Children's Home run by Unique Care Homes Support Limited in Cambridgeshire

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 young people are very positive about their experience of living at the home and always feel well supported and safeguarded. They establish strong relationships with staff, which they value highly.  The young people identify how the support offered by staff has helped them to feel more confident and mature and as a result make very strong progress. They all say that the staff are ‘fantastic’.  Partner professionals and young people’s families have absolute confidence that their child’s individual needs are well met by caring and nurturing staff.  The provision of consistent boundaries within the ‘good lives’ model of care means that the young people are helped to understand the reasons for and impact of their behaviour. As a result, levels of antisocial behaviour, police involvement and physical restraint have drastically reduced.  The staff provide a wide variety of fun and stimulating activities, which have

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The children's home provision is good because:

helped the young people to make great strides in their resilience, skills and confidence.  Staff are successful and resourceful in promoting contact and helping young people to rebuild positive relationships with their families.  The young people are safe and feel safe. Any conflict within the group is identified and well managed.  Risk management is robust, and close partnership working with other agencies ensures that appropriate measures are in place to protect young people.  This inspection identifies some shortfalls and areas for improvement. These are in relation to improving specific aspects of the building and document management, evidencing the induction of agency staff and suitably checks for maintenance staff. These matters are not currently having an impact on the safety and well-being of young people.

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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 the ‘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

12: The protection of children standard: In order to meet the protection of children standard with particular reference to health and safety the registered person must ensure that— (2)(d) the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. In particular, ensure that the iron fretwork staircase has suitable covering to prevent a tripping hazard, repair the cooker door and ensure that a personal emergency evacuation plan is in place for each child with special needs. 18/07/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Take care to ensure that prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. In particular, ensure that medication is kept in an ambient room below a temperature at which some medications efficacy may be reduced. Furthermore, ensure robust recording of medication administered and the stock held (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15).  As set out in Regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for

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Recommendations

maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that evidence of fitness is held for all staff. Furthermore, ensure that any induction of agency staff is suitably documented to evidence the guidance given (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1).  Ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, ensuring information regarding the child is recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, ensure that clear records are maintained of the actions taken by staff in the application of physical restraint and that young people’s views have been sought (‘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

The home is one of a small number owned by a private company. It provides single sex care and accommodation for up to five children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

17 December 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

The building is spacious and homely providing a suitable environment which meets young people’s needs. Staff provide girls and young women who are emotionally fragile and have experienced multiple placement breakdowns with a happy, stable and nurturing environment in which they flourish. Good planning and matching of placements means that no placement breakdowns have occurred. Staff support the young people to grow and develop, as a result they all have made substantial progress from their starting points. Placing social workers comment on how the young people that they have placed have made ‘amazing progress’. One placing social worker said, ‘I’m very impressed by the staff who are not fazed or put off at all by the levels of need.’ Another placing social worker commented that the previously shown antisocial and risky behaviour ‘has massively reduced to rarely seeing any of these behaviours’. Consequently, they rate the

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Good

home as good to excellent and comment how their child has ‘been really settled.’ The young people feel valued, loved, stable and secure. As a result, they grow in confidence, with improved self-esteem, independence and maturity. They are given opportunities to explore their emotions and develop tools for appropriately communicating and managing their anger. As a consequence, there is now little antisocial behaviour within the home. The young people develop strong relationships with staff, who they trust and believe want only the best for them. They speak very highly of staff who they say ‘are really nice’ and that ‘there is always someone to talk to’. One young person spoke at length of how coming to this home has made such a positive difference, helping them make the right choices and feel better about themselves. Parents refer to ‘really nice staff who she just loves’. The strength of the relationships

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Good

between the young people and staff are fundamental in helping them to turn their life around. Their ability to keep themselves safe, behave in a positive manner, engage in education and manage their health needs, all improve beyond expectation under the consistent guidance of staff. Effective partnership working with families promotes lifelong positive family relationships and enhances positive parenting. One social worker commented on how a young person ‘has moved from struggling to even have eye contact with mum to seeking and managing daily telephone contact. As a result, their relationship is totally different.’ These improved relationships have on occasion enabled reunification to become a potential long-term plan. Staff provide highly individualised care and partner professionals say that they ‘are very intuitive to the young people’s needs’. The atmosphere within the home is very warm and calm and social interaction is friendly and fun. The young people

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Good

enjoy each other’s company and normal childhood experiences, such as owning a hamster, going on holiday, playing piggy back and on hot days cooling off in the paddling pool. They enjoy a variety of regular clubs such as swimming and karate. One young person recently received a cheerleading award and another young person was praised in the paper following entering a local competition. The staff have been proactive in liaising with schools, placing authorities and the virtual head to ensure individually suitable educational arrangements. At the point of placement, none of the young people were regularly attending or engaging in school. As a result of the high aspirations and expectations shown by staff, all young people have made phenomenal improvement in their educational engagement. One teacher said ‘at placement she never went to school, now she’s in every day’. A headteacher commented that another ‘has gone from a child who

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Good

doesn’t want to go to school to one who likes to detentions so that she can stay at school.’ Achieving almost 100% attendance ‘that’s something she’s never done before’. Teachers refer to staff who are responsive to innovations and who work exceptionally closely with the young person and school ensuring that their ‘enthusiasm is maintained’. One young person has been nominated for an award by the virtual head for her achievements and progress. Teachers comment that ‘staff do everything they can to support school and the child to make the placement and their education in school a success’. This change has enabled some to express career aspirations and be much more confident for their future. Staff are effectively guided on how to support young people through the regularly reviewed and comprehensive care plans and risk assessments. The young people gradually develop their independence skills in the home, appropriate to their age

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Good

and understanding. One parent said, ‘She gets lots of support and is encouraged to do things she never would have done before. She’s got so much more confidence staff are really helping that.’ Those staff undertaking medication administration are trained and their competence is assessed. However, on occasion, the recording of medication given and the stock held is not accurate. Medication is securely stored in a room which can become extremely hot, which has the potential to impact on the efficacy of the medication. The staff provide young people with appropriate support and guidance in maintaining healthy lifestyles and as a result young people are physically healthy and have improving emotional health and well-being. One parent said, ’She seems a lot happier in herself. She used to be very shy but is now coming out of her shell.’ A placing social worker said, ‘She’s happy and comfortable there, she feels

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Good

she can talk to them about anything.’ One young person summed up their feelings as, ‘It feels like home, there’s nothing I would change.’ Judgement grade

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Good

Partner professionals say that young people are safer as a result of living at the home and have absolute confidence in the staff to keep the young people safe. One partner professional said, ‘She has a really good sense of the fact that they have stuck with her through all of everything and safely held her. She feels safe and secure.’ Another partner professional said, ‘She is happy and safe and seems a totally different child.’ Levels of offending behaviour and going missing from care for individual young people have drastically reduced and are now rare. This is particularly relevant as many of the young people placed had established offending and high going missing behaviour patterns. The young people develop strong relationships with staff who provide consistently clear boundaries while maintaining a calm and relaxed atmosphere. Staff help young people to develop the skills to articulate and express their worries, as a

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Good

result they feel much more in control and able to talk about their feelings. One young person described how they now do not feel so angry all the time. A teacher said, ‘She now has a circle of trust, this is something she never had before and she names all of the staff as being in that circle.’ One parent said that their child ‘is making lots of improvements. She’s really recognising her behaviour and learning to manage her anger and emotions.’ Some young people describe how they are justly proud of the significant progress that they have made. One young person said, ‘I’m no longer involved with the police or going missing or doing any of those things. Staff are there to help me.’ Another young person said, ‘I have come on so much since I came here, I used to go missing all the time and get restrained so much, now that never happens.’ Staff are confident and competent in the use of physical intervention and are clear

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Good

on the threshold for its use. A change in approach to a restorative style of behaviour management has seen a dramatic reduction in restraint by over 60% in the past six months. Young people say that the responses to negative behaviour are fair and that they like the ability to earn rewards. One young person described their pride that they had not been restrained in the past six months. They said, ‘If I’m angry I now go off for [a] walk or will go to my room. Staff encourage us all to do this rather than hit out or break something.’ The records of restraint are not always suitably detailed, failing to record the length of hold or the young person’s views, which undermines the manager’s ability to understand the effectiveness of support offered to the young people. The regularly reviewed good-quality risk assessments and management plans guide staff effectively in how to manage risk to keep young people safe. Staff

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Good

consequently have good awareness of the key issues for young people and what may trigger incidents within the home. Staff are vigilant to conflict and respond effectively to any issues of bullying. As a result, young people say that they get on well together. There have been no safeguarding concerns within the home, but the manager and staff are conversant with local procedures and are clear on their safeguarding responsibilities. Robust vetting procedures ensure that young people are fully safeguarded from unsuitable people gaining employment within the home. However, confirmation of appropriate suitability checks undertaken for maintenance employees are not provided to the manager. This means that the manager is unable to have robust oversight of the suitability of all people with unsupervised access to young people. The manager ensures that good systems are in place to ensure the safety and security of the building. However, the decorative iron treads on the spiral staircase

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Good

present a tripping hazard and the broken cooker door requires repair. Suitable fire precaution arrangements within the home effectively minimise the risk of fire. However, individual personal emergency evacuation plans are not in place for each young person. This means that staff do not have clear guidance on how to support each individual young person to evacuate the home effectively in the event of an emergency.

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Good

This is the manager’s first management role and they have been in post for six months. They do not yet hold a suitable level 5 qualification. However, there are clear plans in place to achieve this in line with regulation. The manager, working closely with their senior team, has successfully brought about a change in ethos in the home, working towards implementing a ‘good lives’ model of care. They have prioritised the needs of the young people and improved the quality of support provided. As a result, the young people are thriving. The introduction of effective monitoring systems which are utilised well to gain a clear sense of the strengths of the service has enabled the manager to have a clear vison for service improvement. Staffing levels are appropriate and staffing now provides young people with consistency and stability. This has enabled staff to spend valuable time supporting young people, developing a comprehensive knowledge of their individual needs

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Good

and delivering child-focused individualised care. The young people now benefit from a home where they are continually consulted and their needs are consistently prioritised. Families say that ‘they are very responsive to her individual needs’ and ‘they’ve catered for her needs more than anyone else has been able to’. Staff say that they work well together as a team and feel well supported through effective induction, training, supervision and team meetings. However, there is no formal recorded induction for agency staff, therefore they may not have essential information regarding key issues, such as how to act in an emergency. The potential impact is reduced as only regular agency staff have been used. The manager and staff develop positive relationships with young people, families and partner agencies which support staff to deliver high-quality care. The manager confidently advocates for young people where they feel that placing authorities

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Good

should act to ensure that their needs are met. Parents, social workers and teachers all commented on the high-calibre and caring nature of staff employed and the positive difference that the home is making. Families said ‘I feel she’s in very good hands’ and ‘they are brilliant I can’t fault them’. The manager ensures that the organisational training programme meets the needs of staff. Where eLearning is used, this is supported by further discussion and available resources, promoting staff professional development, skills and competence. All staff who have worked in a children’s home since April 2014 have completed the level 3 diploma or equivalent and new staff are currently undertaking this. The home is well resourced to ensure that the service meets the aims and objectives and individual needs of young people. The manager has ensured that all requirements and all but one recommendation set at the previous inspection have

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Good

been met. This is a well-led home where the manager’s vision and commitment has been effectively shared with all staff. This drive has enthused staff to work hard together as a team to improve the service and as a result the home is almost unrecognisable from a year ago. The young people say ‘it feels like a home and it feels like the staff do care about me’.

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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 that 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 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

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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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