Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Rossendale

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 say that their home is outstanding and that staff help them to reduce their risk-taking behaviours.  Young people make progress across all areas of their development. Some young people’s educational attendance improves. They engage with therapeutic services. Risk-taking behaviours, such as substance misuse and incidents of missing from home, reduce.  Staff provide individualised care to young people. They know the young people and support them to explore their identities. Young people say that they feel well cared for.  Independence work is a strength of the home. Young people learn new skills to help them prepare for their transitions into adulthood.  This provision promotes young people’s wishes and feelings. The staff are strong advocates for young people and they regularly consult with them. Young people feel involved with their care planning.  The staff team are committed to the young people in their care. They work

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The children’s home provision is good because:

effectively as a team and provide good-quality care to young people.  Partnership working is good. Staff share information appropriately with relevant professionals. They work collaboratively with professionals such as therapists, teachers and the police to support young people’s progress.  There is a strong and committed registered manager in post. She has good management oversight, which means that she picks up on any practice issues quickly. She strives to improve the everyday experiences and progress of young people.  This inspection has raised several requirements. These relate to key-working sessions, staff training, staff members’ promotion of positive peer relationships within the home, and maintenance within the home.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered person must

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Requirement Due date

(a) ensure that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children

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Requirement Due date

(c)(i) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. 26/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard, the registered person must

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(iv) ensure that staff help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone. 26/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must

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Requirement Due date

(2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 26/08/2016

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

08/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

02/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people and staff enjoy excellent relationships with one another. The established staff team know the young people. They provide them with ongoing emotional support as well as emotional warmth. Young people say that they feel well supported and that staff offer them the help they need to try to make changes to their behaviours. A young person said: ‘I love living here. I don’t know why but I just do; it’s wicked. I definitely feel cared for. Staff worry about me and they look after me really well.’

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Good

Young people’s progress across all areas of their development is good. Staff support them to access education and encourage them to think about their futures. One young person’s education attendance has significantly increased. Where young people are not formally accessing education at an educational setting, staff work with the local authority virtual head and tutors to ensure that young people continue to receive education. They are good advocates for young people. A social worker said: ‘The staff team have got my young person’s back and they do everything that is expected of them.’ Young people have attended and engaged with their mock GCSE exams. Some young people are looking for employment and staff are supporting them to apply for jobs ready for when they move out.

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Good

Overall young people’s relationships with one another are positive. Young people are on the whole tolerant of one another. However, sometimes young people struggle with one another’s routines and habits. Staff do not always ensure that they enable young people to share their annoyances with one another in a positive manner and prior to them escalating into arguments.

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Good

Staff provide good-quality individualised care to the young people in their care. They help young people to explore their identity in a non-judgemental and emotionally warm environment. A young person said: ‘Staff are brilliant, especially the registered manager as she has supported me so much.’ Staff support young people to attend appointments, such as with therapists and CAMHS. Staff encourage other young people to be accepting of difference. Key-working sessions are frequent. However, the recording of the sessions is not always detailed and they do not link in with the aims and objectives of young people’s care plans. Consequently, staff are unable to use the records as a tool for reviewing effective interventions and strategies.

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Good

Independence work is a strength of the home. Staff work consistently with young people to improve their skills in preparation for when they move out and on to independence. Staff talk openly with young people about their transitions and offer practical support. For example, they buy young people kitchen equipment and food ready for when they move out.

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Good

Staff members’ commitment to young people and knowledge of their complex behaviours has supported them to become safer. Staff work with other agencies such as therapists and the police. They implement new ways of working with young people to try to enable them to reduce their risk-taking behaviours. For example, they implement behaviour management strategies that highlight what young people want staff to do when they are in crisis.

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Good

Incidents are few and staff focus on de-escalation and talking situations through with young people. There have been recent incidents where young people caused significant damage to the home. The damage has not yet been repaired and this has a negative impact on the feel of the home. After physical interventions or significant incidents in the home, staff talk to young people and try to help them find alternative ways of managing their feelings. However, the documentation of these discussions needs to be improved so that staff can learn from incidents and prevent future reoccurrences.

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Good

Young people’s risk management plans are informative and regularly reviewed. Staff follow young people’s risk management plans and work with other agencies, such as the police, to decrease young people’s risk-taking behaviours. Effective partnership working and robust strategies have helped young people to form safer friendships in the community. Consequently, their risks have decreased. When young people go on free time, staff make sure that they stay in regular contact with them. They make appropriate referrals to the police when young people do not return.

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Good

Boundaries are consistent within the home. Staff ensure that they support each young person sensitively. Staff are good at knowing when young people are having a particularly difficult day and ensure that they offer them the support they need. A social worker said: ‘My young person has had a difficult time over the last few months but staff have managed this really well. My young person has done well. He trusts the staff and listens to them – they have helped him through this period.’ Judgement grade

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Good

There is a registered manager in post who is qualified with a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. She has been registered manager of the home for the past year. The staff team consists of 13 staff members, all of whom are qualified up to and above national vocational qualification level 3 in residential childcare.

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Good

The registered manager provides a supportive environment. She closely monitors staff practice and is quick to rectify any issues regarding staff practice. She offers staff guidance regarding de-escalation and behaviour management strategies. Staff say that they feel well supported. Areas for development, such as staff document incidents and key-working sessions, are discussed within team meetings as well as regular staff supervisions. Training is not always kept up to date. For example, some staff have not had recent fire training. A recent period of annual leave caused some instability within the home. There is a lack of training for senior members of staff in relation to the daily running of the home to ensure that it continues to operate smoothly during short periods when she may be absent.

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Good

The registered manager knows the young people and has established relationships with them. She regularly seeks their feedback and consults them regarding their care. She focuses on the needs of the young people in her care and in enabling them to make progress, and encourages her staff team to do this as well. Consequently, the aims and objectives of the home’s statement of purpose are being met.

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Good

Communication within the team is good. The registered manager ensures that staff provide consistency to the young people and that everyone knows what is happening for each young person. A social worker said: ‘One of the strengths of the placement is that the staff are a team. They know what is going on as they are a long-term team and there have not been many staff changes. When I call and speak to someone, they all know and I don’t have to wait until the registered manager or deputy is back. They are very clued up about what’s going on.’

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Good

The registered manager promotes good partnership working. She has established and effective relationships with other professionals. She ensures that there is a multi-agency team approach to young people’s care throughout their placements and in planning their transition into semi-independent living. This supports the young people and provides them with consistency.

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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 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 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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