Children's Home run by Future In Mind Limited in Staffordshire

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:

 The manager and staff communicate excellently among themselves and with external professionals.  Staff are committed and passionate. Their approach builds the trust and respect of young people who have experienced trauma.  Young people maintain stable and settled placements that enable them to progress.  Young people feel safe and protected in a home that provides good care and nurture.  The future of the home is built on good forward planning where young people are central to the plan.  Staff are skilled and knowledgeable in providing therapeutic care.  There are a few areas of practice that require improvement. These include record keeping, supervision, training, rosters, medication, health and safety, and furnishings.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered manager must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b) (vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities that they need in order to live there comfortably. 11/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered manager must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 11/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-based supervision by a person with appropriate experience (Regulation 33(4)(b)). 11/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the records in Schedule 4 are kept up to date and hold a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of actual rosters worked (Regulation 37(2)a)(b)) Schedule 4(3)). 11/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child (Regulation 23(2)(b)). 11/04/2016

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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. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child (‘Guide to the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).  Ensure that all staff have been adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children who the home is set up to care for as defined in the home’s statement of purpose in relation to bank staff (‘Guide to the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57).

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and the organisation operates other children’s homes in the area.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

13/03/2015 CH – Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Staff provide good quality care that is totally child-centred and specific to the needs of each young person. They are caring, skilled and knowledgeable. They work in partnership to assist and support their daily needs. A staff member gave an example of how relationships are more trusting and said: ‘We try and gain a rapport and find common ground by interacting with activities; she asked me to do her hair today, this is unusual but it helps to build our relationship and trust, because she is more relaxed and will talk more’.

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Good

Relationships have built up over time. They are honest and respectful. Where young people struggle to form bonds, staff work effectively together to improve relationships. For example, a young person who did not have any respect for women was assigned female staff to work with him. This enabled him to gain respect and form better relationships. A staff member said, ‘Relationships with staff, especially women, have improved’. Feedback from social workers in a survey confirms that relationships are strong. It reads, ‘In my opinion the relationships staff have with young people is a particular strength’.

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Good

Progress is apparent for young people, but in different areas. For example, education attendance for some is excellent, but for others a struggle. A school staff member said, ‘Incredible improvement, staff provide fantastic support to him, he is working on how to tell the time and making consistent progress’. Staff ‘go the extra mile’ to promote learning. They work in partnership with education staff to provide options for home learning. A social worker said, ‘The manager has worked tirelessly to try and get education in place, [and] when all else has failed, staff have tried to indirectly introduce educational elements into everyday life’. However, despite the hard efforts of staff, there are often long periods when young people refuse to engage. An independent reviewing officer said ‘Staff have tried numerous ways to engage, they try education in the home and offer alternatives’.

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Good

Young people are generally in good health. Staff work in close partnership with other health professionals to assist and support young people’s physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Physical exercise is promoted by access to trampolining, dodgeball, football and dance. Healthy living continues because staff provide a balanced and nutritious diet that reflects the healthy choices of young people. A staff member said, ‘We offer good support for sexual health and puberty. We are sensitive to their personal needs. All routine appointments are attended. They are healthy’. A young person provided their view through a questionnaire and said, ‘I feel looked after and fed well. The doctor sees me to check I am healthy. I get to do hobbies and go on holiday’. Staff work closely with the director of therapy to deliver the model of therapeutic care that the home provides. A social worker said, ‘All staff work in a therapeutic manner that is led by the manager and

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Good

therapist. Staff appear to be clear as to why they are adopting a particular approach’. This confirms that practice is woven into the placement.

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Good

Young people are fully involved and central to the care they receive. Their view and opinions are carried through into daily life. They understand the need to give their view and do so actively. Staff encourage young people to share this in house meetings, key working sessions and complaints forms. They attend their reviews and provide a view that contributes to their care. Young people know how to complain and have access to advocates, should they need them.

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Good

Staff provide a wide range of activities that take into account the individual age, ability and preference of young people. This enables them to experience activities where they can manage risk safely without compromising their enjoyment. A young person made a written request to the manager, asking if he could go to the park on his own. This shows the improvement young people make in taking responsibility, making choices and communicating confidently. This helps them to develop social skills and improves self-esteem. In a letter to the manager, one young person wrote, ‘I am so excited to go on holiday to Blackpool, staff plays football with me; I’m going to dodge ball’.

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Good

Young people benefit from having contact with friends and family who are important to them. This improves relationships and helps to strengthen bonds. A staff member said, ‘They have friends over to visit and have contact with their friends and family’.

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Good

Staff continually strive to help young people develop skills for independence. For example, cooking, shopping, and managing money are included in daily life. During the inspection, a young person received some money as a gift. He put it in a money box and said it was for his holiday to Spain. Staff promote young people’s individual personalities and encourage them to fulfil any religious beliefs. Young people are respectful to each other’s diverse views and beliefs, because staff promote and explore diversity.

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Good

The home provides a warm and welcoming environment that is beautifully decorated and furnished. Young people use the attic and often spend time in it with friends, but it lacks suitable furniture and soft furnishings. It does not offer a welcoming feel that reflects the rest of the home. Judgement grade

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Good

Young people feel safe in the home. Staff actively support and promote their safety. This helps to reduce the need to use physical intervention. Staff have robust systems in place that manage behaviour well. Young people learn coping strategies during therapy that enable them to take control and responsibility for their behaviour. Rewards and incentives help to encourage positive behaviour. The use of charts to track the goals achieved demonstrates the progress young people make. This means that outbursts are better controlled and diffused.

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Good

Staff know and understand each young person’s individual risks. They are skilled and knowledgeable in safeguarding and behaviour management. However, not all casual staff receive training in physical intervention. Although its use is minimal, this does not guarantee that they would be effective in providing intervention if it were necessary.

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Good

Some young people require prescription medication, but not all the medication is clearly labelled. This does not guarantee that the medication will be provided to the individual to whom it is prescribed.

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Good

Staff maintain the home well. They undertake regular health and safety monitoring to ensure that risk is minimised. Where accidents occur, the manager takes prompt action to reconsider the risk. For example, a cooker was replaced and its risk re- assessed, following an injury. However, the attic Velux window does not have a restrictor to protect against the potential risk of falls or exit from it. This does not guarantee that the attic is safe for young people to use unsupervised.

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Good

Staff manage well episodes of young people going missing from care. There are clear protocols in place that guide staff in the event of missing from home. Staff work in close partnership with the police to ensure a safe return. A return interview by an independent person provides young people with an opportunity to discuss the episode. This captures any learning that may protect them from going missing in future.

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Good

Young people know how to complain. No complaints have been made since the last inspection. Young people talk daily to staff and are comfortable in raising any issues or niggles. This addresses grumbles quickly and efficiently.

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Good

Young people are protected when using the internet, as parental controls are in place to block unauthorised access to certain sites. This keeps young people safe and free from the risk of exploitation. Young people do not consider bullying to be an issue in the home. One young person commented about a peer he lives with and said, ‘I like her she is really nice’.

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Good

The manager recruits staff safely. Staff undergo robust vetting procedures before they are employed. This protects young people against unsuitable candidates being granted access to them.

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Good

The home is led by an experienced and dedicated registered manager who has been in position for a number of years. She is undertaking her level 5 diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare. A dedicated staff team further complements the delivery of care because its members are proud and passionate about their role. Staff speak highly of the support the company and the manager provide. A staff member said, ‘The manager and the company support me well’.

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Good

The manager is registered for a second home within close proximity. The staff rota does not provide a factual representation of when she is available in the home. This makes it difficult to identify which home she is managing each week. For example, the roster says Monday to Friday 9am–5pm, although she is not always present due to her additional responsibilities.

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Good

Leaders, managers and staff work exceptionally well in partnership with each other. They all know and understand the aims and objectives of the statement of purpose. Together they provide a dedicated and committed approach because they understand what the home aims to achieve. As a result, young people receive effective quality care. The young people’s register does not hold all the required information. For example, the address prior to coming to the home is missing for some young people. Other records do not cross-reference easily. For example, a record of monthly education progress states that a young person made a quiche and cooked on the barbeque for ‘Australian night’. However, the detailed account does not cross-reference this event. This makes it difficult to establish the actual events. The skills and knowledge of the staff are underpinned by good-quality training and supervision, but not all agency staff are supervised. The manager is in the process

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Good

of addressing this matter. Relationships with the manager and staff are open and honest. This is conducive to a happy, healthy working environment that staff want to be a part of. The home development plan is developed with the input of young people. It reflects the improvements that the home is aiming to achieve. The monitoring of the home by the manager and the independent person provide a view of the progress being made. Further feedback about the quality of the service is gained from external partners in questionnaires and surveys. This also helps to shape the development of the home.

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Good

The manager has taken action to address the requirement made at the last inspection. The local area risk assessment has been updated and presents areas of risk in the community, for example child sexual exploitation and drug risk. This is a result of the effective joint working with the police and the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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, work- based 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

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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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