Children's Home, Residential special school run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Staffordshire

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:

 The quality of the relationship between the staff and young people is excellent.  Care is individualised. Young people have clear, individualised plans and risk assessments, which are reviewed and updated.  Staff learn individualised methods that help them to communicate with each young person.  Staff support young people to have excellent attendance and punctuality at school.  Young people enjoy a diverse range of activities in the home and in the community.  Staff understand the procedures in place to protect vulnerable young people in their care.  Partnership working with parents is good.  Effective multi-agency working ensure that staff have the knowledge about the complex needs of young people in their care.  Strong recruitment and vetting processes help to keep young people safe from harm.  Leadership and management are effective to ensure that young people make good progress physically, emotionally, educationally and socially as

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The children's home provision is good because:

the result of their placement.  Some shortfalls were identified in the home’s practice: not all young people access support from an independent advocate and not all of the young people’s bedrooms are free from avoidable hazards.

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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

7. The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard the registered person must ensure that staff - (2)(b) ensure that each child (iii) is given appropriate advocacy support. 23/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe - (2)(d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 23/09/2016

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Information about this children's home

This home is part of a residential special school and is part of a large private care organisation. The service is registered to accommodate 23 children and young people with learning disabilities. The home offers planned long-term placements and short-break stays. The school is registered with the Department for Education.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

22/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12/03/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Good

Staff have a very positive view of the young people whom they look after. They understand their complex needs and behaviours and work hard to engage with them everyday life. The quality of the relationships between the staff and young people is a key strength of the home. This supports young people to make meaningful progress. Professionals and parents make positive comments about the way in which young people are looked after. For example, a parent reported, ‘I am very happy with the care that is provided. It is very good. The staff meet my son’s needs very well.’ Care is individualised. Young people have individualised plans and risk assessments, which are reviewed and updated. Achievements are clearly recorded and celebrated, and new goals are promoted to help young people to reach their full potential. Young people have differing communication needs. Staff ensure that they have the skills necessary to enhance young people’s communication so that they are

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Good

empowered, respected and valued. Staff ensure that young people’s views remain central to their care. Regular meetings, observations and the use of communication aids all ensure that individual preferences are ascertained in relation to care planning. For example, young people have a choice of activities each evening after school. The use of communicational aids help to ensure that the wishes of each young person are secured. However, not all young people access independent advocacy service. This hinders young people’s opportunity to share their views about their care with adults who are independent of the home. Young people enjoy a diverse range of activities in the home and in the community. In the home, they take part in activities such as dancing, using the sensory room, gardening and accessing the outdoor play equipment. Young people have fun and participate in community life. For example, they enjoy going bowling

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Good

and dining out. They also go on short holidays. A social worker commented, ‘[The young person] is given appropriate choices in respect of day-to-day experiences. The staff try hard to reflect these choices when providing care.’ Young people are registered with primary healthcare and specialist services. The home has multi–disciplinary support, which includes a speech and language therapist and an occupational therapist. These professionals attend some of the team meetings so that information can be shared and advice gained. This ensures that young people can access services and receive treatment without undue delays. This, in turn, helps to enhance their physical, emotional and psychological well-being. All young people attend the organisation’s own school. Attendance and punctuality are excellent. Communication between school and home is good, and measures are in place to offer young people seamless care.

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Good

New admissions are well considered and matched. Good preparation is made before a new young person moves in. For example, the manager has developed a new pictorial and verbal young people’s guide. This is personalised to each young person before his or her admission. This helps the young person to understand and to become familiar with their new setting. When it is time for the young person to move on, staff support this transition. When appropriate, they attend the new setting with the young person and share information to ensure a smooth transition. Young people maintain contact with their parents and carers. Staff are available for parents to discuss the current and future needs of the young people. Staff work with parents and have good lines of communication. One social worker commented, ‘The home are good at supporting [the young person] to have contact.’ Most of the living accommodation is spacious and appropriate to the young

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Good

people’s needs. It is personalised with pictures of the young people. However, the quality of young people’s bedrooms is inconsistent. Most are clean, safe and personalised. However, one bedroom had unsafe flooring and other outstanding maintenance issues. Another had a broken lightbulb with glass exposed. These were repaired at the time of the inspection. The registered manager has recognised that the home needs refurbishment, and this work is ongoing.

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Good

Staff understand the procedures in place to protect vulnerable young people in their care. Some young people are unable to tell staff if they are unwell or if something is worrying them. Staff are vigilant about changes in young people’s behaviour and report any concerns. Other young people use a variety of methods to communicate, including picture exchange symbols. This helps them to inform others about how they feel. Due to young people’s complex needs, they can at times display extremely difficult and challenging behaviour. Staff have a good understanding of these behaviours and know what action to take to address them. Staff are consistent in embedding behaviour management plans and in supporting each other. The manager carefully analyses incidents in order to detect patterns in behaviour and takes action to help address behaviours. As a result, incidents for young people decrease, as does the need for physical intervention. This ensures that young people, including the most

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Good

vulnerable, benefit from effective support and protection. A social worker reported, ‘The staff manage [the young person]’s behaviour very well. This is despite [the young person] having very challenging behaviour. [The young person]’s challenging behaviour incidents have dramatically reduced due to the care that has been provided.’ Another social worker commented, ‘The local authority has seen a significant reduction in incidents and continues to see a decline in incidents for [the young person]. This demonstrates that staff are working effectively to ensure that clear and consistent boundaries are in place at all times to reduce the overall number of incidents.’ Staff receive training in the appropriate use of physical restraint but only use this as a last resort, preferring to use de-escalation techniques, which are more effective. Records made when a physical intervention has occurred receive management oversight. This is helping to ensure that the use of restraint is

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Good

proportionate and that staff and young people are receiving opportunities to reflect on incidents. Young people do not go missing. Staff recognise young people are extremely vulnerable and require high levels of supervision to stay safe. Staff are alert to the potential risks if exploitation and receive awareness training around areas such as e-safety and child sexual exploitation. This enhanced knowledge helps to strengthen safeguarding practice. The home is safe and secure, while balancing the young people’s rights to move safely around the home and grounds. When young people display self-injurious behaviour, staff are skill in safely managing these situations. For example, staff will distract young people; encourage them to be calm and to interrupt any negative behaviour that may harm themselves or others. Phrases such as ‘personal space’ are used to help young people to understand social expectations and to help keep all young people safe.

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Good

Staff are knowledgeable about the complex needs of young people and work effective with multi-agency. This collaborative working ensures that consistent approaches to care are promoted. This in turn, provides certainty for young people and enhances their sense of stability and security. Strong recruitment and vetting processes are in place. Applicants undergo appropriate checks, including criminal history and employment history checks. These reduce the possibility of young people being harmed by those in positions of trust. The manager ensures that location and environmental health and safety risk assessments are comprehensive. Staff are trained in fire safety procedures, and they ensure that young people take part in fire evacuation drills so that they understand how to leave the home safely in an emergency.

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Good

Leadership and management are strong and effective. The registered manager holds her national vocational qualification level 4 in care and management, and has managed the home since January 2016. There is a deputy manager in post, and she has worked in the home for many years. All staff have obtained their level 3 in residential childcare within the appropriate timescales. Although there are staff vacancies, new staff are in the process of being appointed. Current staff are working overtime and two regular agency staff are used to ensure that young people are experiencing consistency and continuity of care. The registered manager is child focused in her practice. She understands young people’s individual needs, and ensures that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet them. The crucial importance to young people of having well-supported and trained staff is recognised. Staff receive regular supervision, and consequently

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Good

work safely and consistently together. A staff member commented, ‘The staff are brilliant. They are willing to learn and develop. It’s a young person-focused service. We try new things. We are open to this. We never set young people up to fail.’ Staff feel valued and supported by the registered manager and each other. They feel listened to, and that their views are valued. This helps the staff to remain highly motivated in their care of young people. A member of staff commented, ‘The manager is fantastic. She gives us lots of support and management. I can’t think of anyone better for the job.’ The registered manager is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She strives to improve her practice to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people. She has an achievable development plan, which includes developing better systems to ensure that maintenance is completed in a timely manner and plans to

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Good

build on the relationship with the school. As a result, young people benefit from a consistency of care that achieves better outcomes than previously. Effective team meetings ensure good communication and consistency of practice across the staff group, in which there are mutually supportive and respectful relationships. These demonstrate positive role models and consistency for the young people. Partnership working with other agencies remains vital in helping young people to make good levels of progress educationally, socially and emotionally. Parents and external professionals are complimentary about the home and say that the manager and staff work well in partnership with them. For example, one social worker stated, ‘The staff team has also worked very closely with mother to support home contact between her and her son. They have offered mother outreach support, and advice around contact within the home. This support has skilled up

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Good

mother to enable her to feel confident during home contact, and I am pleased to say that contact at home is unsupported.’ The manager escalates any concerns sufficiently to bring about the necessary change in the best interests of young people in a timely fashion. The manager ensures that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the services offered to young people, and it is updated when necessary. The statement of purpose is shared with placing authorities and helps social workers to be well informed about the provision of 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’. 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

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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 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

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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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