Children's home SC482413

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:

 Children with complex mental health needs are making good progress because they live in this home.  There has been a significant reduction in self-harming behaviour. This is because staff work to build positive relationships with the children and use these in skilful interactions.  There is excellent joint work with specialist therapeutic services that are located on site. As a result, staff understand the behaviours that some of the children present. It also helps the staff to develop new and improved ways of working with the children.  There is extensive direct work helping children to develop skills to manage their emotions and their behaviour. This helps them to move towards a return home in some cases or towards independent living in the future.  Comprehensive pre-admission assessments are completed. This prepares the staff and helps them to understand the complex needs of the children. This also helps them to formulate a plan that can meet those needs from

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The children's home provision is good because:

the outset.  Children do not go missing from this home. There are suitable procedures that staff put in place should a child go missing.  Children have engaged well with school. Some have re-engaged having missed a great deal of education in the past.  Despite children’s increased engagement with school, staff have not been able to encourage participation in education as completely as possible. As a result, children are often late, reducing the impact that the school can have on increasing knowledge and supporting the children in learning new skills.  The manager encourages accurate recording of the progress that children make and of changes to care plans and risk assessments. Staff have a number of systems where this important information is stored. This can lead to uncertainty in locating some details. Because of this, staff may not be able to access the most up-to-date facts with which to work with the

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The children's home provision is good because:

children.  The manager had not explored all of the risk factors in the locality risk assessment. As a result, some individual risk assessments did not detail some hazards appropriately. The manager has acted to correct this during the inspection.  The staff keep children as safe as possible. They regularly complete checks on the fire safety equipment. However, staff have not recorded the most recent checks that they have done. This shortfall is minimised by the fact that the home has a sprinkler system that is maintained well.  The manager has not gained the written consent from placing authorities to use the closed-circuit television system to monitor the children. As a result, staff have not gathered or reflected on the views of those authorities, or on the views of the children.

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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 use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance (Regulation 24(1)(b)). 22/07/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Comply with relevant health and safety legislation. This is with particular regard to the recording of routine safety checks (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).  Ensure the ethos of the home supports each child to learn. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school unless the child's relevant plan indicates that this is not in their best interests (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.14).  Ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policy on record-keeping. This is with particular regard to the consistency and clarity of recording and of recording the voice of the child (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).

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Recommendations

 Ensure the home is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded. In particular, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. This review should include the identification of all risks and opportunities presented and of strategies for managing these risks. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1).

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered for up to 16 children who have mental disorders. It is privately owned and has a separately registered school on site.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

12 February 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness.

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Good

Children receive a good level of care because they live in this home. Children have received in-patient treatment, having had a diagnosis for mental health difficulties, before they come to live here. Staff complete extremely thorough, proactive risk assessments, prior to children’s admission. This helps to prepare the staff to manage the children’s arrival and to help them to settle in. Staff update these assessments on a daily basis, which supports the work that they are completing with the children. Staff have guidance from in-house specialist clinical services to focus on meeting the children’s needs. As a result, the direct work that is completed helps the children to stabilise in the home and to build towards a long-term recovery and eventual return home or towards independent living. Communication between the staff is extremely positive, with a high level of inter- agency work. Staff utilise a good clear handover between shifts when they share

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Good

crucial and important information. This ensures that there is consistency of care. There is a focus on case recording, which maximises opportunities for staff to manage risks, and these records are carefully documented. The manager reviews these records to reassure herself that there is rigorous reporting of issues, and a focus on improving the outcomes for the children. One shortfall is the number of different filing systems for each child. This can lead to confusion about the correct location for saving some information. This issue is minimised by the handover meetings. Staff have a good relationship with the safeguarding designated officer in the area and implement safe-care plans at all times. There is good reflective practice as staff are encouraged to consider their interactions with the children and each other. Staff remain resilient when managing behaviour that challenges them. Staff work well with extended families to build on these relationships. Staff

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Good

positively support and reinforce the importance of contact. The staff facilitate this contact in the home or in the child’s home area if this is suitable. This maintains the children’s understanding of their backgrounds. Alongside the in-house clinicians, staff support children to make and keep appointments with doctors, the dentist, and opticians in the community. Healthy food is prepared in the home, and children help to choose the menu. Children take part in activities that promote fitness as well as develop interests and have fun. Children discuss plans for these events at regular community meetings with staff. Staff encourage and support children to take part in interesting activities outside the home. These include roller skating, swimming, and going to the cinema. Alongside this, particularly intensive direct work provides staff with the chance to listen and to understand the voices of these children. An independent advocate

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Good

commented: ‘Young people’s views are listened to and valued. Staff encourage children to talk to me, and staff are open to discuss any concerns too.’ Since living in this home, some children have re-engaged with school as a direct result of the support from the staff and from the on-site education provision. Other children have been able to maintain their progress. Some of the children are completing coursework, which will lead to A level examinations. Others are completing GCSE work. However, the staff are not always able to encourage all of the children to attend promptly at the beginning of the school day, and some children find engaging full time to be difficult to manage. This has a negative impact on their ability to gain as much as possible from the educational provision.

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Good

Children feel that they are safely cared for in this home. One child commented: ‘The staff have spent time with me and completed work on cyber bullying, radicalisation, exploitation, and e-safety.’ Staff concentrate on building positive and trusted relationships with the children. One parent commented: ‘Staff are marvellous. She seems fond of them, and I know that she has someone to talk to. She is slowly learning to develop relationships.’ These relationships are the foundations of the therapeutic work completed in the home. These plans and the therapeutic work are central to the children’s care plans. The manager has a number of mechanisms to review these plans to make sure that they are meeting the children’s needs. Children do not go missing from this home. There are missing-from-care protocols that staff would follow should a child go missing. Staff are particularly aware of the risks in the community for the children should they leave the home for any period

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Good

without the support of staff. The manager immediately rectified a shortfall in the location risk assessment, identified during this inspection. This has resulted in more robust and accurate individual risk assessments as these factors have been included into them. Trained staff physically intervene if children place themselves or others at risk. Staff have restrained some children, and the manager and staff liaise with therapists and other clinicians to review and reflect on these incidents and to try to learn other ways to manage these situations. These incidents are well recorded and are detailed. This helps the manager to understand the nature of each occasion when restraint is used. For some children, the incidents of restraint have reduced considerably because of the careful management of their needs.

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Good

The registered manager has a national vocational qualification in management, level 5, and has been in post for a year. She motivates the staff through regular supervision and team meetings. These meetings help staff to reflect on their care of the children and to challenge themselves to be resilient. This is particularly helpful to staff when they are managing children’s behaviour, which can be complex and challenge the staff’s skills. The provider has reviewed the training pathway for staff. As a result, staff report that training has improved and they have had access to training specifically looking at mental health issues and the management of self–harming behaviour. Consequently, staff feel more confident. There has been a reduction in incidents of children’s self-injurious behaviour. Staff complete routine health and safety checks that help to protect children from risks in the home. The design of the home specifically minimises these risk factors.

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Good

Staff have not recorded some of the routine fire precaution checks. The well- maintained sprinkler system reduces the impact of this risk as it activates if a smoke detector senses a fire. The staff use closed-circuit television to monitor the children in and around the corridors of the home, to promote their safe care. The provider has not sought written consent from the children’s social workers as required by regulation. This means that those workers have not been able to give their views on the suitability of this form of monitoring. The staff proactively manage children’s complaints. The provider encourages staff to listen carefully to the views of the children. The manager has addressed the complaints well, and children are satisfied with the outcomes. The manager has a positive, proactive monitoring process to ensure that children are making progress. She shares this monitoring with colleagues from different

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Good

agencies to ensure that the holistic aspects of the care plan are met. As a result, plans for children to return to their families or move towards independent living are progressed at the pace that is right for each child. The manager has appropriately challenged the placing local authorities to ensure that children are receiving the support that they need, for example, ensuring suitable arrangements for contact, which improve the relationship for children with their extended families.

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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 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 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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