Children's home SC062644

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 have access to a range of activities that offer new leisure opportunities.  Staff know how to develop positive, nurturing relationships with young people.  Family contact is well supported, enabling young people to re-engage with family and friends to develop lasting relationships.  Educational placements are well supported. This has a positive impact on attendance.  The registered manager and staff team have created good links with statutory agencies. Sharing of information and gaining an understanding of the way other agencies work help to ensure that young people are safe.  Staff show aspirational thinking in relation to the young people’s achievements.  Young people in the home say that they feel safe because of the way in which the registered manager and the staff team listen to them and support them.  Risks are comprehensively assessed, allowing young people to undertake age-

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The children's home provision is good because:

appropriate activities.  Recruitment practice is robust.  The ethos and purpose of the home has changed to offer medium- to long-term support to young people rather than emergency short-term care. This allows young people opportunities to develop positive relationships that can enable change.  The home maintains a homely and welcoming environment. The manager and staff team ensure that the home is clean and well maintained.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

(1) Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing (a) injury to any person (including the child); (b) serious damage to the property of any person (including the child); or (c) a child who is accommodated in a secure children’s home from absconding from the home. (2) Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(1)(a),(b),(c) & (2)). In particular, ensure that all occasions when staff use physical force on young people are recorded in detail. 5/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

13. In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to safeguarding training, the registered person must – (2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 9/09/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45), to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. In particular, they should ensure that recording is appropriately signed off and that evaluation of recording is undertaken. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified

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Recommendations

and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, for example teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.2)  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their roles formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home's care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. ('Guide to the children's homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.5)  Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home is provided by a local authority and is registered to care for up to six young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

29/10/2014 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Good

Young people experience positive relationships with staff, developing a sense of trust in those who care for them. A young person said, ‘Staff are great’, and another said, ‘This is the best home I have been in.’ Staff have improved the systems available to young people to share their opinions on a range of matters. There is a relaxed, ‘chatty’ atmosphere in which young people share their day-to-day experiences. In addition, individual sessions give young people an opportunity to share their wishes and feelings in private. Activity planners, organised on a monthly basis, give the opportunity to try new things. Young people regularly record their feedback in relation to the activities, to enable further planning to take place. Comments made by young people include that the activity was, ‘great’ and ‘fab’. The result is that young people’s sense of achievement and self-esteem improves. The young people’s guide outlines, ‘how to complain’, should this be necessary.

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Good

Complaints are treated seriously by the staff team. The manager investigates complaints thoroughly at an early stage. Young people are informed in writing about the investigation and outcome. Their satisfaction, or otherwise, is recorded, and they are enabled to take complaints to the next stage if they wish. The impact of this is that it further reinforces to young people that they have a voice and that appropriate actions bring results. Young people attend a variety of educational provision from home tutoring to college placements, depending upon their needs. Young people are positive, overall, about education and can see its worth. The result is that attendance has risen for all young people. Staff are supportive in their work in relation to education, and most young people have undertaken recent exams with a career path in mind. A social worker said, ‘[Name] is improving. He is aspirational now about his future.’ The impact is that young people are able to secure placements

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Good

that allow them to begin to address their own future needs. A young person said, ‘I want to be a mechanic and eventually get a flat with my girlfriend.’ Life skills form an important part of the practice of the staff currently, due to the age of most young people. Pathway plans are in place, where relevant, and staff support learning through planned opportunities to test skills and knowledge. This prepares young people for their lives after they leave the home. Young people are healthy and, overall, attend appointments. When there are issues with attendance, staff work with young people to encourage them and deal with any worries or concerns by supplying appropriate information and offering to attend with them. Care planning is robust. Records and risk assessments detail the needs of young people well. The home is currently moving to electronic recording, and this transition period is causing some issues with duplication and with tracking

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Good

information. In addition, recording in daily records and of one-to-one sessions is so brief that it does not fully evidence the actions of staff, and it needs to improve. Staff support contact by facilitating transport and supervision when needed. A parent said, ‘The home is excellent. I feel listened to and can always ask questions.’ The impact of this positive working with families helps young people to improve their relationships and to build supportive networks for their futures. Staff work well with other professionals, ensuring that appropriate services are offered to young people. Youth offending and drug and alcohol workers regularly visit the home, whether they are working directly with young people or not. Social workers visit regularly and liaise well with staff. A social worker said, ‘They always get information to me and keep me on the ball with what they need.’ Staff have a strong working relationship with the local community police officer. She visits

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Good

regularly and speaks to young people and staff. This ensures that positive relationships can build to gain the maximum support for young people should they need it.

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Good

Young people are safe in the home. They understand the expectations of staff with regard to behaviour and this is outlined in the young people’s guide. Restraints are rare, and young people have the opportunity to talk about the experience afterwards. Some records, however, do not contain sufficient detail to give assurance that the restraint was appropriate. Furthermore, on one occasion, a member of staff had to apply physical force to a young person to keep them from harm. This should have been recorded as a restraint but was not, reducing transparency and accountability. Occasional bullying episodes take place in the home but staff’s response and recording is robust. This helps practice to improve. Risk assessments identify interactions and times when the potential for bullying is raised, and staff manage their practice accordingly. Risk associated with casual substance misuse forms a significant element of the

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Good

work with some young people, due to their histories. However, most young people’s drug use has reduced while at the home and this is evidence of the young people’s positive engagement with the staff and of the work undertaken. Young people go absent from the home, some regularly. Most episodes are of returning late and pushing boundaries rather than wanting to run away. This is another area in which staff have been able to make a positive impact, and these episodes are reducing. When they do occur, staff make every effort to find young people and return them before contacting the police. Sanctions are used to manage behaviour when necessary. This usually takes the form of restitution for damage. A restorative approach is being developed in the home that will enable young people to develop a sense of empathy for others. Staff at the home access local mental health services to support young people to deal with trauma from their past. Staff form positive relationships with the

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Good

professionals to learn improvements to their own practice that will assist them in supporting young people. A specialist nurse said, ‘I have found the staff to be skilled at articulating the need and voice of the young person. They ensure that the care plan is reviewed and adhered to, depending on the particular needs of the young person.’ Staff are clear about the processes and procedures to follow should a safeguarding issue occur. There are no current allegations involving young people or staff. Previous investigations were carried out fully and de-briefing forms part of the situation should it occur.

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Good

The home is effectively managed by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. This, along with a strong deputy and senior team, offers the opportunity for the team to continue to learn and improve. Staff are appropriately recruited and a full staff team offers young people consistent levels of care, enabling them to thrive . Supervisions take place, but not always with the regularity set out in the home’s policy. Appraisals take place and offer staff opportunities to self-evaluate their work and to receive feedback from their supervisors. However, the personal development plan aspect of the process is rarely completed with targets for future improvement. This impacts on the morale of staff, if allowed to drift, and needs to be addressed. The registered manager’s monitoring of the activities of the home has improved. There are still records that are not signed off, which are mostly those in electronic

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Good

format. The change from hard copy to electronic recording has created some difficulties. Nevertheless, maintaining continuity and consistency of recording are important to the oversight and development of the home. Training for staff is adequate. However, while most staff keep updated with safeguarding practice, there are gaps. This needs to be addressed by the manager to ensure that good practice is maintained. There are adequate numbers of staff trained in first aid and fire warden duties. Notifications to the regulator are made when required. Regular monitoring and oversight of these records assist with the monitoring of practice through feedback at team meetings. Such meetings are held at least monthly and provide opportunities to discuss all young people as well as a platform for the development of practice. The home is warm and welcoming. However, it is showing signs of wear and tear in some areas. The manager and staff team are in the middle of a planned re-

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Good

decoration of all areas, including young people’s bedrooms. Young people are expressing their choices appropriately and are an integral part of the decision- making process. The recent addition of an external large room in the garden, described as the summerhouse, offers young people an additional space for playing table tennis and music and generally relaxing. A room is available for young people, complete with a computer, to access the internet safely for education or leisure opportunities. The statement of purpose is kept up to date and forwarded to Ofsted appropriately. It outlines the ethos of the service and what it hopes to provide for young people .

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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 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

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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