Children's home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Westmorland and Furness

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:

 Children and young people report that they are happy in the home and that they feel safe and protected by the staff.  A particular strength of the home is the stability of the staff team. This encourages children and young people to build and develop positive, nurturing and trusting relationships with staff who they value and respect.  Developed and sustained links with health, social care and education professionals ensure that all children and young people make some good progress with their social, emotional and educational needs.  Children‘s and young people‘s life experiences are enhanced as they are encouraged and supported to engage in a number of meaningful and purposeful social activities in the local community.  A detailed and robust workforce development plan supports the manager in his delivery of training, supervision and support to his competent and motivated staff team.  The internal and external monitoring of the home provides a rigorous and

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The children's home provision is good because:

thorough assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and young people. These processes support the manager in achieving improvements forward within the home.  Five shortfalls have been raised within this inspection. These relate to: ensuring that the statement of purpose includes details of the staff working within the home; including children‘s and young people‘s feedback within any reviews of the children‘s guide; notifying Ofsted of all significant incidents; improving communication between partner agencies; and supporting children and young people to be fully included within all aspects of their care planning.

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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

7. The children‘s views, wishes and feelings standard In order to meet the children‘s views, wishes and feelings standard, the registered person must ensure that they— (2)(c) keep the children‘s guide and the home‘s complaints procedure under review and seek children‘s comments before revising either document. 31 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‘s home a statement (―the statement of purpose‖) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. This is with particular reference to ensuring that the experience and qualifications of all staff, including bank staff, are included within this document (Regulation 16 (1)). 31 May 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The home's records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children, young people and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of the records kept by the home and encouraged and supported to access these. This is in particular reference to ensuring that children and young people are fully included within their own care planning so that they are aware of their achievements that are highlighted within their progression files, and that children and young people are given the opportunity to sign their own individual risk assessment, so that they are aware of how the staff will support them during times of heightened anxiety (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 62, paragraph 14.5).  The registered person must notify Ofsted if one of the situations specified in

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Recommendations

Regulation 40 (4)(a)-(d) occurs (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 63, paragraph 14.10).  The registered person must seek to develop the home's effective working relationships with each child's placing authority and with other relevant persons, such as social workers, schools and youth offending teams to ensure that all children's needs are met. With particular reference to ensuring that all significant information is shared with all the agencies which are working with and supporting a young person promptly (‗Guide to the Children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 52, paragraph 10.3).

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Information about this children's home

This children's home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for no more than five children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, physical disabilities and learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

13 January 2016 CH – Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

10 February 2015 CH – Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Children and young people make good progress in all areas of their lives, notably within health and education. Children and young people experience good health as their needs are understood and well promoted by the staff. Health records are complete and up to date, and their medication regimes are implemented safely and appropriately by the trained staff team. Effective partnership working with the looked after children‘s nurse and the in-house therapist ensure that children‘s and young people‘s emotional health needs are met and that they receive the care and support as agreed in their individual health plans. Positive partnership working with the looked after children‘s nurse ensures that services can be identified and located quickly when children and young people require additional care and support. Children‘s and young people‘s attendance and attainment at school are good. They confirm that the staff support them well with their homework and revision and talk

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Good

positively about their academic achievements. Staff seek out additional resources to support those children and young people who are not meeting their expected grades. For example, the manager has provided additional tutoring for one young person to ensure that they can meet their predicted grades. Furthermore, the manager and staff make suitable efforts to overcome the barriers to participation, enabling children and young people to access suitable learning environments when they are moving on from the home. This minimises the disruption to children‘s and young people‘s learning and enhances their potential for academic success. Children‘s and young people‘s experiences and development have been improved, as staff enthusiastically encourage and support them to engage in positive activities in the local community. Children and young people benefit from a range of regular activities, which they report that they enjoy, such as swimming, horse

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Good

riding, going to the gym, Guides and Cadets. These activities, alongside day trips to Blackpool, theme parks and local trips out for picnics, ensure that children and young people develop positive relationships with each other, their local community and expand upon their previous experiences. This, in turn, enables and supports children and young people to build happy childhood memories. Children and young people confirm that they have positive and supportive relationships with the consistent staff team. The stable staff team provides a happy, relaxed and nurturing environment where children report that they feel safe and at ease. Children and young people can identify with a number of adults within the home, and report that they feel listened to by the staff team and outside agencies when the need arises. Children and young people are actively encouraged by the manager to develop and review their care plans, and are systematically involved in the decisions that affect

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Good

the day-to-day running of the home. Staff seek children‘s and young people‘s wishes and views meaningfully. Regular house meetings, one-to-one informal discussion, detailed individual key work sessions and a number of informal consultation feedback systems ensure that children‘s and young people‘s wishes and views remain central to their care planning and the development of their home. The manager and staff actively promote children‘s and young people‘s contact with those who are significant to them. Staff support and facilitate contact with family members sensitively and ensure that children and young people are supported thoughtfully during times or heightened anxiety or distress. As such, children and young people are able to remain in contact and develop and sustain positive relationships with those people who are important to them. Children and young people are helped and supported to learn and develop their life

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Good

skills satisfactorily. Baseline assessments identify where children‘s and young people‘s knowledge and skills are, to ensure that the right support can be offered in the areas which require further development. Two young people confirmed that the help and support that they have received from the staff has helped them immensely with increasing their understanding and ability to complete a number of tasks independently. As a result, children and young people are equipped with the knowledge and skills that they require to support them with a successful transition into adulthood.

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Good

Children and young people report that they feel safe and are kept safe due to the actions that the staff take. Staff are clear about their safeguarding roles and responsibilities and have a thorough understanding of the whistleblowing policy and procedures. Staff receive regular training and updates to keep them abreast on any significant changes in safeguarding practice. Staff contribute well towards children‘s and young people‘s individual risk management plans, which are reviewed, updated and shared regularly within team meetings. Staff provide appropriate support and guidance to children and young people during times of increased anxiety and crisis. They use their knowledge well of children‘s and young people‘s risks and vulnerabilities to promote their safety and well-being. When staff are concerned about children‘s and young people‘s safety, they take appropriate action to make sure that children and young people

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Good

receive the support that they need, including increased supervision, supervised spends and accessing additional support and counselling. While the manager makes suitable efforts to share these risk assessments with the placing social workers, he has missed an opportunity to share these assessments with the children and young people, so that they have a full understanding of how they are being supported by the staff to manage their emotions and risk-taking behaviours. When children and young people go missing from the home, staff respond sufficiently. Staff are familiar with children‘s and young people‘s risk management plans and procedures that are in place and implement these consistently. When children and young people go missing from the home, staff make appropriate attempts to contact and locate them. While staff ensure that police and the social workers are kept informed of these incidents, other agencies, such as youth

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Good

offending teams, do not routinely get this information. One professional commented that this lack of information and communication had impeded on their care planning and their delivery of work for that young person. Children and young people are stimulated and supported to make good and safe choices. Children are educated well within the children‘s and young people‘s meetings to increase their knowledge and skills in engaging positively with their peers. For example, children and young people have learned how to contact the home in an emergency and widened their knowledge on how their actions may impact on other people‘s behaviours. This ensures that good relationships are maintained within the home, and that children and young people have the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe should they come across any difficulties while out within the community. The children and young people are clear about the rules and the expectations

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Good

placed upon them, and confirmed during the inspection that they feel that these household rules are fair. Staff role model positive behaviour and interactions and they provide clear direction and support to maintain positive peer relationships. The staff‘s detailed understanding of the group dynamics, their fair treatment and their prompt, sound advice ensure that incidents of bullying are extremely rare. On occasion, children and young people are unable to regulate their own emotional responses and need the staff to intervene to help keep them and others safe. This support is carried out in a safe and appropriate way by staff who are suitably trained and supported. Children and young people are encouraged sensitively to discuss their experiences and reflect on how they can manage their behaviours more appropriately in the future. The manager routinely monitors and evaluates this practice, thus ensuring that any learning or changes to children‘s and young

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Good

people‘s care plans is undertaken quickly and shared regularly with the staff team. The manager deals promptly and sufficiently with allegations and complaints made against the home. When children and young people or other agencies have raised any areas of concern, the manager has investigated these complaints thoroughly and promptly and ensured that a suitable solution is identified quickly. The manager consults with all agencies, including the complainant, within his investigations and ensures that the designated officer is contacted when any allegations are made against staff. The manager ensures that the relevant safeguarding agencies, such as the placing social workers and the designated officer, are informed following any significant incidents. The manager is proactive at requesting the necessary meetings to ensure that all the risks can be considered cohesively and he requests additional support and services required to meet children‘s and young people‘s emerging

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Good

needs quickly and appropriately. While the manager does ensure that all the correct information is shared with the required safeguarding agencies and that the services are in place to support and promote children‘s and young people‘s welfare, he has not informed Ofsted of one notifiable incident. Procedures for recruiting and appointing staff are inclusive and thorough. Staff are carefully selected and vetted to ensure that only those safe and suitable to work with children and young people do so. A recent change to care practice ensures that children and young people are now involved in the interviewing process. Furthermore, applicants are expected to visit the home with the manager and meet the children and young people prior to their appointment to ensure that they have the right attributes and qualities to support and care for the children and young people. Children and young people live in a large, safe, comfortable home. Staff respect

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Good

children‘s and young people‘s privacy, and the size of the home allows them to enjoy their privacy and time alone, while also having the option of enjoying spending time together. A variety of health and safety checks ensure that the safety and welfare of children, young people and staff is promoted.

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Good

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 6 December 2013. He is suitably experienced and holds the required National Vocational Qualification level 5. He is supported by a dedicated and motivated deputy manager, two team leaders and two senior residential care staff who share his drive and commitment to develop the home and improve the lives of all children and young people. A real strength of this home is the child-centred approach that the manager and staff command. The children and young people are the heart of the home and the manager and staff do their utmost to advocate for, and include them within, every area of the service‘s development as set out in the home‘s recently updated statement of purpose. While the manager ensures that the statement of purpose is regularly reviewed and updated, this document does not identify the present staff team and their experience and qualifications, nor does it include the three bank

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Good

staff who are regularly used, as identified within the home‘s detailed workforce development plan. As such, parents and placing authorities cannot be clear about who is providing care and support for their children and young people and if they have the correct level of experience and qualification. While the manager has recently reviewed and updated the children‘s guide to positively support children‘s and young people‘s transition into the home, he has missed an opportunity to seek the views of children and young people within this review. As such, he has lost valuable information as to what children and young people found helpful within the children‘s guide and what information they feel that they may have benefited from. Children and young people are looked after well by a stable staff team who are trained, supported and experienced to deliver a good standard of care, as set out in the home‘s robust workforce development plan. This document clearly identifies

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Good

how the manager and leadership team support and guide staff with their development and training. Staff training is closely monitored by the leadership team to ensure that all staff are up to date with their mandatory training. This is complemented by opportunities to complete needs-led training, such as on child sexual exploitation. There are a suitable number of competent staff members to ensure that each child‘s and young person‘s needs are suitably met. A proportion of the staff team have acquired the required level 3 childcare qualification, with sufficient arrangements in place for others to achieve this within the required timeframe. The manager and staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals, which they confirm supports them to reflect and develop their care practice. The manager has nurtured some positive working relationships with parents and his partner agencies. An independent reviewing officer, social workers, education

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Good

colleagues, the designated officer and colleagues from specialist teams established to work alongside young people at risk of child sexual exploitation mainly speak positively about the care and support that the manager and staff provide to the children and young people. While some agencies and parents are complimentary about the level of communication that the manager and staff maintain with themselves, others feel that they have been the ones to orchestrate this. One youth offending team worker said, ‗It is more about me contacting them, communication has not been the best generally.‘ That said, the professional went on to add that the manager and staff do pass information on when this has been requested. The manager has a sound understanding of the home‘s strengths and where there is still capacity to improve. The areas for development are identified within the home‘s recently reviewed and updated annual development plan, which is

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Good

monitored and reviewed within the home‘s internal monitoring systems. External monthly monitoring which includes scrutiny from the independent visitor offers additional rigour and challenge to the manager to ensure that the home continues to improve. Children‘s and young people‘s records and case files are detailed and thorough. They are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they provide a comprehensive picture of children‘s and young people‘s needs, progression and future objectives. While these records are shared regularly with social workers, children and young people are not systematically encouraged to read and sign their risk assessments and progression plans so that they are clear about their progression and the plans that are in place to help safeguard them.

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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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