Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Nottingham

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’s views and opinions are central to the running of the home and carefully considered in all decision making.  Young people are positive about the care that they receive and feel safe in the home.  Care planning is individualised and enables staff to focus on each young person’s areas of need.  Young people are making good progress educationally because of the support they receive from staff.  Young people are supported to manage their behaviours well, and physical interventions have not been required.  Staff work with families to ensure that all contact arrangements are maintained.  Staff work in partnership with other professionals, to ensure that young people receive the best support and guidance.  Staff support young people to learn skills to prepare them for their future when they will move into adulthood and independence.  A few areas of practice require some improvement. These include updating

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The children's home provision is good because:

the children’s guide and linking sanctions to key-working sessions.

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

7: The children's views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children's views, wishes and feelings standard the registered person must

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Requirement Due date

(c) keep the children’s guide under review. 30 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:  Expectations of standards of behaviour should be high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Children should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged. Poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11).

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Information about this children's home

The home is part of a private organisation. The can accommodate up to six young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16 February 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

7 August 2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people benefit from good-quality care that contributes to them making sufficient progress in most aspects of their lives while living at the home. Young people also make improvements in how they behave, because they build positive relationships with staff. One young person reported, ‘The staff here do care about you and how you are feeling.’ Young people’s care is tailored to their individual needs, which are clearly identified in their placement plans. Plans are updated and reviewed regularly with young people through key-work sessions. This ensures that young people are treated consistently and know what their objectives are and how these will be met. Young people have detailed health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services such as doctors, dentists and opticians. This ensures that their physical health is maintained. Young people have access to the services that they need to promote their emotional and psychological well-being. Medication

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Good

is stored safely, and records on the administration of medication are appropriately maintained. All young people at the home have made good progress in engaging in education and training based on their individual needs and interests. Staff use every opportunity to help young people to engage in education successfully. This supportive approach enables young people to gain valuable knowledge and skills that contribute to their achieving their full potential. Staff consult with young people through regular residents’ meetings. Each young person has a key worker, and meetings between keyworkers and young people take place at regular intervals. These allow young people to have their views heard and to have an input on their own care. The home effectively supports all family contact including regular phone calls for young people who live far from home. This ensures that young people remain close to individuals who are important to them and benefit from being involved in a

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Good

wider support network outside of the home. Young people are well supported during their transition to adulthood. They are provided with lots of opportunities to develop new skills, such as cooking and budgeting, with good support and encouragement from staff. This helps young people to learn the necessary skills to enable them to move successfully into young adulthood. Judgement grade

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Good

Young people say that they feel safe in this home. One young person reported, ‘Of course I am safe here. It’s great.’ Risk management plans are in place for each young person. They safeguard young people by identifying their risks and vulnerabilities and setting out strategies to minimise risks. Staff receive safeguarding training that is refreshed and they have a good understanding of their duties in promoting young people's welfare. This ensures the safety and protection of young people living in the home. Staff encourage young people to behave appropriately. Individual behaviour management plans identify triggers for negative behaviour and the strategies for managing these behaviours. The approach to behaviour management includes restorative work, which allows young people the opportunity to take responsibility for their behaviour and to make amends. As a result of this, the use of sanctions is infrequent, and there has been no use of physical restraint since the last

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Good

inspection. However, sanctions issued need to link into key-work sessions so that young people can reflect on their behaviour. The great majority of young people never go missing from the home. The young people that have been missing from the home are on an independence plan, and are learning to manage their own time and are adapting to having greater freedom. Staff follow the local authority’s’ joint protocol and procedures for reporting young people missing from care. They take appropriate action to locate young people quickly and to promote their safe return. On young people’s return home, they are provided with an independent person to speak to and they have access to services to address any other issues that may have arisen, such as radicalisation or child sexual exploitation. Young people live in a safe and secure environment. There are effective health and safety systems in place. Regular practice evacuations ensure that young people

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Good

know how to exit the building safely and quickly, in case of an emergency. When appointing staff, the home follows safer recruitment practice guidelines. This means that those deemed suitable to work with vulnerable individuals only look after young people. Judgement grade

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Good

There is a new manager in post in the home, who took up position in March 2016. Ofsted is currently processing her application for registration. The manager is currently undertaking her level 5 national vocational qualification in leadership, health and social care. Staff confirm that they receive good support and guidance from the manager. They receive regular supervision and confirm that their supervision supports and challenges their performance to improve. Staff knowledge is enhanced through regular training opportunities, including mandatory training, which is regularly refreshed. This ensures that they have frequent opportunities to reflect and to enhance their practice, to help them to meet young people’s needs. New staff have recently been recruited to the home. These staff are now undertaking their qualification for working with young people and are, at present, within regulatory timescales to obtain this.

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Good

The statement of purpose has recently been reviewed. It provides clear information about the level of service provided and clear information for stakeholders about the aims and objectives and the facilities offered. The young person's guide gives young people good written information about the home, about how they will be looked after and about their rights while in care. The document, however, requires reviewing so that information in it can be updated and made current. The organisation ensures that there is regular monitoring through the monthly independent visitor’s visits. This monitoring of the service ensures that there is robust scrutiny of the practice and performance of the home, and identifies areas for improvement. This ensures that practice is focused on outcomes for young people. The registered manager is highly committed to making continued improvements to this service. There is a thorough development plan in place, to make further

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Good

enhancements to the service provision. There are effective and meaningful partnerships between the home, police and other safeguarding professionals to promote young people’s safety and welfare. There were no requirements or recommendations raised at the last inspection.

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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 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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