Children's Home run by East Riding of Yorkshire Council in East Riding of Yorkshire

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 live in a warm, friendly environment that is safe and allows them to test the boundaries.  The staff are caring, supportive and committed to promoting young people’s well-being. Staff understand and take good account of young people’s historical experiences in planning their care.  Young people have a good say in their care and in the running of the home.  Safeguarding practice is robust. The manager and staff have a good understanding of the risks to young people and are proactive in protecting young people from harm.  There is strong multi-agency working, which addresses the holistic needs of young people.  Leadership and management of the home is good and puts young people at the heart of the service.  Staff work well as a team, providing young people with consistently good standards of care.

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Information about this children’s home

The local authority has registered this home to provide care and accommodation for up to six children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

29 March 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

25 February 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

This service aims to provide: ‘A stable, warm and friendly environment… staff will act as positive role models for young people to uphold their rights, develop their sense of responsibility and self-esteem.’ The quality of support that staff provide to young people fulfils this aim and other objectives set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff are aspirational and spend considerable time and energy helping young people to overcome historical difficulties and current challenges. Young people live in a caring, nurturing environment in which they feel safe and can test the boundaries. They are treated as individuals, supported to develop socially acceptable values and behaviours based on respecting equality and diversity. Staff give young people’s education a high priority. They work closely with school and other education agencies to provide young people with learning opportunities that meet their needs. For example, sourcing vocational training like car

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Good

mechanics, and even registering the home as an exam centre so that young people are able to sit their GCSEs. Staff also help young people apply to college and look for work, thereby promoting their ongoing education, training or employment. One young person successfully obtained free transport to work through an employment scheme. Young people are valued, respected and listened to. They have a wide range of opportunities to make their views known. There are daily discussions with staff, regular key working sessions and residents’ meetings, access to advocates and others independent of the home. Young people are able to influence their care and the running of the home directly. One advocate commented, ‘The manager is very responsive to anything they ask for.’ Young people decide on the menus and how they spend their time, and make choices about contact and their future living arrangements. Staff promote the health of young people, paying particular attention to their

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Good

emotional well-being. Young people access the children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and receive good support from staff to reduce self- harming behaviour. Staff encourage young people, using ‘Signs of Safety’, to adopt healthier lifestyles, provide young people with regular opportunities for physical exercise and support attendance at additional services, such as Weight Watchers. Young people learn everyday skills, such as budgeting, cooking and cleaning to help their transition to adulthood. They are supported to develop social support networks and to plan ahead for the future. Staff work closely with other professionals to also plan for other transitions, such as from school to college, to help young people to make this step successfully. Young people take part in Children in Care meetings and the National Citizen Service, which boosts their self- esteem and develops social, work and life skills. Staff offer support and outreach,

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Good

continuing to help young people after they have left the home.

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Good

Safeguarding practice is very strong, and young people live in a safe, caring and supportive environment. Staff are proactive in addressing risks, such as child sexual exploitation, missing from home, self-harm and discriminatory behaviour. There is no bullying in the home, young people are able to advocate for themselves, know how to complain and have frequent visits from the local children’s rights team. Staff have adapted the ‘Signs of Safety’ model to engage young people in risk- reduction strategies. They use it to promote discussion with young people about risks and how best to support young people to keep safe, such as producing a safety plan to reduce self-harming behaviour. This approach has also addressed young people’s discriminatory behaviour and improved their understanding of equality issues. Staff manage incidents of challenging behaviour well. Young people receive high levels of support to develop their resilience. Consequently, the frequency with

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Good

which staff use physical intervention is low, and it is only used as a last resort. This is monitored closely, making sure that such practice is safe and appropriate. Some risky behaviour has not reduced. When there are concerns about an individual’s safety, their care plan is reviewed with other agencies. Practice is altered and different strategies are used, based on individual needs. Responses to keep young people safe are proactive and are aimed at reducing risk. For example, there are responses such as removal of mobile phones, restricting internet access and joint work with police in serving child abduction notices. Young people also receive direct support from the local child sexual exploitation team to help them keep safer.

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Good

The manager ensures that there is very effective partnership working with the police, child sexual exploitation professionals, the placing authority and CAMHS. Good, open systems of communication and regular strategy meetings help to safeguard and protect young people. There is good care practice to ensure that young people do not go missing and that they return safely on the occasions that they do. Staff work hard to engage young people in meaningful activities and promote their interests to encourage them to value what the home has to offer. When young people do leave the home without permission or are late returning, staff will go and look for them. Staff understand the potential risks to young people and follow individual plans to protect them. Staff know the places young people are likely to go, will search there, try to establish contact by telephone and check with young people’s friends and family as to their whereabouts. A worker from the local children’s rights and

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Good

participation team always comes to speak to young people after they return home. This gives young people an extra voice and someone independent of the home to talk to if they do not want to speak to staff.

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Good

The manager deliberates carefully over new referrals. This is to assess and minimise any potential negative impact of a young person moving in on the well- being of existing young people.

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Good

The manager has been registered for this home since November 2013. She is appropriately qualified, has substantial residential childcare experience and manages this home successfully. A deputy and three senior staff support the continuity of effective management. Strong leadership, drive and direction keep the focus of care on providing young people with positive experiences, promoting their progress and ensuring their safety. The staff team was recently awarded ‘team of the month’ within their organisation for their particular hard work and the excellent support that one young person received. The staff team is motivated and committed to helping all young people to succeed and fulfil their potential. The manager and staff have strong relationships with other professionals. They work closely together with schools, the police and health services, providing young people with all the support they need. Stakeholders commented that they are kept

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Good

well informed, communication is open and decisions are made together. There are good arrangements for the induction, training, support and supervision of staff. The staff in the team work well together, are reflective and are open to new ways of working. Previously higher rates of sickness and absence are now exceptionally low. Staff have a wide range of skills and experience and 10 out of 13 have achieved the required care qualification. The other three staff, more recently appointed, have started or are registered to undertake this qualification. The team provides young people with consistent standards of good quality care. The manager is clear and realistic about the strengths of the service and areas for improvement. She knows all the young people well and uses her understanding of their needs and progress to keep them at the heart of the service, with their well- being promoted. Monthly oversight of the management of the home by an independent visitor has

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Good

improved. Subsequent reports provide better evaluation of the service and greater challenge to the manager and provider. In addition to the day-to-day monitoring by the management team, this oversight provides robust checks on young people’s experiences and the quality of their care.

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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 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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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