Children's Home run by Choices 4 Children Limited in Lancashire

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 benefit from living in a stable environment. They are cared for by a consistent staff team that provides them with a sense of permanence and belonging.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff support young people to maximise their independence, regardless of their starting point.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff ensure that young people enjoy a range of social and recreational activities in the local community.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager ensures that staff are suitably trained and experienced to meet young people’s specific needs.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are proactive in supporting young people’s contact with their families, including those who are placed a long way from home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff encourage positive behaviour. They persevere in engaging young people in positive behaviour through incentives and rewards. Some young people make significant progress as a result.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff develop positive professional relationships with placing authorities, schools and parents. Therefore, young people benefit from consistent care.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people feel safe and understand who to talk to about any concerns. Staff are sensitive to the needs of those young people who use the picture exchange communications system (PECS), to ensure that their views are captured. Staff do not ensure that young people benefit from having an advocate to ensure that their views are championed.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home. The registered manager has not addressed all the requirements raised at the last inspection regarding the independent visitor and his review of the quality of care. He lacks an evaluative approach to monitoring and reviewing the quality of care, and to understanding the difference that the care is making to young people’s lives. He has neither ensured that the safer area risk assessment considers the views of relevant people nor considered local risks which may impact on the home.  The registered manager has improved the process of induction of new young people to the home. However, he fails to ensure that all essential documentation, including delegated authority, regarding new young people is in the home. This does not promote young people’s welfare.

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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 ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13. In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered provider must— (2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 30 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

13. In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

(2) (f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experience of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; 30 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date (Regulation 37(2)(a)(b)). 30 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children. This must include the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. The system established must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of parents, placing 30 June 2016 authorities and staff (Regulation 45(2)(5)).

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the independent person’s report sets out the independent person’s opinions as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being (Regulation 44(4)(a)(b)). 30 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person (Regulation 46(1)(2)). 30 June 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. With particular reference to the setting and reviewing of achievable targets which demonstrate how children are supported to achieve their targets (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).

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Recommendations

 All children must have access to appropriate advocacy support, and where possible this should be provided by a person that the child chooses. Looked-after children are entitled to an independent advocate to advise them and ensure they have the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and lives (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.16).

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. It is a single privately owned and operated home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

9 March 2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

5 February 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Since the last inspection there have been planned changes within the home. One young person has returned to live with his family and two young people have moved into the home following introductory visits. Staff manage these transitions well. Staff ensure that young people who are new to the home are welcomed and quickly learn about their needs. They support young people who are moving on, and try to maintain a relationship with them once they have left.

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Good

Young people live in a stable environment. They benefit from being cared for by a consistent staff team that knows them well. Staff take their time to get know young people and show interest in their lives and experiences. As a result, young people develop positive relationships with staff. Placing authority social workers recognise the impact that this has. One social worker said: ‘I feel that the staff genuinely care for my young person and he has built positive relationships with the staff members.’ Young people develop a sense of belonging, including those with attachment difficulties who manage to develop some relationships.

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Good

Most young people engage well with education. The majority of young people attend school full time and make good progress. Staff work effectively with schools to ensure consistency of behaviour management. They communicate every day and welcome teachers into the home, and visit school to ensure effective sharing of knowledge and skills. Some young people refuse to engage with education, despite staff’s efforts.

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Good

Staff encourage young people to access a wide range of social and recreational activities, both in the home and the local community. Young people enjoy playing on the trampoline, gaming, watching films and playing the keyboard while at home. Young people regularly go swimming, attend the local youth club for young people with learning disabilities and go horse riding. This develops young people’s self-confidence in managing social situations.

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Good

Staff develop young people’s independence skills from their starting points. Some young people make significant progress and are able to choose what they want to drink, make their own breakfast and wash themselves in the shower. As a result, young people’s self-esteem increases. Staff understand the importance of healthy living and ensure that young people are registered with local universal services. They ensure that medication is handled safely and that young people attend their specialist health appointments.

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Good

Staff promote young people’s identity. Staff develop positive relationships with families and promote contact, where this is safe and in young people’s best interests. Staff seek out information about young people’s individual culture and experiences so that they are able to meet their needs.

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Good

Staff work effectively with professional partners, too. They communicate effectively with placing authorities, schools and youth offending teams. The stability of the staff team is beneficial to positive professional relationships. As a social worker commented: ‘The communication was very good and having a consistent team greatly helped.’

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Good

Young people live in a safe environment. Young people say they feel safe, and one young person said: ‘I feel safe. I would tell anyone if I had a problem.’ Staff ensure that those with complex social and communication needs are offered opportunities to consider how safe they feel in the home. Staff do not ensure that young people have access to an advocate. This would allow their wishes and feelings to be independently promoted within the home and with the placing authority.

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Good

Staff promote positive behaviour. They are proactive in identifying incentives and rewards. These are effective and, alongside their skills in de-escalation, mean that physical intervention is rarely used. The registered manager has revised the format of recording restraint, so that it evidences that the views of young people are recorded and a review with the user of the measure. Staff support young people to understand the impact of their behaviour on others, and this leads to a reduction in aggressive behaviour.

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Good

Staff understand what to do if a young person goes missing. The registered manager has developed the ‘missing’ records to ensure that staff understand who will undertake ‘return’ interviews. Since the last inspection, there have been no incidents of young people going missing.

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Good

Staff understand how to manage any child protection concerns or allegations against staff. They receive regular training to ensure that their knowledge remains up to date, including recognising and responding to sexual exploitation. Staff learn quickly from the experiences of young people who are new to the home. They respond promptly to this learning to ensure that young people are appropriately helped and protected.

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Requires improvement

The home is managed by a suitably experienced registered manager. He has been in post for two years and is currently completing the level 5 diploma in leadership and management in residential childcare. He ensures that he keeps the statement of purpose under review to reflect changes in the staff team.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has made some progress in addressing the shortfalls identified during the interim inspection. However, others remain unmet. These include ensuring that the independent visitor identifies clearly the impact of the home in safeguarding young people and promoting their welfare, and the registered manager developing reviewing and monitoring systems which evaluate the effectiveness of the care provided, and driving forward improvements.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has addressed the need to conduct an impact risk assessment prior to the admission of young people to the home. This ensures that the security of the group is maintained and that staff are able to meet the needs of young people. He does not ensure that he has the essential paperwork in place when young people are admitted to the home, despite the admissions being well planned over a couple of weeks. He has children living in the home without referral documentation, care plans, placement plans or education healthcare plans. These documents provide the basis of the care that staff should provide and the delegation of authority from the placing authority. His challenge to the placing authority to provide these is neither robust nor effective. This does not promote young people’s welfare, as decisions are made without written authority and clear plans in place.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager understands young people’s needs well, but he does not identify clear targets for them or how they will achieve these with staff support. Consequently, staff do not ensure that young people’s case records reflect the work that they undertake with them, their achievements and plans. The registered manager does evaluate the difference that staff are making to identify new targets. This does not promote young people’s progress or ensure that their records provide a useful contribution to their life history.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager ensures that the safer area risk assessment is reviewed annually. He has not ensured that there is evidence of consultation with relevant people, including other local children’s homes. This does not promote his understanding of local risks to young people’s welfare.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager works proactively with professional stakeholders and parents to develop effective relationships. Placing authority social workers value his contribution. One social worker said: ‘The team has worked very hard to accommodate my young person and his family. They are always eager to learn and take on board any advice, as well as sharing what they find has helped.’ This promotes positive outcomes for young people.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager ensures that the home is properly staffed and seeks out bespoke training to ensure that staff are able to meet young people’s needs. For example, he organises training for staff in managing epilepsy and autism. There have been no new staff since the last inspection, reflecting the stability of the staff team. The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision and meet as a team to support their professional development, and to share knowledge about young people’s needs and wishes.

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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 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 ‘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 0300 123 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 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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