Children's home run by Tulip Care Two Limited in Redbridge

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 enjoy living in the home. They say it feels like home to them and they feel safe there.  Staff know the young people well. Staff spend time with the young people and pay attention to their wishes and feelings. Staff provide individualised support to help each young person to make progress.  Staff make use of expert advice from a clinical psychologist to help them understand how best to support young people with complex needs. They use this advice to inform them how best to help the young people who live in the home.  Admissions to the home are carefully planned to make sure that staff understand how to meet their needs. They also carefully consider how new admissions may impact on young people living in the home.  Young people are safe. Staff understand the vulnerabilities and strengths of each young person. They use this understanding to provide safe opportunities for young people to develop independence skills that are

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The children's home provision is good because:

appropriate to their age and understanding.  Young people have clear boundaries and know what is expected from them. Staff use positive reinforcements to help them learn from mistakes. They teach young people coping strategies and help them to develop social skills in order to enhance their ability to form and maintain relationships.  Staff provide a loving, nurturing environment for young people. This helps young people to feel secure and allows them to share their feelings with staff who they trust and who have their best interests at heart.  Young people have healthy, structured routines. They have excellent attendance in their education placements and they enjoy learning.  The responsible individual and registered manager provide a clear, well- informed, child-centred vision for the service. Staff benefit from excellent training, which is designed to help them understand the needs of the young

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The children's home provision is good because:

people in the home. They also learn a range of therapeutic interventions to help young people make progress.  The registered manager and senior staff ensure that the administration of the home is of a high standard. They have clear systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided to young people. The registered manager acts quickly to rectify mistakes and has an excellent oversight of safeguarding practice in the home.

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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

32: Fitness of workers 3(b) the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (4) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— (a) the level 3 diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’); or (b) a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the level 3 diploma. (5) The relevant date is— (a) in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls two years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or (b) in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. 6 February

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately operated home. They provide care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home has a school attached, which is registered with Ofsted. At the time of this inspection, there were no young people on roll in the school.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

6 January 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

13 February 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Staff spend time living alongside young people and pay close attention to their individual needs. They provide nurturing care and expert help. This ensures that young people are able to thrive and feel safe to explore their feelings. One young person commented that staff comfort her when she is sad. Another young person described how staff have a good sense of humour and can make her laugh. Young people like the staff and say they feel good about living in the home. Staff also enjoy being with the young people and one member of staff described her workplace as a ‘home from home’. The staff team has a high level of support from a clinical psychologist. She works alongside them to help them to understand the needs of young people and to develop strategies to support them. She contributes to assessments that are well informed, insightful and useful for both the staff team and the professional network. This means that young people can access therapeutic support without

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Good

delay. It also means that staff have an in-depth understanding of the young people’s strengths and vulnerabilities. Because of this, young people receive support that is unique to them, taking into account their particular experiences and levels of understanding. The clinical psychologist leads regular reflective practice forums for staff. This allows them to explore the emotional impact of the work and develop strategies for intervention. They are able to understand why young people may present certain behaviours and how they may be feeling. They also reflect on how their own behaviours may impact on young people. This helps the staff team to be resilient when faced with challenging behaviour. They are able to stick with young people through crisis and learn alongside them to discover how best to help them. Staff are able to use tools for direct work to help young people make sense of complex issues. They provide young people with a safe space to talk about things

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Good

that are difficult. They adjust their approach to take account of each young person’s age and understanding. Young people benefit from group living. They routinely contribute to daily tasks such as clearing the table and keeping the house tidy. This promotes a sense of belonging and also teaches them valuable skills for independence. The home has pet rabbits. The young people have learned to care for them appropriately. This provides comfort and gives them a positive experience of love and care. Young people have healthy, stable routines. They go to bed at a reasonable hour and get up in time to be ready for education. All young people are fully engaged in education. They have excellent attendance, enjoy learning and achieve success. Some young people make exceptional progress from their starting point. Staff make adjustments to ensure that they promote diversity in the home. They support young people of different faiths and cultures to make sure that their needs

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Good

are met. There is a strong ethos of promoting positive discussion and to challenge discriminatory attitudes. One young person spoke passionately about her objection to homophobic comments that she had heard in the media. This shows that young people feel safe to openly discuss and challenge prejudice and discrimination. Staff are observant and regularly reflect on how young people experience living in the home. Young people are consulted regularly and their ideas and wishes are acted upon. The home’s care plans are detailed and clearly describe how staff support young people to make progress, stay healthy and keep safe. Young people contribute to these plans and help identify small steps and goals that they want help with. Staff work effectively in partnership with the professional network. The high quality of their assessments helps to ensure that care planning is well informed and keeps young people at the heart of decision making. Feedback from placing social

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Good

workers is consistently positive. One social worker described how the staff are genuinely caring and able to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of young people’s needs. They went on to describe how the home had helped a young person improve her behaviour, do better at school and learn to talk about her feelings. Parents feel that staff provide excellent care for their children. One parent, when talking about the difference the home had made to her child, remarked that the staff had ‘saved her child’s life’. She said that her child has developed independence skills and improved her behaviour. Young people comment that their parents feel welcome in the home and staff support them to keep in contact. The physical environment is as a family home should be. It is clean, furnished to a high standard and feels lived in. Young people are proud of the home and enjoy the comfort of a warm, attractive place to live. The young people’s bedrooms

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Good

belong to them. They are full of personal possessions, toys, books, games and toiletries. They have lots of posters and family pictures on the walls. Young people engage in a range of clubs, hobbies and activities. This includes after school clubs, youth clubs and activity groups. This allows them to make friends and learn important social skills. Their friends are made welcome in the home and, where possible, young people are supported to visit friends and spend time in their homes. Judgement grade

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Good

The provider undertakes detailed assessments before young people are admitted to the home. They carefully consider the needs of all young people living in the home and only admit new residents if they feel it is safe to do so. Despite careful planning, there are times when young people get into conflict with each other. Staff review each situation and have clear policies in place to ensure that young people are safe from bullying. All young people reported that they feel safe in the home and that staff intervene to manage conflict safely. Young people are safe. They develop trusting relationships with staff and learn to talk about the things that worry them. They know how to make a complaint and staff take action to address any concerns that young people raise. They have access to independent advocacy to support them if they are unhappy. One young person also attends a young people’s consultation forum for her placing authority.

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Good

She is confident and able to make representations at this forum. This means that her experiences and well-being are open to a robust, external level of scrutiny. When young people in the home test boundaries or present with challenging behaviour, staff employ a range of strategies and skills to support them. They know how to help each young person. Staff are trained in techniques to manage conflict and only use physical intervention when this is absolutely necessary to prevent harm occurring. When incidents occur, the registered manager ensures that all those involved have a safe space to reflect on what took place. Staff also learn from incidents. Young people who present with challenging behaviours, learn strategies to manage their feelings. They also learn to understand the impact of their behaviour on others. This teaches young people the skills to develop positive relationships. They improve their behaviour and this has a positive impact on their ability to engage in

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Good

learning. It also enhances their emotional well-being. Young people in the home do not engage in any antisocial behaviour in the community and they are not involved with any criminal activities. Staff understand the vulnerabilities of each young person and provide the support and supervision that they need to stay safe. They also avoid interventions that are overly restrictive. This means that young people are permitted to take reasonable risks in order to become more independent. Staff work in partnership with health services to ensure that young people get the help and treatment that they need to stay healthy. They ensure that medications are administered as prescribed and they help young people overcome anxieties that may prevent them attending health appointments. Staff assess any risks in relation to the young people’s emotional or mental health. They ensure that young people have the support and supervision that they need to stay safe. Interventions

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Good

always take into account the young people’s capacity to learn and to understand risks. Young people seldom go missing. Staff know their friends and have close contact with family members. This means that staff know young people’s whereabouts and can keep in touch with them if they are not back at the agreed time. If young people do go missing, staff have agreed procedures in place to make sure that relevant agencies, including the police, have all the information that they need to locate them and ensure their safe return. Staff have undertaken all core training in key areas of child protection. They are alert to any signs that young people may be at risk of child sexual exploitation or radicalisation. Staff closely monitor the use of the internet and social media. If it is necessary in order to keep young people safe, they restrict or closely supervise access to mobile devices.

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Good

The registered manager is knowledgeable, experienced and provides excellent leadership and management of the home. She has made improvements to the service. Most of the requirements made at the last inspection have been addressed. She has improved the frequency of supervisions and staff now benefit from frequent formal supervisions. She has helped staff to develop into more senior roles and take on some management tasks. This has enabled her to improve the recording and administration of the home. However, not all staff have completed their level 3 diploma certificate in residential childcare. The registered manager has taken steps to address this and all staff who have not completed it, are currently enrolled in this course. The registered manager has excellent oversight with robust systems in place to monitor the quality of care. She takes prompt action to address any shortfalls in the standards of care. She does this in a way that acknowledges the complexities

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Good

of the residential role and seeks to support staff to improve performance. She has a firm but fair approach that prioritises the needs and welfare of young people. She leads by example and is accessible to young people, who say they feel able to talk to her if they have any worries. The responsible individual is accessible, knowledgeable and involved in the running of the home. She provides excellent support to the registered manager through regular supervision and appraisal. She is available for advice and invests in a range of resources that support the manager and the staff to deliver excellent care. This includes a wide range of specialist therapeutic training. The registered manager also has regular clinical supervision, provided by a clinical psychologist. This allows her to reflect on practice and ensures that she is not isolated in her role. This enables her to lead the team in a way that acknowledges the emotional impact of

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Good

the work. It also helps to ensure that she can promote well-informed strategies to support young people with complex needs. All young people make progress from their starting points. The staff team is able to work with young people with very complex needs and provides a stable, caring environment for them. The registered manager and responsible individual work effectively as a team. They provide clear direction to staff. They ensure that there is a sound, ethical value base underpinning practice. They advocate strongly for young people within the professional network, and placing authorities value their contribution to care planning. Staff enjoy working in the home and appreciate the support that they receive from the leadership team. They take part in regular team meetings and contribute their knowledge and experiences to inform service development. A particular strength of the home is that they deliver care that is structured,

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Good

sophisticated and informed by evidence-based practice. They also provide young people with the experiences that they would get in a family home. The registered manager ensures that their experience of childhood is as normal as possible. Young people have a good rapport with staff and have a lot of fun as part of everyday living.

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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

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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