Children's Home run by Consensus Support Services Limited in Suffolk

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has Sustained effectiveness . The full inspection in August 2015 resulted in three requirements and two recommendations. The requirements have been met in full and one recommendation has been met.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager logs complaints and her responses to these. While there have been no new complaints the record demonstrates that’s complainants are acknowledged by letter and this is followed up by an outcome letter. This ensures an investigation is carried out and the conclusion is shared.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The team leaders provide supervision of the care staff. This is timetabled and dated giving the manager a running overview of who is up-to-date with supervision. Records demonstrate that supervisions are practice based and cover individual young people and their progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has worked tirelessly to improve the environment and provide a homely and welcome atmosphere. This has been successful. The purchase of curtains, bubble lamps and new furniture has significantly improved communal areas. New sensory equipment has added to the sensory room. Hallways are depicted with photographs of outings and recent experiences. This encourages young people to recall events and gives them a sense of belonging in the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The garden has improved with new a new all-weather surface that has replaced the decking. This encourages outdoor physical play supporting young people to be active and healthy. The garden is well tended and resources are bright and colourful. Despite this there is a lack of large scale outdoor play equipment.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are purposefully engaged and benefit from routines that help them develop and progress. These include dancing, swimming, attending leisure clubs and local attractions. Each young person has a weekly activity plan detailing a variety of activities. These are enjoyed by young people and build regular routines that they eagerly anticipate. This has resulted in settled and happy young people who benefit from new experiences and social opportunities since being at the home. The hairdresser visits the home to cut young people’s hair. This is staged to encourage young people to attend his salon with the security of familiarity. This is significant progress for young people who were previously were unable to leave the family home. One young person went to a weekend majorette camp with staff. Parents are exceptionally pleased and say that the variety and planning of activities has developed young people’s range of experiences building their confidence and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Management of this home has greatly improved. The manager has been pivotal in securing a good judgment for this home at the last inspection. She provides good role modelling and consistent support for staff. Staff fully recognise the benefits of this and feel energised and positive. Priority work has greatly improved outcomes for young people. There are a number of areas that require careful monitoring to test out the new systems and ways of working she has introduced. External monitoring is detailed and rigorous. This captures incidents and trends. Managerial monitoring is adequate but lacks robust critique. The manager is aware that records are not all clear and detailed. Some use of language lacks professionalism.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people’s engagement and attendance in school has improved. Three young people have excellent levels of attendance and make good progress. One young person new to the home has been for two taster days. Staff have a rapport with schools and communicate using home-school books. There is a point of key contact with the school to aid continuity of care. Two young people had long periods of no educational provision before coming to the home. This resulted in them being depressed and withdrawn. Attendance in school and a good activity routine has provided a huge benefit to young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are very few physical interventions. High levels of adult supervision mean that young people are not at risk of going missing or being exploited. There are few incidents in the home that jeopardise young people’s safety. There was one incident when a young person was being transported to school when a serious incident occurred. The police were involved and the young person was deemed at risk. While staff responded immediately and worked with the social worker on preventative actions, this was not reported to Ofsted as a significant event and no incident record was made. This does not provide a transparent overview of such events in the home. The social worker for the young person was at the home while this incident occurred and took this forward with school transport.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six young people with emotional, behavioural, learning or physical difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(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):  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62 paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 Undertake scrutiny of the home and make best use of internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 55 paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the design of the home includes necessary adaptation to meet the needs of children with disabilities or specific health needs in particular the provision of large scale outdoor play equipment and resources. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 17 paragraph 3.24)

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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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