Children's home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Wolverhampton

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 a wide variety of positive and life-enriching experiences. They make progress in all aspects of their development.  Staff know the young people well. They are insightful in respect of the complex needs of each young person and are committed to making a positive difference in their lives.  Staff treat each young person with respect and dignity.  Staff provide young people with structure and routine and young people feel safe and well supported.  Young people who are new to the home are given high levels of support to help them to settle.  Good multi-agency working and partnerships with families mean that care plans are effective and relevant.  There are some shortfalls. Incidents of physical intervention are not consistently evaluated by the manager, and debriefs with staff and young people are not always completed. Not all staff are appropriately trained to meet the specific needs of the young people. Staff do not consistently

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The children’s home provision is good because:

ensure that strategies to reduce risk are followed. There are also improvements needed to the home’s maintenance.

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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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The quality and purpose of care standard

6.—(2) The quality and purpose of care standard requires the registered person to—

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The quality and purpose of care standard

(vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably 12/09/2016

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The protection of children standard

12. —(2) The protection of children standard requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe; (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other 12/09/2016

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The leadership and management standard

13. —(2) The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to— (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child 12/09/2016

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Behaviour management policy and records standard

35.—(3) The registered person must ensure that— (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so— (i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and (c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. 12/09/2016

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of a number of homes operated by a private company. The home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people who have learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

30/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people make good progress in all aspects of their lives. They develop a positive self-view and increased confidence. This is because young people receive personalised, individual care that reflects their abilities, needs and vulnerabilities. A social worker said that the ‘amazing’ staff team were ‘always prepared to go that extra mile. Their perseverance has made a huge difference.’ A parent said, ‘Seeing how staff interact with him reassures me that he is safe and well cared for.’

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Good

Young people have positive relationships with staff. Staff are courteous and treat young people with dignity and respect. Young people are able to let staff know their views and wishes, as staff take time to understand what young people are saying. A variety of communication tools in the home further reinforce and enhance the importance of young people’s voices. Some young people are helped to express their views using picture symbols.

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Good

Young people who are new to the home are warmly welcomed and supported into the home as staff carefully plan and prepare for each young person. As one parent observed, ‘Everything they have done has reassured me that they are committed to get to know his needs as quickly as possible.’ New young people are appropriately matched and their presenting needs considered alongside those of the existing residents. Staff appropriately liaise with specialist services to ensure that young people’s transition is managed as smoothly as possible. Young people’s distress and anxiety about change are reduced because they are informed and prepared at each stage. As one social worker commented, ‘He has settled well, better than I expected.’

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Good

Young people’s health needs are met, as detailed healthcare plans clearly describe their medical needs. Close communication with healthcare professionals ensures that positive outcomes are maintained. A healthcare professional commented, ’The staff display an excellent knowledge and know what helps to support his emotional and behavioural health.’

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Good

There is very good liaison with schools, ensuring a consistent approach in both settings. Young people’s attendance is excellent. Young people’s educational opportunities are enhanced and their learning is maximised. For some young people, incidents of school exclusion have significantly reduced.

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Good

Young people enjoy a wide range of opportunities and activities in the home and community. Plans reflect young people’s choices. Young people enjoy holidays with staff. They also enjoy new opportunities, which widen their experience and community involvement. For some young people who previously struggled to cope with any change in their lives, this has been a significant development. They have, for example, loved visits to a local zoo and swimming pool for the first time.

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Good

Young people contribute to the running of the home wherever possible. This includes helping with chores at mealtimes and keeping their rooms tidy. Young people develop skills that help them move towards increased independence.

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Good

Contact between young people and their families is promoted wherever possible. Families are made welcome in the home, and staff also support contact in the community. Young people retain contact with important people in their lives, reinforcing their sense of self and belonging. A parent said, ‘Staff are extremely friendly, flexible and welcoming.’

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Requires improvement

Most young people have made significant progress in regulating their own behaviour since living at the home, and incidents have notably decreased. Staff awareness and understanding of their behaviour ensure that they stay protected. Staff focus on promoting positive behaviour, and young people have individualised incentive schemes to promote socially acceptable behaviour.

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Requires improvement

Staff use physical intervention only as a last resort to manage challenging behaviour. However, managers have not ensured that all incidents of physical intervention are thoroughly documented. Managers do not consistently review each incident or ensure that staff and young people are appropriately debriefed. Learning is not captured. This denies staff and the young person the opportunity to reflect and learn from such incidents. Young people do not go missing from the home due to the high level of supervision and support of staff. Young people have complex needs, and appropriate staffing ratios ensure that they are kept safe. Young people are cared for by a consistent, committed staff team. This means that they develop trusting relationships with known staff and can talk to them if they want to. Information is presented to young people in a variety of formats, including widgets and picture symbols, to ensure that they have a good understanding, for example of how to

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Requires improvement

make a complaint. They are reassured that adults take their views and concerns seriously.

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Requires improvement

Risks of sexual exploitation are not consistently evaluated and not all staff have undertaken appropriate training to raise their awareness of the risks. The manager is aware of this shortfall and has identified a strategy in her development plan to address this.

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Requires improvement

Incidents of bullying are recognised. However, the manager does not make sure that all incidents are effectively evaluated. Staff recording does not identify or consider the impact on the victim, meaning that patterns of bullying behaviour cannot be identified or effective work undertaken with young people to improve relationships. Not all staff have undertaken training to help them identify bullying behaviour. This compromises their ability to safeguard young people.

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Requires improvement

Staff do not consistently help young people to understand the dangers presented by social media. Although appropriate measures are in place to supervise and support young people’s use of the internet on the home’s computer, staff do not consistently make sure that actions identified in safety plans to reduce risk are completed, or ensure that individual work with young people to raise awareness of e-safety is undertaken. For example, where there is an identified risk of a young person accessing inappropriate internet sites from their mobile phone, staff have not regularly ensured that phone use is reviewed.

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Requires improvement

There is a safe system for managing young people’s medication. This contributes to a good standard of care. Staff are proactive in liaising with healthcare professionals to ensure that medication is appropriately dispensed. The manager has oversight and audits the records and staff practice to ensure safety and compliance.

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Requires improvement

Young people live in a home that is safe and secure. Regular safety checks are undertaken on gas, electrical and fire-safety systems to ensure that they are in good working order. During the inspection visit, a number of the fire doors did not close securely. This was immediately addressed by the manager during the visit and rectified. Young people are familiar with the need to check fire alarms and complete fire evacuations from time to time. This helps them to understand fire risks and promotes their safety.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s safety is further promoted through appropriate vetting of staff. There are effective and safe recruitment practices in place, meaning that young people are protected from adults who may wish to harm them.

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Good

The registered manager resigned from her post in May 2016. The new manager started in post in June. She is qualified to national vocational qualification (NVQ) level 5 in leadership and management and has previous experience as a registered manager. She is in the process of submitting her registration application. The previous deputy also resigned and has been replaced by an experienced manager from one of the provider’s other homes.

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Good

The resignation of both the registered manager and deputy has caused some instability in the home, with both staff and young people feeling unsettled. The new managers have been quick to address this and have undertaken workshops with staff to promote a shared vision and improve motivation. They are developing positive relationships with the young people.

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Good

The manager understands the strengths and areas for development for the home, and she has an ambitious and achievable plan in place to ensure that the service progresses. These plans include team development, additional training for staff, involvement of young people in the development of the home, plans for holidays with young people, and improvements to some areas of the home. Young people benefit because the care they receive and the environment they live in continue to evolve and improve.

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Good

A number of new staff are employed at the home. As a consequence, half of the staff do not currently hold an NVQ in residential childcare at level 3 and are working towards it. The manager expects all members of staff to complete their qualification within the regulatory timeframe. Young people are supported by staff who receive regular supervision. They benefit because staff have opportunities to reflect on young people’s welfare and progress. All staff complete the home’s induction and core training. As a significant number of staff are relatively new, they have not undertaken additional training to address young people’s specific needs, such as those related to autistic spectrum disorder, epilepsy or sexually harmful behaviour. This means that not all staff have the necessary understanding and skills to meet young people’s needs.

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Good

The statement of purpose has been updated by the manager. It is clear and concise, and the service provided by staff meets its objectives. The manager is developing the monitoring of the standards within the home. The monthly independent visitor provides rigorous external scrutiny of the service provided by the home. The manager values the suggestions made by the independent visitor and sees these as an opportunity to improve the service to young people.

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Good

Partnership working is a strength of the home. Professionals working with young people consistently praise the high level and quality of communication from staff. For some young people, this has included daily updates to social workers.

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Good

The manager ensures that all the necessary information about the needs of young people is available to staff. Where there are shortfalls in receiving information from other professionals, the manager and staff ensure that these are forthcoming. This ensures that staff have all the relevant and updated information about young people and their plans required for their needs to be understood and met.

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Good

Young people benefit from living in a large, well-equipped environment. The home provides a comfortable and well-furnished home for young people. There are some areas of the home that require maintenance and redecoration to improve the standard of the accommodation.

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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 the ‘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 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 that 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, 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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