Children's home in Basingstoke and Deane

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The young people make exceptional progress in key areas of their lives.  Young people feel safe and have trusting relationships with the staff.  Care plans are individualised, reflecting the views of the young people and their goals.  Some young people make great strides in their educational attainment.  There is an excellent response to young people who experience problems with their emotional well-being.  Young people learn the necessary skills that will help them to become independent in the future.  Young people improve their relationships with significant others and maintain their identity through safe contact arrangements.  Group and individual activities undertaken by the young people are extremely popular, promoting their self-confidence and peer interaction.  The young people feel safe and substantial efforts are undertaken by the staff to keep the young people protected. A robust response was

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

undertaken by the staff to the one incident of a young person missing from care.  Trusting relationships that staff have with young people has led to effective behaviour management with no reported physical interventions.  A consistent, stable registered manager has exceptional insight into the young people and is well liked by all.  Excellent links have been established with all professionals. They speak very highly of the staff and their impact on young people.  The staff are experienced, dedicated and well trained. They believe that they are supported in their duties of caring for the young people.  The statement of purpose has been updated, fulfilling the requirement from the previous inspection.  Improving written records for young people to evidence the work that staff undertake with them would benefit the service, along with monthly reports by the independent visitor being more evaluative.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  All children’s case records must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, April 2015, page 62, paragraph 14.3).  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of the information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, April 2015, page 55, paragraph 10.2).

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

14 August 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

14 October 2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Outstanding

The young people residing in the home are making exceptional progress in key areas of their lives, with support and guidance from the staff. The young people feel extremely safe and value the trusting relationships that they have established with the staff. The care plans are individualised and reviewed regularly, reflecting achievable goals that are being reached. The young people contribute to, and understand, their plans, and they know what is expected of them to reach each task. Detailed records reflect their progress, highlighting their accomplishments and areas that need to improve. The staff and young people have established relationships complete with nurturing, trust, guidance and boundaries. A parent of a young person spoke highly of the connection her son has with the staff and of the staff’s ability to provide clear boundaries, saying ‘I am very happy [with] how the staff apply consequences and

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Outstanding

reward my son fairly.’ There were many positive interactions observed between all of the staff and the young people during the inspection. Staff undertook a successful intervention with a young person, helping him to understand and reflect on his recent negative behaviours which had led to him being suspended from the school. He calmly put his point of view across in a meeting while showing remorse for his action, impressing the headteacher. This resulted in a positive outcome, with the young person being reinstated. Young people make great strides in their educational achievements. Some have missed a considerable amount of education, but through hard work they catch up and achieve test scores needed to attend the college of their choice. A young person had his academic achievements celebrated by his teachers when he successfully passed his GCSEs. The young people that attend specialised schools for behaviour management

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Outstanding

benefit from the daily communication between the staff and home. A headteacher said that ‘the staff work closely with the school, causing positive outcomes’. The response to young people who experience new mental health issues has been outstanding. The staff provide consistent support, research information and assist the young people to understand their condition. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘The young person has not experienced any reoccurrence of major mental health related issues. His mood and emotional health has improved because of the intense support he receives from the staff.’ The young people have consistently obtained the necessary skills associated with living independently. They are able to complete their daily routine with limited assistance from the staff. They feel confident in undertaking tasks such as travelling on public transport, cooking, arranging medical appointments and

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Outstanding

focusing on their future aspirations. Young people flourish through the support given to develop social skills. They develop positive friendships by engaging in activities such as football, cadets and dancing clubs. These community-based activities teach the young people how to engage with others in an age-appropriate and positive manner. Relationships with their families have improved for the young people. The staff at the home not only support safe contact arrangements, they engage with the families of the young people. They assist the young people in resolving any potential conflict. A young person said, ‘Staff offered me strategies that helped me improve the time I spend with my mother.’ The young person provided specific examples, and believes that the staff have helped considerably. Another young person was really pleased about his numerous family members that attended the home during the Christmas holiday.

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Outstanding

The staff need to improve in their ability to document their impact on young people which the extensive support that they provide achieves.

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Outstanding

Significant incidents of safeguarding involving young people rarely occur within the home. The staff ensure that young people remain safe through thoughtful daily support. The staff teach and enable the young people to keep safe in all situations. The young people feel safe. A young person said, ‘Since I have been in care, I have never felt as safe [and] with less worries as I do in this home.’ Potential safeguarding risks are identified by thorough risk assessments that describe actions for the staff to follow should any incidents occur. Policies in child sexual exploitation, missing from care and radicalisation are detailed in the overall safeguarding policy. Missing from care is not a recurrent problem for the young people in the home. There was a robust response when a young person went missing from the home. This was the only incident of missing from care at the home for a considerable amount of time. The placing social worker for the young person was present and

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Outstanding

worked collectively with the staff to ensure that the young person returned safely. Young people continue to be protected by an extensive procedure for the recruitment and selection of new staff. The safe recruitment practice consists of a clear Disclosure and Barring Service check, employment history verification and all references are confirmed written and verbally. Young people benefit from this process and its contribution to a safe environment. The atmosphere of the home adds to the safety of the young people. The home is maintained to a very high standard. The young people’s rooms provide a private sanctuary in which they can be alone when needed. The young people take pride in the home. They work with the staff to keep the environment risk-free. Health and safety checks are completed at suitable intervals. Fire safety and other household checks are conducted at frequent intervals.

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Good

This will be the third year that the registered manager has been in post. He has worked consistently at improving the service for young people, while managing two homes in the organisation. The care of the young people is the main priority of the home. The well-informed manager provides detailed insight into the young people, as he is actively involved in their care. ‘The manager is always busy helping other people, which shows he cares,’ were the words of a young person. The exceptional progress that the young people make in their lives is down to the registered manager’s forward thinking in relation to the care. He assures that the staff are transparent and consistent in their practice, allowing young people to remain extremely focused and engaged. The statement of purpose has been updated and submitted to Ofsted. The ethos of the home is clearly outlined and available for all that enquire into the service. The

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Good

previous requirement made at the interim inspection has been complied with based upon this action. There have been several changes implemented by the manager that will improve the care that young people receive. The manager has recently introduced child and adolescent needs and strengths assessments (CANS) into the home. The CANS will be completed every six months for each young person, containing psychometric work along with a graph detailing progress. In order to improve consistency in the care of young people, 24-hour management plans have been incorporated in the residential plan, so that anyone that works with the young people can swiftly understand their needs. The independent visitor completes monthly visits gathering the views of the young people, reviewing records and staff practice. The reports could benefit from an improved overall evaluation of the service that could contribute to the already

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Good

effective monitoring in place. A recommendation was made for this action to improve the level of monitoring by the external source. The detailed development plan for the home has two specific goals: one is to develop a new format for obtaining the young people’s wishes and feelings, and the other is the refurbishment of the upstairs bathroom. The manager would like to improve communication between key workers and placing social workers, along with seeking more feedback from parents and developing cultural awareness in the home. The plan demonstrates that the manager has genuine insight into the areas of the service that need improvement. Staff feel fully supported in their duties, citing attendance at team meetings and robust supervision as key elements of their practice. All have personal development plans in place that are reviewed annually. A senior member of staff is on target to complete their level 5 qualification this year.

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Good

Training records reflect that the staff continue to undertake quality training to develop their practice of working with young people. Safeguarding, medication, health and safety, and behaviour management training for the staff are all up to date. In addition, non-mandatory training courses on diversity, supervision, autism, internet safety radicalisation and child sexual exploitation have been undertaken. The engagement and quality of relationships between professionals and family members of the young people are exceptional. This was evidenced during the inspection when numerous professionals visited the home. Their views were essential to the process and confirmed the outstanding judgement given to the home. The mother of a young person said, ‘I feel fully involved in the care of my son, the staff have great communication and keep me informed of the good and bad.’ The management has a high level of professionalism. The members of the

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Good

management team persistently challenge external professionals if they consider their decisions may be detrimental to a young person. For example, challenging headteachers when young people are inappropriately suspended from school, challenging the local authority when numerous changes in social worker personnel have occurred and when improper potential placements are suggested.

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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’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or that 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, 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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