Children's home run by Willows (Devon) Ltd

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 make progress and staff encourage them to build on aspirations and ambitions for their futures. Attendance in education improves from previous placements, where young people have found it a struggle to engage in learning. Integration into the community is good, with many opportunities to attend clubs, undertake voluntary work and to access the local amenities. Young people increase their independence and learn skills that will prepare them to move on successfully.  Staff build warm and nurturing relationships with young people. The staff team is stable. They understand the individual needs of each young person. Care is planned well to take into account the views of young people. Consultation with young people is a key priority and their views are integral to the day-to-day running of the home.  Staff are clear about their responsibility to safeguard young people and to follow protocols well. Care focuses on helping young people to understand

p.3

The children’s home provision is good because:

risk and to give them the confidence to make safe decisions. Good collaborative working with parents and other agencies keeps young people safe. There is a significant reduction in young people going missing and physical interventions.  Young people maintain and improve relationships with their family and friends. Staff are strong advocates for young people when it comes to decisions made about their time with family. As a result, young people have successfully reunited with siblings and parents, with the support of staff who know them well.

p.3

Recommendation

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Improve systems to ensure that the home’s ethos, outcomes and approach, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose, are delivered consistently. This specifically relates to keeping placement plans up to date and sourcing specialist self-harm training for staff with that development need (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 52, para 10.4).

p.4

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a small private organisation and is registered to provide care for up to four girls with emotional or behavioural difficulties. The company also runs its own school located nearby, which young people attend.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

1 September 2015 Full Requires improvement

p.5

Good

Young people make progress in this home. They make positive changes to their lives that will improve their future. Staff are reliable and provide good consistent care. Staff nurture young people, they give hugs and interactions are positive and caring. Young people achieve a high level of attendance in education. They benefit from attending the school linked to the same company. Reward systems are in place to promote education, and these work well. When young people have difficulty attending school, the staff work with education to find out the cause. In the meantime, young people engage in educational tasks at the home, including their maths and English workbooks. Every young person has aspirations that they are working towards and each has a career goal.

p.6

Good

Staff tap into young people’s interests to explore activities in the community. Some young people decide to attend clubs, such as cadets and athletics. Young people take part in voluntary and charity work as a way of integrating into the community and of building self-esteem. There are a number of days out planned for school holidays, as well as a holiday later in the year. The manager is encouraging young people to engage in more activities in the home: delicious cakes are baked and young people went out on a run with staff during the inspection.

p.6

Good

Staff plan care in consultation with young people, their parents and professionals. These plans clearly detail their needs, goals and how they wish to be cared for by staff. Some placement plans are in the process of review. The manager is creating a system that will ensure that the review of placement plans is more effective. Health and emotional needs are clear in care plans. All young people access local health services as well as linking in with the clinical psychologist who visits the home regularly.

p.6

Good

It is evident through care records that staff value each young person’s voice. Young people have many opportunities to have their say and they use these forums regularly. Daily discussions with staff, one-to-one sessions and house meetings all incorporate young people’s views about their care. Staff embrace the honesty of young people, records reflect this.

p.6

Good

Staff understand the importance of family and friends. Young people are able to contact those people close to them independently, as stated in their care plans. Staff will happily transport young people to visit their family or support them to use public transport. Staff listen to young people and advocate for them if they request increased time with their family. A parent described feeling involved in the care and said, ‘They always talk to me about what’s going on.’

p.6

Good

Risk assessments are individualised for each young person. Young people talk with staff to identify risks posed to them and strategies they think will keep them safer. Young people start to make safer choices: young people have not gone missing, and physical interventions have not occurred. A clinical psychologist visits the home, engages with young people and offers support to staff to understand behaviours.

p.7

Good

Staff have a caring response to young people who self-harm, and support them to minimise this risk over time. Staff follow strategies in risk assessments and respond to the emotional needs of young people. On one occasion, and in response to a safeguarding concern, staff conducted three room searches to eliminate risk. The manager followed the room search policy effectively. Young people shared their views and had one-to-one discussions with staff. Young people say that they feel safe living here.

p.7

Good

Clear rules and boundaries are in place, similar to those that you may find in a family home. Young people understand the expectations on them to keep their room tidy and to help in house chores, such as cooking. Small daily incentives help them to achieve this. When young people want to earn something extra, such as a beauty treatment, staff negotiate with them an incentive that they can work towards.

p.7

Good

Staff follow the ethos of the home in relation to behaviour management and use positive reinforcement to recognise achievements in behaviour. Consequences are restorative and relate to the behaviour that staff are concerned about. Financial sanctions are rare, and if imposed are proportionate to any damage that occurred. For example, contributions to a new mug to replace one that was intentionally damaged. Behaviour management plans are clear, and staff encourage young people to input in their development.

p.7

Good

Compatibility assessments take into account each young person’s needs, ensuring that careful matching takes place. When there is conflict between young people the staff manage this well. Staff encourage young people to discuss their feelings and talk to each other to make amends. Opportunities to talk about risk and to educate young people are common. One-to- one sessions and debriefs facilitate those discussions with young people. In addition, specialist workshops and training sessions are available to young people when they wish to participate. Subjects include child sexual exploitation and substance misuse. This helps young people to make progress and to report concerns about social media to staff.

p.7

Good

Staff are effective at safeguarding young people, they follow the safeguarding procedure. The manager has good links with agencies in place to protect young people and she shares information swiftly. A clear record trail is available, detailing outcomes of referrals and the impact on young people and their care.

p.8

Good

Young people live in a safe environment. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks. Recruitment processes are safe and include the robust vetting of staff.

p.8

Good

A transitional period with the new manager took place following the previous registered manager’s resignation. The new manager has worked within the company for a number of years, is qualified to level 4 and is working towards completion of a level 5 qualification. The manager has an application for registered manager submitted with Ofsted. The manager’s transition into her new role has been smooth, as young people and the staff team had already established a rapport with her.

p.8

Good

The development plan sets out clear goals to improve the home over the next year. The ethos of the plan is inclusive to young people and of their input into the care and development of the home. Young people are recognising that their voice is important in decisions and strategies made about them. They talk at ease with the manager about home improvements, such as swimming pools and garden games.

p.8

Good

The manager has a clear vision and strategy to improve experiences, records and monitoring systems in the home. The plan is driven by priorities for change that have the most positive impact for young people. The manager says that, ‘The focus has been on building a good strong consistent team for young people.’

p.8

Good

A stable team of staff now cares for young people. The manager has led the team to improve the way that they work and communicate with each other. Boundaries are more stable and provide young people with a good consistent approach day-to- day.

p.8

Good

Staff feel supported by the manager and say that they get good guidance and supervision. Staff supervision is frequent and gives staff the opportunity to reflect on the care that they provide for young people. All staff have had appraisals and understand the development targets that they are working to achieve. Concerns about practice are challenged appropriately and head-on by the responsible individuals, in the best interests of young people

p.9

Good

A suitable training programme is in place to develop the skills of staff to include safeguarding, behaviour management and attachment. All unqualified staff are working towards their level 3 qualification, and the appraisal process identifies this as an area for development. Some staff are not trained in dealing with self-harm. The manager has recognised this shortfall and is in the process of sourcing specialist training.

p.9

Good

The statement of purpose is up to date, and reflects the changes to the management structure. Staff have a clear understanding of the statement of purpose, in particular the therapeutic environment that they try to achieve.

p.9

Good

Young people have a clear understanding of the complaints procedure and the external agencies that they can complain to. The manager listens to young people when they are dissatisfied with their care. Staff make creative attempts to resolve their concerns, while embedding appropriate parental boundaries that are in young people’s best interests.

p.9

Good

The manager develops relationships with other professionals to provide the best care for young people. A social worker said, ‘The manager keeps me well informed and we work together.’ There are good links with the local police and health services. The manager is a strong advocate for young people. This persistence has successfully increased a young person’s time spent independently with their family and friends.

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 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

p.11

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 .

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, 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,

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