Birch Cottage

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 are settled in the home and are making good progress.  Young people are highly engaged in their placements and participate in education and activities in line with expectation. They choose to spend time with each other and with staff, which evidences the positive relationships within the home.  The relationships between young people and staff are a strength of the home and are key to ensuring that the young people feel safe and have trust in those caring for them.  Education provision is individualised to each young person’s strengths and needs. The young people are all making good educational progress.  Staff morale is high, and the home provides a supportive working environment where staff feel that they are encouraged to develop their working practice and knowledge.  Missing from home incidents significantly reduce for young people from the point of placement. One incident has arisen when a missing from home

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The children's home provision is good because:

episode was not reported in a timely manner to the police, and this has resulted in a requirement.  The risk of child sexual exploitation is well understood, and young people’s risks reduce due to the care, education and support that they receive.  The home promotes and facilitates contact with young people’s friends and families and progresses this in line with young people’s growing independence.  There is strong leadership in the home with a clear sense of direction, high aspiration for young people and a desire to improve continuously.  Key-worker sessions can be highly relevant, meaningful pieces of work with the young people, helping them to explore their emotions, offering them support and finding solutions to difficulties that they may be experiencing.

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure: that staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. Specifically, if a young person goes missing from home, the police should always be informed immediately the young person goes missing (12(2)(a)(vi)). 10/06/2016

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Information about this children's home

This home is one of two, owned by a private company. It is registered to accommodate four young people up to the age of 17 years, with emotional and behavioural problems. It offers emergency, medium- and long-term placements for young people.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

09/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

02/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.5

good

This home provides the young people in placement with care tailored to their individual needs. The managers and staff have a high level of understanding of those needs and deliver care that enables young people to settle, feel secure and make progress. The young people report positive experiences of the placement, and their settled behaviour and continuous development evidence this.

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good

Key-worker relationships are highly developed, and the standard of some key-work sessions is extremely high, showing that young people are encouraged to speak about relevant issues and that they are listened to and understood. Additionally, the young people elect to engage with the company’s counsellor and are provided with further support through this channel. Meaningful and in-depth work is undertaken both in counselling sessions and in key-worker sessions, which has a positive impact on the young people’s emotional well-being and their decision- making processes.

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good

Young people are generally healthy. They are encouraged to access health services as required and are supported with appointments. Both young people smoke cigarettes and are educated about the dangers of this and encouraged to consider cessation. Young people are supported to make healthy choices in their meals and are encouraged to cook for the house on occasions. One young person had recently successfully made her first meal for the staff and other residents, and was rightly proud of this achievement.

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good

The young people are educated on site, and both are showing very good progress in their attendance and attainment. A key strength of this home is the clear understanding of the young people’s barriers to learning, and it is developing alternative ways to engage and educate them. One young person is on course to take several GCSE exams in the coming months, which is a huge success. Another young person has made great leaps in her development of speaking, reading, writing and understanding English, which is not her first language. A focus on functional skills ensures that the young people learn things that they can put into practice in everyday life.

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good

Young people freely express their views to staff and managers due to the strong and trusting relationships that they have. There are more formal ways of gathering their views, such as meetings, feedback forms and key-worker sessions. Young people report feeling listened to and that their views are taken into account. They also report that they are familiar with the complaints procedure and would have no hesitation in making a complaint should they wish to do so.

p.6

good

On a day-to-day basis, the young people are experiencing positive placements. Other young people placed since the last full inspection have experienced placement breakdown, and this has been due to a variety of factors including the home not having full and accurate information at the time of placement. Managers are clear that any new admission to the home would need extremely careful matching in order to ensure that the currently placed young people are not disrupted.

p.7

good

The young people placed are gradually acquiring independence skills in line with their ages and abilities. They enjoy more independent contact arrangements including, for some, travelling independently and planned amounts of free time. There is a focus on supporting them to develop skills that they will need as adults. Both young people access work experience placements, for which they receive a small payment, helping them to prepare for adult working life. There are also plans to integrate them into local colleges from the beginning of the next academic year.

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good

The home works closely with the young people’s families and offers support during contact visits to ensure that the young person remains supported while outside of the home’s immediate care. Contact for young people has progressed since the last full inspection, and they have both enjoyed extended family contact in their home areas.

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good

Young people report feeling safe in the home and with the staff caring for them. They have developed trusting relationships in which they can express their anxieties and from which they can confidently expect support. They live in a physically safe environment and, perhaps more importantly, benefit from the emotional safety, due to the high levels of support that they receive to keep themselves safe. Staff have a thorough understanding of the young people’s risks and balance these carefully with a need to prepare them to live more independently. The young people are encouraged and educated to take more responsibility for their safety, for example, by having contacts in their home areas.

p.7

good

Child sexual exploitation is identified as a high risk for some young people in placement. Young people become safer through being educated, advised and nurtured. Their developing understanding of their past helps them to make more positive choices in the present. Risks of child sexual exploitation have significantly reduced for the young people. When child sexual exploitation has potentially occurred, young people are supported to make a complaint to the police and are given understanding and emotional support to deal with the allegation. The police report positively about the home’s working partnership with them, regarding incidents of this nature.

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good

Missing from home incidents have dramatically reduced for the young people currently in placement since the last full inspection. There has been one incident of missing from home, since the interim inspection, and there was a delay in staff reporting this to the police. This was identified and has been addressed in order to prevent recurrence, although this was a requirement at the last interim inspection and is repeated at this inspection. When young people do go missing, they have the opportunity of an independent return home interview.

p.8

good

There are clear and consistent boundaries in the home and staff have a good understanding of how to use targets, goals and rewards to encourage young people to adhere to boundaries. The young people report that they do not feel that there are an excessive number of rules in place and that those that are in place are fair. Rewards and sanctions are used effectively, and young people often reflect on their actions following an incident and realise that their behaviour was not consistent with expectations. Since the last full inspection, some young people had their placements terminated due to their displaying behaviours that were not reported in their referral paperwork and that were outside of the home’s capabilities.

p.8

good

Issues of radicalisation and extremism are addressed by the home through training, team meetings and discussion, which enable staff to be aware of any emerging issues and to be vigilant towards any signs of extremism. Any incidents when inappropriate views are expressed are taken seriously.

p.8

good

There are robust procedures in place to ensure that recruited staff are carefully selected and vetted so that young people are not exposed to unsuitable adults.

p.8

good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager, who puts the needs of the young people foremost, leading the home. The manager has a good understanding of the extent to which the young people are progressing and encourages staff and young people to have high aspirations and to continue to develop and move forward. The home works closely with the placing authorities, to ensure that they are working to an agreed plan, and placing authorities speak highly of the good communication and management of the home.

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good

Staff receive a good level of training and report positively about their induction. Supervision is delivered in both a formal and informal way, and staff report high levels of satisfaction with the support that they receive. Staff are encouraged to develop and are supported to do so. All staff are either qualified to NVQ level 3 (or equivalent) or are working towards the qualification, which ensures that they have the skills and knowledge to meet the young people’s needs.

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good

When weaknesses are identified, the home’s manager takes effective action to address these. For staffing issues, the use of improvement plans helps to ensure that any areas for progression are targeted. The appraisal system has recently been altered, so that staff are encouraged to reflect on their level of performance against a range of criteria, which helps them to understand more clearly their own strengths and weaknesses.

p.9

good

Internal and external monitoring systems, which help to ensure the timely identification of any areas for improvement, are in place, and the manager is proactive in ensuring that improvement work is continuous.

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good

The statement of purpose is kept under regular review, and amendments are sent to the regulator. The statement provides placing authorities, families and other interested parties with clarity about the service and care that the home can offer. The home is achieving its aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose.

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good

The home provides a warm and welcoming environment for the young people placed. It is maintained to a good standard, and the young people are encouraged to respect the property, which they largely do. Young people’s bedrooms are highly personalised and very individual, and they clearly value their personal space.

p.9

good

The home has developed strong and positive relationships with the other agencies involved in the young people’s lives. Placing authorities, in particular, report very good levels of communication and collaborative working. The home challenges other agencies on behalf of the young people, as appropriate, and this ensures that young people receive services that meet all of their needs.

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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, 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

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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 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

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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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