Children's home run by Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good 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

One child has been discharged from the home since the last inspection. The transition was extremely well planned in collaboration with partner agencies, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings and messages from research. The home supported the child very well through a lengthy transitional period. Sadly, staff did not show good understanding in their responses to the child’s high level of anxieties as the discharge date approached and the final stage of the plan had to be abandoned. Consequently, the discharge date was brought forward at short notice and the placement did not end well for the child.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Plans to discharge another child are well under way. The home has made valuable contributions to planning the transition, working closely with relevant professionals and taking into account the child’s individual needs. The manager said she has learned lessons about the importance of ensuring staff fully understand and follow agreed plans. She acknowledges that careful management and oversight of the plan is vital in ensuring a positive transition to a new placement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager monitors and promotes good quality care and professional practice through leading practice discussions in team meetings and providing regular, one- to-one supervision and support to staff, following incidents. She checks the home’s records each week and uses this information, along with reports by the independent visitor, to promote the smooth operation of the home. Children continue to enjoy nurturing care in in a well-appointed, comfortable and homely environment.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has a good knowledge of children’s individual needs and progress. She is very involved in developing and monitoring their care plans and in working in partnership with other agencies to promote children’s well-being. The manager and senior staff advocate for children to receive therapeutic and other services that meet their needs. For example, the manager challenges local authorities to improve their response to children who go missing by providing independent return interviews within 72 hours of a child’s return. Despite this, some children do not have an independent interview following every incident of being missing, so their safety is not as well promoted as it should be.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have continued to make steady progress since the last inspection. For example, children, who were frequently missing before their admission to the home, rarely go missing. When they are absent without permission or missing, the home takes swift and pro-active action which helps to secure their safe return. However, the lack of prompt return home interviews remains an issue.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children continue to enjoy the many opportunities to engage in a wide variety of activities and outings. Children have good attendance at school and make overall steady progress in their learning. The home encourages children to engage with their education and supports them to complete homework and revision. It liaises effectively with schools to help children improve their educational outcomes.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has successfully advocated for a medication review for one child and early signs are that this has been effective in managing a long term health condition more effectively. The child’s level of aggressive outbursts and assaults on staff has reduced since the change in medication, and he is benefitting from improved emotional stability.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Following the last inspection, the home sought training for staff to help them develop their parenting skills with a view to improving their understanding and management of a child’s behaviour, but this did not take place when the placing authority made a decision to move the child. To help staff improve their parenting skills, the home has set up some training in caring for children with attachment difficulties. This is due to be delivered in the near future. The home has made some limited progress in meeting a requirement made at the last inspection about the use of restraint. It has significantly reduced the frequency of restraint for one child who is now restrained on average, seven times a month. This remains too high and there is no clear, restrictive intervention reduction programme for this child. Restraint records have improved and are now more detailed. They show that restraint is used to prevent serious harm or serious damage. The manager

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

monitors restraints and comments on their suitability. However, it is not always evident that the manager has carefully considered whether alternative, earlier interventions could have prevented the need for restraint. The home continues to use prone restraints with children who struggle when held in a standing or seated hold and are considered likely to injure staff or themselves. This is an extremely distressing and traumatic experience for children, and at least one has reported they are sometimes hurt during restraint. The home is still not doing enough to reduce the reliance on restraint and improve staff behaviour management and parenting skills. Behaviour management plans are variable in quality. They do not always provide clear and detailed guidance for staff in how to manage some aspects of children’s challenging behaviour. This does not promote strong, consistent responses aimed at recognising children’s trigger points and successfully avoiding the need for

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

restraint. The use of sanctions has reduced. Instead, the home has introduced a greater focus on positive behaviour strategies and children have the opportunity to earn rewards. These are not detailed in a log of measures of control so it has not been possible to assess the impact of this change. Children continue to make financial reparation for damage to property. The amounts they pay back are excessive and insufficient account is taken of the impact of a child’s emotional needs on their behaviour. Not all staff are fully aware of the sanctions policy, which has led to one instance of an inappropriate sanction. The manager recognised this immediately and took action to remedy it.

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Information about this children's home

 The home is privately run and is registered for four children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

02/07/2014 CH - 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(s):  Review the effectiveness of restraint practice, taking into account The Challenging Behaviour Foundation's report (January 2016): Statement on restrictive physical interventions with children. In particular, any restraint should not involve holding children face down on the floor; and restrictive interventions, used as part of a reactive strategy should be accompanied by a restrictive intervention reduction programme, as part of the long-term behaviour support plan, to reduce the use of and need for restrictive interventions. ( The Guide, page 49, para 9.58)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that individual behaviour management plans form the basis of children's care. In particular, ensure plans provide clear guidance for staff in how to manage children's challenging behaviour using positive strategies that promote the development of social skills and reduction of aggressive and challenging behaviour. (The Guide, page 56, para 11.1)

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Recommendations

 Support staff to understand factors that affect children's motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Enable staff to develop the skills to respond to each child's individual behaviour. In particular, staff should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogue and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (The Guide, page 39, para 8.13, 8.14)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature. Where it is important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, ensure that staff are skilled to support children to understand this and carry it out. In particular, ensure that all staff know and understand the home's policy on the use of reparation and that financial reparation takes into account the impact of children's emotional needs on their behaviour. (The Guide, page 46, para 9.38)

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Recommendations

 Ensure, through working with partner agencies, that missing children have an independent return interview within 72 hours of their return, in accordance with paragraphs 31-39, Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care. (The Guide, page 45, para 9.25, 9.30).

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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

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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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