Children's Home run by 3 Dimensions Care Limited in Devon

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 home is very well managed. The staff team are well led and supported by an experienced registered manager. She makes good safeguarding and admission judgements. She receives good support from her line manager and has the confidence and skills to advocate strongly for the young people, when required.  All of the children and young people attend appropriate education provision. Good partnership working exists between the home and the young people’s schools. As a result, their progress is shared and well supported.  The current three young people continue to make progress in this home educationally, socially and emotionally. The young people are happy and enjoy trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. Young people receive good-quality, nurturing care from a dedicated team that helps them to develop individual interests and achieve their potential.  The manager carefully scrutinises referrals to the home to ensure that there is

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The children's home provision is good because:

an appropriate mix of young people. Careful consideration and good planning are also provided to those young people leaving the home. For example, one young person has recently moved back to live with her family. Well thought- through and robust transition planning contributed to the success of this move.  Good care planning happens and ensures that the young people receive consistent, focused care. Staff manage young people’s behaviour well. There have been no recorded incidents of restraint, young people going missing from home or sanctions being imposed since the last inspection in March 2016.

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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

46: Review of premises The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children's home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46)(1)). 18 August

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that all areas are homely and domestic environment, in particular that unnecessary locks are remove from doors. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Information about this children's home

The service is run by an established provider. The home is registered to provide medium- to long-term care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and behavioural and/or learning disabilities. The home is managed as two separate self-contained flats within one house. The registered provider bases its practice on the integration of home, education and therapeutic services working together to meet the needs of the child. Young people who live in the home can also attend a school run by the provider and have access to in-house therapeutic support.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

21 March 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

18 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

The staff team delivers good-quality, individualised care for the young people who live in this home. Each young person has a dedicated team of carers who provide dependable and supportive care. As a result, the three young people living in this home have made progress in many areas of their life. Young people benefit from living in a settled, harmonious and caring home environment. Staff are good at identifying and managing young people’s anxieties and behaviour. The manager reviews all incident reports. She ensures that the young people and staff involved discuss and reflect on each incident. This approach enables them to consider preventative strategies that prevent similar incidents from happening again. However, not all records confirm that these discussions have taken place. Children and young people enjoy activities within both the home and the community. Each staff team provides the young people with many new

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Good

experiences similar to other young people of the same age. For example attending the local youth club and meeting friends at a local park after school. Others enjoy bike riding and playing football for a local team. Children and young people flourish as a result of the care, support and encouragement that they receive. An independent reviewing officer agreed and said, ‘My young person has done exceptionally well since being placed at this home. He enjoys all the social opportunities that are provided and the security provided by the team that cares for him.’ Two young people attend mainstream schools and one attends the organisation’s own school. Their attendance is good and they are each making impressive progress. Through this consistent engagement with learning, each young person’s life chances and future employment opportunities are enriched. Staff are successful in supporting the young people when changing between schools, and this reduces

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Good

their anxiety. A young person said, ‘I am going to secondary in September. I am excited and scared. My carers are taking me to see the school so I can look around and meet the teachers.’ The manager and her team advocate well for the young people. They consider the needs of the young people when they are placed in the home and/or move out. One young person who has recently returned to the care of her family benefited from careful planning and support that ensured that her move was successful.

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Good

The manager and staff team have a good understanding of the young people’s backgrounds and how these impact on their current behaviour. As a result, young people’s needs and behaviour are managed well. Young people contribute to their behaviour management plan. This approach empowers young people to identify strategies that work best for them when their behaviour becomes challenging. For example, one young person has identified that singing to music and dancing help to lift her mood when she is feeling angry or frustrated. This strategy is included in her behaviour support plan. There is a strong focus on recognising and rewarding positive behaviour. Incentive targets are personalised and regularly reviewed. However, one young person’s target and achievement charts are displayed on the staffroom door. This compromises the young person’s right to privacy and has the potential for the information to be misused by others.

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Good

Children and young people benefit from the good working relationships that the manager and staff have with other professionals. The manager is proactive in ensuring that the young people receive all services that they need, which in turn supports them to achieve their potential. This includes working with education providers, healthcare services, social workers and independent reviewing officers (IROs). One IRO said, ‘The home engages well with the school. It is particularly good at providing the support that he needs for his health and emotional needs.’ There is very good attention given to the young people feeling safe and being kept safe. Staff turnover is exceptionally low. Each young person has a dedicated team of staff who work with them. As a result, continuity of care is well maintained. Staff provide young people with close supervision that is appropriately balanced to enable them to experience autonomy and develop independence. The majority of

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Good

staff have worked with all three young people since they moved into the home. Two new staff have been appointed to supplement the staff team. These staff have been carefully selected and vetted in line within safer recruitment guidelines. The manager has liaised with a wide range of agencies to gain knowledge and an understanding of the risks in the home’s local area. However, she has yet to use all this information to enhance the information provided within the home’s locality risk assessment. This means that staff are not provided with the most up-to-date information. For example; the operational hours of emergency services and public transport services in the local area that may impact on the well-being of the young people. Other risk assessments are regularly reviewed and well-constructed, with clear strategies to minimise the risks. This practical awareness of risk helps the staff to keep young people safe, because incidents of concern are identified and responded

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Good

The home is led and managed by an enthusiastic, committed and experienced registered manager who has been registered with Ofsted for six years. She is suitably qualified. She shares her knowledge and experiences with the staff team. As a result, they share the same child-focused approach. Staff speak highly of her. One member of staff said, ‘she always places the young people’s needs first. She always leads by example and has high expectations and aspirations for the young people.’ Team meetings are well attended, and discussions are focused on the needs and behaviours of the young people. Staff share young people’s achievements, and review patterns and trends in behaviours. There is a strong, shared ethos in the team about the importance of gaining and considering the views and wishes of young people. Discussions with young people take place daily to inform staff of young people’s emotional well-being. Weekly

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Good

house meetings take place to allow young people to express their preferred choice of activity, menus, what has gone well and any personal requests. However, consideration has not been given to using the feedback from these meetings or more formal consultation systems, to inform the future development of the home. Young people enjoy living in a home that is clean, warm and generally well maintained. The home is currently undergoing extensive building works. This has not impacted negatively on the young people. All young people’s bedrooms are personalised to their tastes and interests. However, all doors within the home have a star lock and a key fitted. This manager said that these are not used to restrict the young people’s access to rooms, and acknowledged that they detract visually from the homely environment that is provided. The registered manager efficiently and routinely uses a wide range of monitoring

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Good

and reporting tools. Consequently staff, social workers, parents and notifiable agencies receive regular and informative updates about the young people’s progress and experiences. All significant events are routinely reported to the required authorities and social workers.

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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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