Children's home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Bolton

Outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 A particular strength of the home is that young people are central to their home and their care planning. The devoted and committed manager supports and motivates her team tremendously well. She ensures that the staff fully support young people and enable them to communicate effectively so that they are thoroughly prepared, consulted and fully involved in a meaningful way in their care planning. Consequently young people fulfil their own goals and reach their aspirations in a prepared, managed and safe way.  Young people benefit from receiving exceptional care and support from a small and stable staff team. This encourages and supports young people to build, develop and sustain positive, nurturing and trusting relationships with staff who they value, respect and feel safe with. As such, young people achieve excellent outcomes in relation to their individual starting points given their complex and

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

diverse needs.  The staff demonstrate an intuitive understanding of the young person’s complex and individual needs. They work extremely well with young people, their families and other agencies to ensure that young people’s developing needs are addressed consistently and swiftly by the appropriate agency as they require.  Young people are prepared and supported remarkably well by the staff to make positive transitions during significant points in their lives. The manager and staff work diligently with partner agencies to ensure that well-thought-out and detailed transition plans are in place to support and enable young people to move on into adulthood exceptionally well.  Parents and professionals are extremely complimentary about the care and support that the children and young people receive from the dedicated and committed staff. One parent said, ‘They couldn’t have done anything else for [name]. The manager and staff are exceptional, and if it was up to me [name]

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

would have stayed there. The ethics, structures, delivery of care offered by the staff, and the home itself are second to none.’  Two shortfalls have been identified. These relate to ensuring that any physical interventions are reviewed and evaluated by the manager within the prescribed timeframes, and ensuring that the safe area risk assessment is reviewed and updated at least once per calendar year.

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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

The registered manager must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of control, discipline or restraint in relation to the child in the home, a record is made which includes the effectiveness and any consequence of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(viii)) 26/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purpose of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year. (Regulation 46(1)) 26/08/2016

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people with learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

10/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

24/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Outstanding

Young people continue to make good progress as they receive exceptional care from the staff team who work well with parents and partner agencies to meet their specific and individual needs constantly. The manager and staff are dedicated to working collaboratively with young people, parents and the placing local authorities in their care planning for young people. Their positive and effective working relationships with young people, parents and a wide range of other professionals such as health and education colleagues ensure that young people receive a high level of consistent care which greatly improves their communication and social development in particular. One professional said, ‘The staff are very supportive of [name] and as such their communication has improved a lot’. They went on to add, ‘Socially [name] is progressing very well. This is in part due to the joint working and clear working arrangements that we have between the home and

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Outstanding

Young people are central to their own care planning. They are actively and routinely supported by staff and independent advocates to take part in making the decisions that affect their lives. The staff work tirelessly to enable young people to have their say on what is important to them and what they wish to happen within their lives. The staff spend a great deal of time with young people, using pictures and symbols that they are familiar with. This enables young people to communicate effectively, and supports and assists young people in making decisions so that they can choose what they want to happen now and next. The staff reinforce and validate their work with the young people to ensure that they are clear about the wants and needs of young people before ensuring that these requests and wishes are carried out.

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Outstanding

Young people are sensitively encouraged and supported to enjoy a range of in- house and community activities to broaden their experience and develop positive childhood memories. Young people enjoy attending community groups such as circus skills, youth clubs and summer sport camps, as well as enjoying shopping trips and undertaking baking and completing arts and crafts within the home. These experiences are captured as photos are taken and other memorabilia is kept in memory boxes and life story books so that the experiences can be shared and recaptured with young people and their family members at a later date.

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Outstanding

The staff value family relationships and actively promote, support and facilitate them. As a result, parents are supported remarkably well by the staff team to maintain a good level of contact and involvement in their child’s life. Parents confirm that the staff always make them feel welcome and keep them regularly informed and involved in all aspects of their children’s lives. Parents feel that the staff facilitate matters and support them exceptionally well during their contact visits. This is especially so during times of heightened anxieties, when young people may find it difficult to manage their emotional responses appropriately. One parent said, ‘The staff manage our contact really well. The staff have stayed with me when I have needed this. If I have been worried or have contacted them, they have come straight away.’ Consequently, family members are kept involved and part of their children’s lives, and can be assured that their children are

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Outstanding

systematically kept safe and well cared for.

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Outstanding

Young people are supported effectively to develop and widen their skills and experiences to support them successfully on into adulthood. Staff support each young person thoughtfully and sensitively to increase their independent living skills in line with their age and level of understanding. For example, young people have developed skills in tidying their rooms and making their beds. Consequently, young people are growing in confidence and gaining some useful independent living skills which will help them in their preparation for and transition into adulthood.

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Outstanding

The manager and staff work systematically with young people and a range of agencies to ensure that young people are prepared well for their transition into adult services. They ensure that this is the most positive and seamless experience possible. The manager is committed to working with young people, their parents, social workers, advocates and education colleagues to ensure that the most intricate details of the transition planning for young people are thought through thoroughly and considered carefully to ensure that the most significant moves for them are managed well. Young people are involved in and prepared for their move as social stories are used successfully by the home. These social stories are also shared with the school to allow them to reinforce the plans and prepare the young people for their upcoming move. The manager strives for perfection in the transition process for young people and keeps parents and agencies informed of

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Outstanding

any developments that arise within the regular reviews. She liaises well with adult provisions and shares information fully and carefully with them to enable them to plan and prepare for the young person’s arrival. Furthermore, staff who are familiar to young people facilitate and support their move sensitively. The young people’s staff team move with them into their new home to provide consistency for the young person and to offer the new staff team further support and guidance on understanding the intricacies of the young person’s behaviours and needs, to ensure that these can be met in adulthood. Detailed, well-thought-out and coordinated transition planning processes systematically undertaken by the manager and staff have enabled one young person to move on into adult services successfully. Judgement grade

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Good

The staff are clear about their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Staff are aware of, and can articulate well, the policies and procedures that they must follow to keep young people safe, as they are regularly reviewed and discussed with them regularly during their supervision sessions and team meetings. Furthermore, the staff receive suitable training in this regard. In addition, regular health and safety checks of the premises which are carried out by the staff promote the health and well-being of young people and staff. This, alongside regular gas, electrical and fire safety checks, aids in keeping everybody safe and protected.

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Good

While sanctions are not used in this home, low-level physical interventions are required at times to keep young people and others safe. These are used sparingly and as a last resort when all other distraction techniques have proven to be ineffective. Young people are also offered the opportunity to consider and reflect on their behaviours in a safe and supported way so that they can identify alternative strategies for the future. The registered manager does not systematically review and evaluate the interventions used within the required timeframe to ensure that the use of such interventions is appropriate and effective in order to inform future care planning.

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Good

Staff are highly committed and have an inherent understanding of each young person’s specific and distinct needs as young people’s care planning is meticulous and highly personalised. Young people’s risks and vulnerabilities are continuously assessed and are fully recorded in their risk management plans. Information in these plans is routinely shared with the staff during handovers, supervisions and team meetings to ensure that they are fully equipped to promote young people’s safety. This, alongside the close individual care and supervision that is provided to the young person, ensures that young people’s safety is promoted. That said, the manager has missed an opportunity to review the suitability of the local area and community as she has not updated the home’s safe area risk assessment since April 2014. As such the manager cannot be assured that she is fully aware of any potential dangers or risks that may be in or around the local area so that she and

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Good

the staff team can plan for and maintain young people’s safety.

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Outstanding

The home is managed extraordinarily well by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who has been registered with Ofsted since May 2014. The registered manager and her team constantly demonstrate a strong child-centred approach in their delivery of care as outlined in the home’s detailed and accurate statement of purpose. The manager and staff are dedicated and consistent in their delivery of exceptional care practice tailored to meet the individual and specific needs of the young person. The effectiveness of this highly specialised care, support and commitment is evident in the excellent progress that young people make.

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Outstanding

Young people are cared for by a suitable number of staff who are experienced, qualified, trained and compassionate about improving the life chances and experiences of young people. Staff provide young people with a high level of specialist care and support and work effectively as a team to ensure that young people are happy, make progress and are kept safe. Staff report that they enjoy their work and are proud to share young people’s achievements. They confirm that there is an open culture within the home where they are encouraged to speak and share any concerns or issues freely. Staff confirm that they feel supported by the manager and equipped to deliver a high standard of care to young people. The manager ensures that supervision sessions, team meetings and training opportunities are provided to the staff to continue to support them to reflect on and develop their practice further.

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Outstanding

The manager has fostered positive working relationships with parents and partner agencies, and communicates with them well. A parent, an independent reviewing officer, education colleague, and a manager from an adult provision spoke extremely positively about the care and support that the manager and staff provide to their children and young people and, about the level of communication that they maintain with them. One parent said, ‘The staff are absolutely brilliant. They are great with [name], and they are fantastic for me. I have a great relationship with them all.’ They went on to add, ‘The transition has helped us both. The transition was amazing. It was very well planned, organised, and communicated well. As a result [name] is getting on really well.’ Another professional said, ‘They always bring extensive reports to all the reviews. Their reports should be used as templates for others. I hope that I have another young person placed there!’

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Outstanding

The one requirement raised at the previous inspection has been suitably addressed. As a result the home environment has been deemed to be electrically suitable and safe for young people and staff as the periodic electrical inspection has now been carried out.

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Outstanding

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement for the home as she has a number of systems in place to assist her with this. For example, she observes staff’s practice, seeks regular feedback from family members, young people and professionals, and utilises the information obtained for the daily internal reporting systems to gain a good understanding of young people’s progression and areas for continued work within the home. This, alongside the adequate external monthly monitoring, supports the manager in the development of her service planning.

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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 looked after children 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

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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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