Children's home run by Five Rivers Child Care Limited in Wiltshire

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:

 This is an emergency service that accepts young people who may be in crisis, for example because of a placement breakdown. The home accepts placements for up to 28 days to allow an assessment of young people’s needs while social workers identify an appropriate long-term placement for them. In many cases, young people make good progress in this relatively short time frame. A social worker said that the home ‘provided a very good assessment of his needs and behaviour, which enabled us to source his next placement.’  Although there has been a change of manager, this has had minimal impact on the service. The appointment of the deputy to the role has helped to ensure a seamless adjustment for young people and staff. There is effective management support from higher management in the organisation.  Staff are highly motivated and have passion for their work. They really want to make a difference to young people’s lives. Young people benefit from

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The children's home provision is good because:

warm relationships with staff, some remaining in touch when they move on from the home.  Staff are good at managing challenging behaviour. Their focus is on understanding each individual’s triggers and finding out how best to respond to help young people feel calm and manage their own behaviour better. Their focus is on praise and reward to reinforce positive behaviour. Sometimes they give young people space to recognise their anger and take the opportunity to calm themselves. A young person said how they ‘helped me with my anger. Staff leave you alone, then come and talk to you.’  The building is attractive, comfortable and homely. Swift repairs to any damage maintain the good standard of accommodation for 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 ‘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

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (‘the independent person's report’) which sets out, in particular, the independent person's opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes children's well-being. (Regulation 44(4)(a)(b).) 31 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

Record the date and circumstances of any measure of discipline used in relation to the child, with specific reference to ensuring that sanctions are recorded as such. (Regulation 36, Schedule 3(15).) 31 July 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Include in the children's guide how children may contact the Office of the Children's Commissioner and how to complain to Ofsted, with specific reference to providing the current telephone number for Ofsted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22.)  Ensure that if no education or training placement is identified by the placing authority, the registered person challenges them to meet the child's needs under Regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15.)  Ensure that the registered person challenges placing authorities when relevant plans are not provided, such as personal education plans and statements of

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Recommendations

special educational need, with specific reference to increasing the challenge to placing authorities and evidencing the efforts that the home makes to try to obtain these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5.)

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Information about this children's home

A limited company provides this home, which can accommodate up to six children and young people who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

3 February 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people benefit from living in a very supportive atmosphere where they can experience a period of calm. A parent said that their child ‘felt more settled and supported while he was there’, and that they ‘really enjoyed it, didn’t want to leave’. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘Good care – patient and supportive.’

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Good

No young person’s placement has broken down in the period since the last full inspection. This is very positive, particularly for those who have previously experienced a high number of placement breakdowns. The young people are prepared well for their next move, so reducing the stress of transitions.

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Good

Young people feel secure in the home. One said, ‘Staff are good at managing challenging behaviour – won’t put up with it.’ Staff use therapeutic crisis intervention techniques which focus on de-escalation to calm situations. As a result, young people do not experience restraint very often. Disciplinary methods are used, such as not having access to more exciting activities, but these are not specifically recorded as sanctions.

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Good

Young people benefit from high staffing ratios. This allows staff to spend time with them to talk about their hopes, worries and other matters. The young people like positive adult attention. For some, there is significant progress, for example in completely stopping the violent behaviour which had been usual, prior to living in the home.

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Good

Some young people improve their safety, as there are considerably fewer incidents of going missing or absent. For example, one young person went missing five times in their last placement, but has gone missing only once in this. By trying to find young people, working closely with the police and ensuring that each individual receives an independent interview on their return, staff help young people to improve their safety.

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Good

Some young people have made good progress in reducing criminal behaviour and involvement in the criminal justice system. For example, one young person has been charged with only one offence since moving into the home, which is a considerable improvement to their offending history. There is great improvement for some in learning to take responsibility for their actions, expressing remorse and viewing the police in a more positive light.

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Good

Some young people who smoke continue to do so, although offered help to give up and given information on the risks to their health. There is improvement in some young people’s use of drugs, in one case, with no use of illicit drugs at all while resident at the home. Young people have a good diet and try different foods from different ethnic cultures. A social worker says that their young person ‘loved the curries’. They have the opportunity for physical activities, such as going to the gym, bouncing on the trampoline and playing football, to improve their general health.

p.6

Good

Young people feel that staff do all that they can to help them to keep in touch with their families and friends. They say that staff understand that sometimes they need the reassurance of visiting their families and plan well to make this happen. Families and friends also visit the home, when this is possible.

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Good

Young people experience improved routines, with regular meals and bedtimes. It is commendable that the home follows good practice in not providing televisions in bedrooms. This helps young people to establish better sleeping patterns and ensures that television viewing in the lounges is a social activity that is shared with staff.

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Good

Young people experience celebrations in the home and are supported to follow their religious or cultural traditions. For example, there are plans to celebrate a special birthday, with friends and family being invited and many fun activities to mark the day. Some benefit from experiencing a holiday for the first time. This is a considerable achievement, considering the short time that young people live at the home.

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Good

Some young people make good educational progress. They receive support to continue with their education, whenever possible. For example, staff arranged to take a young person a considerable distance so that they could complete their GCSE exams at their school. Some do not engage in any education or training while at the home, sometimes because they refuse to do so. Staff try to introduce educational activities to help young people to learn and to occupy them usefully, but the management finds it difficult to secure educational provision for all young people from local authorities. More challenge is required so that young people receive what they are legally entitled to and are helped to progress.

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Good

Staff help young people to manage change, and to start to deal with their emotions and feelings about living away from their families. A social worker said their young person ‘settled quickly and staff managed his anxiety’. Young people receive a good induction to the home, including information in a children’s guide. However, details for the Children’s Commissioner are not included. Also, the Ofsted telephone number given is now obsolete. These are relatively minor shortfalls, as it is apparent that staff would provide the correct information if any young person wished to contact either organisation. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

A serious incident took place in which two young people’s safety was at very high risk. A social worker with no concerns about the home’s performance prior to this incident found it ‘highly worrying’. It is fortunate that neither young person came to serious harm as a result of their actions. However, both were involved in the criminal justice system as a result of the incident. Their whereabouts was also unknown for a time when they went missing. Management has reviewed what happened and learned from it, with changes made in response. For example, there are now alarms on doors throughout the building, an improved restrictor on a window, waking night staff and secure storage for keys. This appears to be a ‘one- off’ incident which is unusual and out of keeping with the home’s track record in keeping young people safe.

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Requires improvement

Obtaining information about young people from placing authorities is a problem for this home. Management within the organisation has met with local authorities to discuss this situation. Staff in the home do challenge local authorities to provide required information and to try to secure education placements, for example from virtual school headteachers, but not always with a successful outcomes. There is potential for greater challenge, so that staff obtain appropriate information to plan for young people’s care so that they receive the education that they are entitled to.

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Requires improvement

Staff provide young people with positive role models. They help young people to think about the direction of their lives and consider an alternative to a future involved in the criminal justice system. They encourage young people to aspire to greater things.

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Requires improvement

It is commendable that the home arranges interviews by people independent of the home when young people return from being missing. This is because of a reluctance among many local authorities to conduct these. This ensures a thorough exploration of the circumstances around each period of absence which staff use to review and improve young people’s safety.

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Requires improvement

A robust recruitment process ensures, as far as possible, that staff are suitable to work with vulnerable young people. Continuing supervision and appraisal make sure that they continue to be suitable.

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Requires improvement

Young people feel safe in the home. Staff react immediately to any incident of bullying to protect young people. There are good arrangements to ensure the safety of the building, for example through checks of fire systems and equipment, and fire drills. As these include young people, they learn how to respond to any emergency to improve their safety. Judgement grade

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Good

Staff described being part of ‘a good team – work well together’. They like the challenge of a frequent turnover of residents and working intensely with young people who will stay only for a short time. There has been some turnover of staff during the period since the last full inspection, but there remains a core team of established staff who are experienced in the home. Management has appointed people to fill most vacant posts, and agency staff are no longer used. There are plans soon to fill the post of deputy to strengthen the management team. The interim manager has started the registration process with Ofsted.

p.9

Good

Staff feel very well supported by management. They describe a thorough induction and ‘the best training’. Two weeks of training for new employees, followed by subsequent training, prepare staff to meet young people’s varied needs, including issues of sexual exploitation, self-harm and the risk of radicalisation. Half of the permanent staff have level 3 qualifications and other staff are working towards achieving this by September 2016 to ensure a qualified workforce. Some staff hold other relevant qualifications useful to their role.

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Good

The registered manager left the home on 22 May 2016 . There is good oversight of the service by the interim manager and senior management within the organisation. An independent person visits the home regularly, assesses what goes on and makes useful recommendations to improve the service. However, reports of these visits do not include their opinion of young people’s safety and well-being.

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Good

The statement of purpose contains some inaccuracies. For example, it states that staff ‘will provide a broad and balanced curriculum’, suggesting that formal education is provided on site when this is not the case. However, as the interim manager is currently reviewing this document, a requirement relating to the statement of purpose is unnecessary.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 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 ‘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 0300 123 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, work- based 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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