Children's home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Rossendale

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 have built good relationships with the staff who care for them, based on respect and trust.  There has been a significant reduction in young people’s risk-taking behaviours. They have increased their understanding of these behaviours and the dangers that they were placing themselves in.  Young people have successfully re engaged in education and are doing well. This includes taking a number of exams.  The staff team is committed to the young people and has high aspirations for them and their futures. The staff provide young people with positive role models.  Leaders and managers have addressed all but one of the recommendations and requirements made at the last inspection.  The staff team works effectively with fellow professionals and families to provide young people with a good standard of consistent care.  Young people benefit from taking part in a wide range of fun and purposeful

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The children's home provision is good because:

activities. These build self-confidence and improve self-esteem and promote a healthy lifestyle.

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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

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard with particular reference to staffing arrangements and the use of agency staff, the registered provider must ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child (Regulation 13(2)(d)). 5 September

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, key-worker records and the minutes of house meetings should reflect more detail of the discussions which take place, and the record of complaints need to record clearly the young person’s views on the outcome (‘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 operated by a private national provider of education and social care for children and young people. It provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is situated in a very rural location, and one car is provided. Young people can attend education within the company school or via external provision.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

8 March 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

29 January 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people have developed strong and effective relationships with the staff team, based on trust, respect and honesty. Young people said that they really value these relationships and feel well cared for. They feel that staff listen to and value their views and opinions. One young person who is about to move said that the best thing for her would be to move the home and the staff team near to where she is from. ‘That would be prefect.’ Another young person said, ‘It’s great here.’ For some of the young people, this has been their most settled placement. Staff ensure that young people receive personalised care to meet their identified and emerging needs. This work is enhanced by staff’s in-depth knowledge of the young people whom they care for and their commitment to providing good-quality and consistent care. Staff have worked with young people in developing their understanding of the dangers of their risk-taking behaviours, which has led to a

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Good

significant reduction in these behaviours. Young people have a range of plans that identify their individual needs and how these will be met by the staff team. Records are maintained of the work undertaken with young people, but these do not consistently evidence all the work undertaken, particularly the key-worker records. All young people have successfully re-engaged with their education since admission to the home. This has led to some currently undertaking GCSE exams . Through the support and encouragement provided by staff and the young people’s teachers, young people have higher aspirations for themselves than previously. Young people take part in a wide range of fun and purposeful activities. This includes maintaining interests and developing new ones. Due to the high staffing levels, staff are able to carry out a lot of one-to-one work with the young people, which includes personalised activities. A significant number of these activities have

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Good

had health benefits, as young people are now doing more physical exercise. These include horse-riding and walking. Young people’s health needs are met. The staff work to develop young people’s understanding of the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. This links with the activities that the young people are supported to take part in. Staff support young people to maintain contact with their families and friends. Parents praised the staff for the work that they do with young people, and for how they keep them informed and involved. One parent said, ‘The staff are excellent. They support me as well as my daughter.’ Young people benefit from living in a comfortably furnished family-style home. They are able to personalise their bedrooms and their views are sought about any redecorations. Maintenance is appropriately addressed to ensure that the environment is safe. There is a motion sensor in the home, but this is not being

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Good

used. Some young people have pets, which they said made it feel more like home.

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Good

Young people said that they feel safe at the home and well cared for. They understand that their wellbeing is at the heart of all that staff do. Young people were able to identify a number of staff whom they would talk to about any concerns. Staff have worked effectively to ensure that young people use social media and the internet safely. There has been a significant reduction in risk-taking behaviours, particularly young people going missing. For some young people, this had previously been a considerable issue, which led to concerns about their safety. Since the last full inspection, there have been no incidents of young people going missing from the home. Clear procedures, which have been individualised, should a young person go missing are in place. These are in accordance with police and local and placing authorities’ procedures. There is an effective safeguarding procedure in place, which is well known by staff.

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Good

This, along with frequent training on safeguarding, protects young people. The staff, in particular the registered manager, have developed good working relationships with fellow professionals. When required, appropriate referrals have been made to the local authority designated officer. Records on safeguarding issues evidence that staff have acted promptly on the local authority designated officer’s advice. Behaviour at the home is well managed. There is a focus on positive reinforcement and reward rather than a punitive approach. This has been successful. Physical intervention is very rarely used and then only as a last resort. When used, this is appropriately recorded. There are effective recruitment systems in place, which are adhered to in practice and evidenced in the records inspected. This applies to substantive staff and agency staff. Adherence to these systems protects young people from those adults

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Good

who may wish to harm them. Each young person has a number of bespoke risk assessments. These are frequently reviewed to ensure that they are current. The home also holds a risk assessment for the stables that the young people use. This is in need of review.

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Good

One requirement from the previous inspection is not met. This concerns recruitment of an additional member of staff, which should remove the need to use agency staff. The registered manager said that recruitment is ongoing and further interviews have recently been held. In order to minimise the number of agency staff used, the registered manager has a group of four that he uses. These actions have been taken to ensure that continuity of care is not compromised. The registered manager is appropriately trained and experienced for his role. He is motivated to improve practice and sees inspection as a positive experience. He and the staff are aspirational for the home and for the young people, as are the staff who are well trained and appropriately qualified. Staff are very positive about the registered manager and their colleagues. They feel that they are a supportive group who work very well together. The registered manager and team act as

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Good

advocates for the young people in their care, to ensure that young people receive the support that they need and to reduce anxieties in stressful situations. All staff, including agency staff, receive effective supervision. This covers the young people and staff development, including reflection on their work. This is used to develop the home’s training provision. Staff make sure that young people understand how to make a complaint and support them through this process. Records of complaints provide evidence of work undertaken to investigate issues raised by young people or others. They do not consistently record the complainant’s view of the outcome. Case records maintained reflect the young people’s life at the home. Currently, they do not consistently provide enough detail of the work undertaken by the staff team with the young people. Furthermore, reflection on staff’s work is not constantly recorded.

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Good

The registered manager has an appropriate monitoring system in place. This, with the independent visitor’s report, is used by the registered manager to improve practice at the home. The home’s statement of purpose reflects current practice and staffing at the home.

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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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