Children's home run by M.J. Children’s Services Limited

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:

 The children have built positive relationships with staff. The quality of these relationships is apparent when the interaction between the staff and the children is observed.  Because of these relationships, children do not go missing from this home. This is in contrast to some of their behaviours before they came to live in this home.  Staff support children with their education. The attendance of some children is 100%, and their participation in lessons is encouraged. Some are completing coursework for GCSE. Others are re-engaging in mainstream school.  Children begin to learn the skills that they need to live in the community, including cooking, cleaning, and budgeting skills.  The activities that are available for the children are positive, and give the children opportunities to engage in new experiences that are enjoyable and that help them to develop confidence and skills.  Children say that they feel safe in this home. Placing social workers have no

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The children's home provision is good because:

concerns with regard to the safeguarding practices. Staff have completed direct work about keeping safe with particular regard to online safety.  One member of staff has not completed the appropriate qualification, the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare by the relevant date.  The manager has regular supervision, but it is not always recorded appropriately to evidence that the meeting has taken place or to reflect the discussions which have led to service improvements.  There are times where there are errors and late entries in the log book and daily diary sheets. This does not support the effective monitoring of issues and concerns.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that 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

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children's home if the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification, and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’) or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. The relevant date is, in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls two years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or, in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016 (Regulation 32(2)(a)(3)(b)(4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b).

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Keep a record of supervision for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). This is with particular reference to the records of the manager’s supervision (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3).  Ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear reports. This is with particular reference to the daily log book and daily recordings of individual children (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. A private company owns the home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

13 January 2014 Interim Inadequate Progress

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Good

Children are making good progress because they live in this home. Staff know and understand the needs of the children, and this has helped them to build positive relationships with staff. The quality of these relationships is apparent when the interaction between the staff and the children is observed. There is warmth and empathy in these relationships. This is because of the hard work and dedication of the staff, which the manager encourages. The manager has completed risk assessments and care plans, so they are up to date and contain the information and guidance needed by all staff to help them to work with the children. Staff have supported children in their education. Some children have 100% attendance, and their participation in lessons is encouraged. This has enabled some to maintain their place in school, to complete coursework and to prepare for examinations at foundation level and GCSE levels. Others have had individual

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Good

packages of home tuition, which have led to a reintegration into school. This has been particularly positive for one child who has not been in a learning environment for a long time. Work experience is also encouraged and supported. One young person has moved into a part-time job because of his work experience placement. This has helped his confidence and self-esteem, and he has developed a strong work ethic. There are regular key-work sessions focusing on the specific issues in children’s care plans. For example, discussions held on making positive relationships and choices, and health and hygiene issues help children to understand the importance of these matters in their lives. These sessions develop their relationships with the staff. Consequently, children make progress and learn to manage themselves appropriately. One child commented: ‘This home has done so much for me. They have helped me with my anger and getting that back under control. They have

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Good

helped me turn my behaviour around and now I am much calmer.’ Staff are very supportive. The whole staff team wrote to this child before his review, sharing their views about how successful he has been recently and about how far he has progressed. This has raised his self-confidence and strengthened his relationships with the staff group. Activities available for the children are positive and give them opportunities to have fun, join in with new experiences, and learn some new skills. For example, one child has taken up figure skating. Staff are encouraging her to attend regular classes to improve her technique. Staff encourage children to participate in trips out, including to the cinema, meals out with friends and day trips to the beach. Discussions at residents’ meetings help these events to be planned and organised. Staff further promote children’s involvement through direct work. These meetings

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Good

give the children opportunities to have their views heard on a range of issues regarding the running of the home, such as the décor of their rooms and the communal areas. Staff help and guide those children whose assessed needs and care plan is for independence. Staff assist those children to begin to learn the skills to live in the community where support may be less than in this home. Children are gathering cooking, cleaning, and budgeting skills. Children practise these important skills in the environment in which they feel safe and confident, prior to any move on from the home. Children make and keep appointments with medical professionals, such as doctors, dentists, and opticians. Information from the looked after children’s nurse is shared, to ensure that the children are helped to remain healthy. Sports, such as football and swimming, are encouraged and the home prepares wholesome food that helps to keep them fit and well. Staff liaise with community mental health

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Good

services for support if needed. This has been helpful, as staff have completed careful and considerate work with some children who have needed support with specific personal needs. This has been particularly successful for a child who had previously lived in a hospital environment for some time. This careful work has helped them to manage personal issues better and has improved their self-esteem and confidence. The staff facilitate family contact. This has led to children seeing a great deal more of their families since they have lived in this home. Staff engage with the children’s families and encourage positive activities. This contact helps the children to maintain their relationships with their home and their extended families.

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Good

Children say that they feel safe in this home. One commented: ‘I feel happy in this home.’ Placing social workers have no concerns with regard to the safeguarding practices. One commented: ‘I have no safety concerns. The home has positive safeguarding processes.’ Another said: ‘Historically, she had placed herself at risk on social media, but this home has done a lot of work with her about keeping safe.’ The manager deals appropriately with safeguarding matters and all staff members are acutely aware of the processes to follow if an incident occurs. The provider has referred a matter to the local safeguarding officer. The safeguarding officer considers that the home has acted appropriately in managing the matter. The provider shared information about this incident with Ofsted in line with the agreed protocol. All the children comment on the strength of their relationships with the staff. Staff closely monitor the children, particularly during free time, and are alert to the signs

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Good

or changes in behaviour that may indicate that they are at further risk. Because of these relationships and the close monitoring, children do not go missing from this home. This is in contrast to some of the behaviours apparent before they came to live in this home. Because of the changes in their behaviour due to the work with staff, they are now safer and more settled. The manager encourages the staff to revisit risk assessments following any incidents or concerns, to ensure that the assessment and care plans detail fully the children’s current behaviours. This means that staff can appropriately manage the risks and concerns highlighted. Staff promote positive behaviour through a restorative approach. This helps the children to try to understand the impact of negative conduct. The children consider the sanctions fair and reasonable. Staff are able to manage the children’s behaviour without the need for physical intervention. This is because they have

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Good

learned better ways to de-escalate any situations that may lead to conflict.

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Good

The registered manager has the national vocational qualification in leadership and management, level 4. She has been in post since 2012 and has previously worked in the home as a residential worker. She encourages the staff to maintain the highest standards when working directly with the children. She does this through good, regular supervision, and appraisal of staff. She also spends time working with the children, listening to their views and observing the staff interact with the children. This gives her the opportunity to praise the positive practice as it happens. It also allows her to act swiftly if there is a need to prevent unacceptable conduct from staff. The manager has regular supervision and this focuses on the safeguarding issues and staff development matters appropriately. The meeting records do not evidence the improvement in practice that comes directly from her supervision. Consequently, evidence of the effectiveness of these discussions is lost.

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Good

There is support for staff to record positively the day-to-day activities for the children. The inspection highlighted times when the running log book contains a number of errors and late entries, which do not help the effective charting of issues or concerns. The daily diary sheets have omissions and a lack of clarity. Effective shift handovers minimise the impact of this on the children. The manager is aware of these issues and has a strategy in place to improve recording as part of her improvement plan for this year. The manager has delegated some tasks to team leaders and senior workers in the home, to help their development. This also forms part of the improvement plan and it helps her to spend more time with the observation of practice. The manager has a checklist to monitor routinely the progress that the children are making. She uses this alongside reports from the independent visitor to ensure that the service

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Good

is in line with the statement of purpose, and this helps to maintain positive outcomes for the children. The manager has met the recommendations from the last inspection. Staff complete mandatory training, to equip them in working effectively with children. One member of staff has not completed the national vocational qualification level 3 within the timescale. She has built up positive relationships with placing authorities that are pleased with the outcomes for the children. In particular, they are happy with the engagement in education, which for some of the children had been not been achieved prior to living in this home. They also comment on the positive changes in the children’s behaviour that had challenged previous carers and was considerably more risky than it is currently. The manager has been firm in challenging one local authority’s plans for contact to ensure that it is as safe as possible for a particular child. This

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Good

practice ensures children access their right to a safe childhood.

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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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