Children's home run by Marlowe Child & Family Services Limited in Tewkesbury

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness . Young people continue to make good progress in all aspects of their lives from their starting points on admission. This is especially noticeable in the reduction in the number of incidents of self-harm and going missing from the home. For a number of the young people living at the home, there were numerous occurrences of these behaviours. Since the last inspection, no young people have gone missing from the home and incidents of self-harm are at a low level and are a rare event. The majority of young people continue to have very good attendance at school or college and are making good progress. For those young people who are struggling with their attendance and engagement at school, staff are working with the education providers to develop individual education plans. The goal of these plans

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

is to fully reintegrate young people back in to the classroom. Young people continue to take part in a very wide range of fun and purposeful activities. Individual activity plans are created to reflect young people’s interests, as well as developing their social skills, self-confidence and practical skills, which will help with their independence after they leave the home. At the last inspection, five requirements and one recommendation were made.. Managers have sourced a telephone system that provides young people with phone cards that have the numbers of family, social workers, Childline, Ofsted and other relevant phone numbers programmed into them. This will enable young people to make calls without reference to staff, both in the home and in the community. At the time of the inspection, the installation and operation of this system was scheduled, but has yet to be completed. This requirement remains

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

until the system has been installed and is in use. Managers were required was to ensure that the home’s records provide evidence that staff receive formal monthly supervisions in line with the organisation’s policy. The registered manager said that this is not happening in practice and there has been little improvement since the last inspection. This requirement is restated at this inspection. At the last inspection there was a shortfall in the staff recruitment process. Gaps in staff’s employment history had not been identified and challenged. There was also insufficient exploration of references provided. These shortfalls have now been addressed. There have been no new members of staff recruited since the last inspection. The quality of restraint records has improved. Staff now record the duration of the restraint, evaluate the effectiveness of the measure used and are objective, vague language to describe young people’s behaviour is no longer used. There is a clear

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

description of what led to the restraint. This increases the effectiveness of the monitoring of these incidents. The independent visitor’s written reports have improved. The visitor now regularly contacts parents and social workers for their feedback. This improvement enables the independent visitor to evaluate the quality of care and how the staff team work with other people who have an important place in the young people’s lives. These reports are now being sent to Ofsted in a timely fashion. Professionals outside of the home complimented the team on their communication skills and transparent care practices. .

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to accommodate four children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is owned by a private organisation that also operates other children’s homes and a registered school in the locality .

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

20 February 2015 CH – Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

19 March 2014 CH – Interim Good progress

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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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

22: Contact and access to communications

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are provided, at all reasonable times, with access to a telephone on which to make and receive telephone calls in private, which they may use without reference to persons working in the home. (Regulation 22 (3)(a)) 30 April 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience, and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 30 April 2016

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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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