams and specialist police services. These professionals praise the support young people received and the positive impact this has on their development. Comments include, ‘There has been a remarkable change’ and ‘The manager never gives up on young people’. External agencies confirm they understand the care packages, education programmes and specialist behavioural support plans provided by the service. This is because the statement of purpose is clear and detailed. The registered manager is confident in challenging other professionals and agencies when their actions falls short of acceptable standards. This means that young people benefit from integrated and tailored support that meets their complex

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good

Internal monitoring systems appraise the quality of care provided by the home. Regular visits by an independent person supports these systems. This allows the registered manager to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the service and specify actions to address any shortfalls. These systems are under review to ensure that as the service develops, any patterns and trend are identified.

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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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