Children's home run by South West Childcare Services in Plymouth

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people love living in this home. They feel safe, secure and respected by staff. Young people have positive relationships with the adults who care for them. These relationships are based on honesty and mutual respect.  Leaders and managers have accepted and effectively acted upon significant shortfalls that were identified over the previous two inspections.  Leaders and managers have ensured that all the requirements made at the last inspection have been addressed.  Leaders and managers have invested in an experienced workforce and have provided it with some good quality training that has directly improved practice.  Leaders and managers are child focused. They lead by example and the needs and safety of young people are at the heart of the home.  Leaders and managers have employed specialist professionals to work alongside the staff team on a weekly basis and to provide training. This means that staff have a better understanding of young people’s

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

presentation and risks. This approach to care results in more consistent and evidenced-based practice.

p.3

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered persons meet 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure

p.4

Requirement Due date

(2)(b) that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm, and in particular that the arrangements in respect of children going missing from home and the plan to return them safely must be clear. In addition, all children who have been missing from home should be afforded an interview with an independent person. 1 July 2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

p.4

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must ensure that they

p.4

Requirement Due date

(11)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements to the quality of care provided in the home. 1 July 2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees

p.4

Requirement Due date

(4)(a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development, and in particular that staff receive appropriate safeguarding training to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to carry out their roles. 1 July 2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must 1 July 2016 (37)(a) maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4, and in particular, in respect of staff rosters, a record of the full name of the member of staff on duty and a record of the actual hours worked.

p.4

Information about this children's home

 The home is registered to care for one child or young person.  The home is part of a small group of services in the south west of England.  The home is registered to care for children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural issues.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

Recent inspection history

1 October 2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

p.6

Good

Young people moving to this home have settled quickly and have started to make positive relationships with the staff. Relationships are built upon mutual respect, and young people appreciate this approach to their care. Young people are supported in this home to manage significant and dangerous self-injurious behaviours. The staff know triggers and behaviours so well that they can generally anticipate when incidents are likely to take place. De-escalation strategies are used effectively, reducing levels of distress for young people. Open and honest discussion takes place with young people, in respect of these incidents. Young people feel that these discussions strengthen relationships and build the trusting relationships further. When asked about their home, one young person stated to the inspector, ‘I love living here.’ They also reported feeling very well looked after, understood and ‘really cared for’. Positive relationships between adults and young people are

p.7

Good

clearly evident. The home is clean, tidy and welcoming. A board game, which had been left from the previous evening, was on the dining-room table. One young person was looking forward to finishing the game and was sure that they were going to win. There is a sense of calm and fun in the home. Plans are in place to ensure that one young person is provided with a bespoke educational package in line with their complex needs. The young person is very excited about this prospect, having been supported to visit the provision recently. Young people are motivated to learn and hold clear aspirations about their future. Young people are supported to have positive and safe contact with families and friends. When contact has been difficult or problematic, changes have been made in consultation with young people, to alleviate some of the issues. Young people welcome this approach and feel listened to and supported.

p.7

Good

Young people are supported and encouraged to access a range of recreational activities. Young people are involved in making choices based on their likes and dislikes, such as football and tennis. They really welcome this approach. Judgement grade

p.7

Requires improvement

The arrangements in place in respect of young people who go missing from home are not robust. Care documentation does not provide staff with clear direction in respect of expectations or actions required of them when young people go missing. This has resulted, at times, in a lack of consistency in practice. Young people are not afforded time with an external professional when they return home from being missing. This fails to provide young people with an adult to talk to outside of the home, should they have any concerns about their home or the care provided. There has been a failure to challenge local authorities in respect of this poor practice. Not all staff have been provided with the level of safeguarding training that they require. Basic safeguarding training has been provided to staff. This does not prepare them to understand fully the expectations of them and what action they need to take if they have any worries or concerns.

p.8

Requires improvement

Young people report feeling safe living at this home. They feel secure living here because they believe that the staff know them very well. Young people are able to identify adults that they can talk to if they are worried or have any concerns. They really appreciate the relationships that they have built with staff. Effective systems are in place to ensure that recruitment of staff is robust. A meticulous approach to the recruitment processes is used. This has provided managers with additional information allowing them to make more informed decisions about staff working at this home. This supports the prevention of unsuitable people being recruited. Leaders and managers have ensured that relevant authorities are informed about any concerns about inappropriate adults. One recent concern was passed to the local authority designated officer appropriately, despite advice from another professional that this action was not required. Keeping young people safe is a

p.8

Requires improvement

Leaders and managers have worked hard to ensure that the requirements made at the last inspection have been met. Changes in personnel have supported the team to develop their skills. New staff members have been recruited who have skills and experience previously lacking in the staff group. This means that the team is more confident. It places the young people at the heart of its practice. Leaders and managers are confident that they can support the staff team further and embed recent and planned learning into practice.

p.8

Requires improvement

The manager made a decision to withdraw some household items as a response to risk management. These arrangements have not been reviewed in a timely way. This means that the young people’s environment is not as homely as it could be. Young people have reported feeling a sense of embarrassment and humiliation following this decision.

p.9

Requires improvement

The manager does not have effective monitoring systems in place. For example, the recording of staff training is not up to date. This prevents the manager from ensuring that training is up to date or from tracking emerging training needs.

p.9

Requires improvement

Leaders and managers are accessing specialist support to assist staff in understanding and managing complex and dangerous self-injurious behaviours consistently. As a result, reactive strategies being used by staff in crisis situations have resulted in some effective interventions.

p.9

Requires improvement

Leaders and managers have provided staff with external, expert training that has supported their development and understanding of some key issues. This training has been linked to the needs of young people in the home. This has resulted in the staff improving their skills and knowledge. They report feeling more confident in their approach to care. However, the safeguarding training that has been provided for some staff falls short of what is required.

p.9

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’.

p.10

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 children looked after 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

p.10

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm, or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.10

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 that 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 whom 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

p.11

Information about this inspection

omes (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 .

p.11

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,

p.12

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.12

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.12

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

p.12