Children's home run by Nottinghamshire County Council

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

Young people in this home have a range of complex needs and vulnerabilities. Experienced and skilled staff contribute to and are familiar with detailed, child centred placement plans. These plans include comprehensive risk and behaviour management plans. Staff support young people to make progress and to stay safe. One professional said: ‘This young person had experienced a number of changes; this has impacted on their education experiences. Staff in this home have supported this young person to engage in education again. Hopefully this will mean they will have more options in the future.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff work closely with social workers, to ensure they have a thorough assessment of each young person’s needs. A particular strength of the home is the way that staff contribute to ongoing assessment and to multi-agency working to meet young people’s needs. This includes monthly consultations with CAMHS and direct meetings with involved professionals such as the youth offending service, education providers, and specialist drug and alcohol staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers and staff are experienced in safeguarding young people. They are familiar with and understand safeguarding policies and procedures. They have worked with partners, including the police, to reduce risks of exploitation, missing from home, the use of digital technology, and self-harming behaviours. Staff are proactive in requesting multi-agency meetings to share information, and assess risks to young people. Robust plans have been put in place, including contributions from the young people themselves. Risks, including emerging risks, are known, managed and reduced.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All young people have keyworkers who undertake direct work with them, formally and informally, to enhance their awareness of the consequences of risk taking behaviours. Keyworkers are also good at teaching independence skills. Young people are proactively encouraged to have a healthy diet and engage with a range of preventative health appointments.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff build trusting, nurturing relationships with young people to influence their choices and behaviours. There are low numbers of physical interventions and there have been no complaints by young people since the last inspection. Young people’s views are valued and their rights are promoted. There are regular young people’s meetings and they are encouraged to contribute to discussions and decisions about the home and their care plans. They have taken part in the recruitment of new staff, contributed to the young people’s guide, and helped to draft a privacy statement for young people living in the home. One young person said: ‘This is my home, I like living here and it is important to me that we all look after it.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Some young people have struggled to sustain engagement with education and training. Staff would benefit from targeted training in this area of practice. It is recommended that staff receive training to enhance their skills and knowledge in motivating young people to engage with education and training opportunities. This will also increase staff confidence to challenge services to ensure opportunities are available for young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff and managers work very well with parents, carers and families to promote positive contact for children and young people. They are proactive in liaising with case responsible social workers to develop and support regular, planned contact, particularly where there may have been difficulties in the past.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the home has been well maintained and continues to be a pleasant place to live. There is an additional en-suite bathroom to one of the young people’s rooms. A recommendation made at the last inspection has been actioned: staff and young people have developed a privacy protocol to provide ground rules for the use of shared bathrooms.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have a range of quality assurance mechanisms in place to ensure young people are making progress and that there is continuous improvement of the service. These processes are also subject to review and development with commissioners and colleague providers.

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Information about this children's home

This local authority home provides accommodation for four young people who have a learning disability or emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation:  The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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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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