Children's Home, Residential special school run by Rowden House School Limited in Herefordshire

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:

 Young people make good progress in their development including education, behaviour and emotional well-being. The dedication and warmth of the staff support them to achieve this.  Staff demonstrate excellent knowledge and understanding of the individual and complex physical, psychological and emotional needs of each young person and use this knowledge to protect them and keep them safe.  Staff are trained to a high standard in the range of communication tools required to work positively with young people. Young people are, therefore, enabled to express their wishes and feelings that staff consider and respond to appropriately.  Staff provide young people with a comfortable, stimulating and welcoming environment where they feel settled and relaxed. This enables them to benefit from the educational and leisure activities provided and to feel a sense of achievement.  The Registered Manager has in-depth knowledge of the young people and

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The children's home provision is good because:

staff. She is highly committed to ensuring that young people’s needs are accurately identified and met. She challenges other professionals when their decision-making is not child focused. Her enthusiasm and dedication provides a positive role model and strong leadership for staff. The Registered Manager ensures that she and the staff work to drive up standards of service to young people and their families.  Whilst the Registered Manager is in regular dialogue with young people, parents, staff and other professionals, she does not fully evidence the feedback she receives in her regulation 45 reports.

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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 ensure that the system for reviewing of quality of care undertaken by the registered provider provides for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff (Regulation 45)(5)) 31/07/2015

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately-owned residential special school, which is registered to provide care for up to 30 children with special educational needs. The home provides care for young people who either attend the school or come for short breaks. There are 6 individual children’s houses at the school. The home provides on-site support services, including consultant occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and an educational Psychologist.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11/03/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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good

Staff provide sensitive and professional care, which is tailored to the specific and very complex individual needs of young people. As a result, most young people flourish and make excellent progress in many areas of their lives. Young people’s lives are enhanced by living in the well-presented homes, which are clean and tidy. There are lots of photographs and pictures on the walls relating to their aims, objectives and achievements. Houses are inviting and designed to meet young people’s physical and emotional needs. The grounds are spacious and very well maintained. Many of the young people particularly enjoy being outside in the woods and gardens where they are kept safe by staff supervision.

p.5

good

Staff have expert insight and understanding of the emotional needs of young people. They develop positive relationships and create safe stable environments that help young people cope with their anxieties and begin to develop emotional resilience.

p.5

good

Moving from one environment to another is a significant problem for many young people. Care and school staff work closely together to help this transition. For example, enabling young people to take their breakfast into school to blur the boundaries between home and school. This skilled approach has led to a significant increase in school attendance.

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good

Projects such as designing and making your own gardens help to increase young people’s confidence and independence. They get involved in shopping for plants and planting them. Their engage in a competition for the best garden, which is a social highlight of the summer, alongside fund raising and summer parties.

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good

Staff successfully support young people to work towards personal aims and objectives and to achieve tasks that meet their personal needs. One young person has learnt to take his clothes to the laundry basket and make his breakfast.

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good

Staff proactively use a range of communication aids; each specific to a young person’s assessed needs. This ensures young people have an active voice and have a say in every aspect of their day-to-day life. One young person uses a consultation book to choose activities and is able to access the local community and go swimming once a week.

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good

Staff support young people to maintain contact with family members using letter writing tools such computerised symbols, photographs and electronic voice and video communication. Specialised computer programmes enable young people to express their wishes and feelings confidently at house meetings. Young people say that they are happy. One parent comments, ‘progress is amazing.’ Other parents said, ‘staff are lovely’ and add, ‘ since they have been living here they have got better and better’. A professional also remarks that, ‘they work hard to treat everybody as an individual. Staff have good and accurate knowledge of young people.’

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good

Management of risk is good and reflects the needs of the young people. For example, the use of electronic monitoring devices assists staff to listen to young people who are at risk of seizure activity during the night. Risk assessments effectively highlight the action and reason for intervention. As a result, young people are safe and protected. When using the internet young people are protected by staff who have training in E-Safety. Key working sessions also help young people to understand the risks further.

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good

A consistent approach by staff provides young people with a sense of safety. For example, staff know to give one young people the same answer and script when he repeatedly asks different staff the same answer. He feels safe when the response is the same. This helps him to remain calm and reduces anxiety. This reduces incidents of challenging behaviour because he is now more able to manage self-control.

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good

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities that young people present. They work well in teams to share information and to ensure the promotion of safety for young people. For example, staff worked in partnership with the health promotions manager to review epilepsy medication for a young person following concerns about the dosage. This meant the protocol for using recovery medication in the event of a seizure was revisited and updated to reflect the young person’s age and weight.

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good

One parent said, ‘I leave here and feel content, the staff genuinely care, I feel they are safe’. Young people also say that they feel safe.

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good

The Registered Manager has been in post since October 2010 and holds a level 5 Registered Managers Award. She is passionate about providing good care to young people. She knows them and their needs in detail and works with staff, other professionals and parents to ensure their needs continue to be met.

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good

Staff speak highly of the Registered Manager and feel she effectively supports them via regular supervision and training. A new staff member said, ‘The manager is perfect, absolutely great. She is really good and a strong leader who keeps an eye on everything. She listens to us and makes sure we are safe’.

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good

Training is comprehensive and prepares staff to understand and meet the changing needs of young people. The Registered Manager continues to enhance the training opportunities for staff. She has designed a new integrated team training programme, in partnership with the speech and language and occupational therapists and the educational psychologist which will further support staff learning. A staff member commented of the training: ‘The induction and training is brilliant. You can’t fault them for the service. For example, restraint training is very detailed. You are taught the psychology of everything. You are taught about your body language’.

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good

The Registered Manager confidently deals with a range of staff issues and is aware of how the culture in the service affects young people. She has successfully integrated a number of new staff from another home into the teams at Rowden, always prioritising the young people’s needs when deciding where to employ her staff.

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good

The Statement of Purpose sets out the aim to support and enable young people to achieve their potential regardless of the barriers in their way. The Registered Manager achieves this by regularly reviewing the quality of care. She always responds to feedback from young people, parents, staff and other professionals in order to find ways to drive up standards.

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good

Recent feedback from young people, parents, staff and other professionals has resulted in improves. This includes menus, increased days out for young people, and better links with the local police to lastly the reviews of the administration of medication to ensure safe practice is sustained.

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good

Communication between the Registered Manager and young people, parents and professionals is open and regular and enables professionals and families to be able to plan for young people. Close liaison with school and medical staff ensures that services are co-ordinated in order to meet young people’s needs. The Registered Manager has also used the results of a questionnaire to inform her planning and development. However, she does not fully evidence this in her Regulation 45 quality review report.

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good

The Registered Manager challenges health, local authorities and education professionals and supports families to do the same when she sees decisions being made which are not sufficiently child focused.

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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 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

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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