Children's home run by Bramley Care Limited

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

Leaders and managers have responded positively to the requirement and recommendations made at the last inspection, for example redrafting the statement of purpose and children’s guides for all homes in the organisation. Although not complete, drafts of these documents are clear, respectively, about aims and methods, and the support provided to young people, including advocacy. Placing authorities and young people referred to the home will have a much better understanding of what to expect as a result. The manager is preparing a workforce development plan, although it remains in the early stages. New admission processes provide for comprehensive information gathering prior to admission and lead to earlier assessments, but do not yet include a written impact risk assessment. Recommendations for both these documents to be produced remain. Children and young people continue to make excellent progress, despite some very

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

challenging circumstances. In particular, staff have worked with a young person who displayed hostile and abusive behaviour requiring high levels of monitoring and frequent physical intervention. The manager has harnessed the involvement of the placing authority and specialist psychiatric services to turn this around so that the young person is not such a threat to his own well-being or that of others. As a result, numbers and duration of restraints have decreased significantly and the threat of self-harm is much reduced. Maintaining the placement is of great benefit to the young person, and it is a testament to the ethos of the home that other young people, whose lives were being disrupted, are as pleased with the progress their peer has made as the staff are. This practice has been excellent, however, documentation underpinning it has lagged. The home’s placement plan is not entirely accurate in describing the young person’s needs and does not identify any

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

strategies to meet concerns about self-harm (although a multi-agency crisis management plan does). In another case a plan for a young person to move to a foster placement was not mentioned in his placement plan, in the home’s otherwise excellent Identifying Current and Ongoing Needs profile, in monthly summaries or in key work session records. Currently the independent person does not look at case files as part of regulation 44 reviews of the home and so the opportunity to identify such discrepancies and occasionally absent documentation is missed. Staff and the young person who is in the process of moving out of the home could tell me about preparation that had been done to assist his transition but there is very little written evidence. A similar situation was identified during the last inspection. This is partly due to there being no recording format for key work sessions and no provision for young people to contribute to them, a shortcoming

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

that was addressed during the inspection. Liaison with other professionals, is of the highest standard with one commenting that relevant information is shared and there is always someone available to discuss issues with. Reports for meetings such as statutory reviews are very detailed. Social workers and other professionals value the expertise and opinions of the manager, as illustrated by the plan for a first meeting between the above young person and his foster carer being held at the home rather than the proposed placement. The manager has also been instrumental in improving contact arrangements for one young person and instigating an independent visitor being obtained for another. Staff have worked hard to ‘win round’ parents and carers who have initially been opposed to placements so that they can work together for the benefit of young people. Contact arrangements are supported through liaison with social workers

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and family members, and the home will provide transport, often over long distances and, where required, supervision. The manager is ready to listen to advice to improve practice and procedures, for example developing the format and style of regulation 45 reports so that they are more helpful in evaluating performance. She is continuing to hone her style to evaluate against quality standards and identify actions to be taken. Records of physical interventions are generally very good, with young people’s views included and the practice of ensuring dates are given for each step of the process much improved. Not all instances provide enough information to indicate what, if any, methods were used to de-escalate situations so as to avoid restraints, which therefore does not allow for scrutiny of what works or does not work for children. Staff handle significant incidents with professionalism and empathy for young

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

people involved. This has helped situations calm as quickly as possible. Staff themselves feel well supported by the manager and her deputy, commenting ‘they are brilliant’, so that they handle the emotional impact of the work well. Strategies to improve children’s behaviour within the home and outside have met with considerable success. Young people’s health needs are well met with good examples being reduction in tobacco smoking and effective self-administration of medication as well as management of mental health issues. Young people’s school attendance is exceptionally good; having education on the same site is a large factor in this but staff are tenacious in encouraging reluctant attenders to go. Children may therefore sometimes be late but never absent without authorisation. Most value the opportunities to learn that are afforded them.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to accommodate nine young males with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and is one of four run by the service provider. All young people have access to the organisation's specialist therapeutic service and to the school run from the same premises.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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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

In order to meet the care planning standard:

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure arrangements are in place to plan for each child to prepare to leave the home in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with his or her placing authority (Regulation 14 (1)(b)(iii)) 31/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure an independent person inspects such of the homes records as may be required. In particular, seek permission from young people and placing authorities to review children’s case records (Regulation 44 (2)(b)) 31/03/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. (Guide to Children's Homes Regulations 9.5, page 42)  Records of restraint should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint, including de-escalation strategies used to avoid their use. (Guide to Children's Homes Regulations 9.59, page 49)  The registered person should have a workforce plan (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations 10.8, page 53)  The registered person should formally consider (in documented form) the impact that any new placement will have on the existing group of children. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations 11.4. page 56)

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Recommendations

 Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home's records, including placement plans and key work sessions, as 'living documents' supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (Guide to Children's Homes Regulations 11.19, page 58)

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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

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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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