Children's Home run by Care Afloat Ltd in Lancashire

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 who are new to the home are settling in quickly and have been made to feel welcome by staff.  Young people benefit from continuity of care so have stability and consistency in their lives. They benefit from well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively. Young people are kept safe and are developing a strong sense of personal safety.  There are clear expectations for young people to attend school or alternative educational provision. Staff consistently have high aspirations for young people. They maintain highly effective partnerships with the providers of young people’s education to promote their educational attainment and achievement.  The use of clear risk assessment and effective safe working practice promotes the well-being and safety of the young people. Staff have a good understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of the young people and they

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The children’s home provision is good because:

take appropriate action to address them. Consequently, risk-taking behaviours, such as drug use, offending and going missing from care for long periods are reducing; taking into account young people’s starting points. Young people become increasing safer as result of the actions staff take to support and protect them.  Young people benefit from a home that is managed efficiently and effectively. The acting manager demonstrates effective leadership of the home’s operation and channels staff members’ efforts effectively. The team has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and makes good use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to secure improvement.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that ‘relevant plans’ are obtained from the placing authority. This relates specifically to the placing authority’s care plan, personal education plan and a statement of special educational needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1,)

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Recommendations

 Work closely with health professionals to ensure that outcomes identified and progress made by children in building relationships and achieving socially acceptable behaviours can be recorded and measured. This relates specifically to reviewing the young person's medication in consultation with health professionals. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.4)

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Recommendations

 M ake best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. This relates specifically to reviewing the home’s development plan, at least annually. ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Information about this children’s home

 The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to one young person who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.  The home is privately owned and managed.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

09/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Since the last inspection, the young person that previously lived at the home has moved on after spending three years at the home. Their transition was well planned and managed, which enabled the young person to leave in a controlled and positive way. The young person who lives at the home currently was an emergency admission who was missing prior to their arrival and has now lived at the home for just under a month. The young person has settled in quickly and has been made to feel welcome by staff. The young person reports, ‘It’s alright. Some of the staff are alright. They’re nice. I like them. I’ve settled in good. I’ve got contact today. I need a mobile phone but I’m not allowed one just yet … It’s fun here. It’s strict, but no too strict and it’s very chilled.’

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Good

The young person is making good progress in relation to their starting point. They benefit from continuity of care and have stability and consistency in their lives. The young person is developing some good relationships with staff. There is already some evidence of positive change and improvement in their lives. For example, the young person has not gone missing from care since their admission.

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Good

Care planning is well planned and practice is highly individualised to meet the specific needs of young people at the home. There are effective arrangements to promote the young person’s good health. They are registered with a doctor, dentist and optician and have access to these services, when they need them. Additionally, the young person is being treated as a hospital outpatient for a leg injury they sustained prior to their arrival. Medical consent is in place and staff are clear about what health decisions and responsibilities are delegated to them.

p.6

Good

The young person is diagnosed with deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and is prescribed medication to manage this. However, they are currently refusing to take their medication which means that their key behaviours continue unabated. Staff report there is noticeable improvement when the young person has taken their medication. The young person is now due to have their medication reviewed.

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Good

The young person has been enrolled to attend a new school after the summer holidays. However, a personal education plan, care plan and a statement of special educational needs are outstanding. These plans are needed to form the basis of the young person’s care.

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Good

The home actively promotes contact for young people. This ensures that the young person can maintain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. Staff facilitate and supervise contact taking place. They ensure that contact is a safe and enjoyable experience for young people and their families.

p.6

Good

The young person is temporarily restricted in the types of physical activities they can currently undertake due to a leg injury. The young person wants to join the local gym and go fishing. Staff are currently looking at purchasing the young person some fishing gear as this is something they would enjoy and be able to do. The young person enjoys drives out, visiting the beach, cinema and playing on his games console with staff. The young person has a good sense of humour and enjoys staff banter and company.

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Good

Young people benefit from effective support, help and protection. They are kept safe and enjoy a strong sense of personal safety. They are protected from abuse and all other forms of significant harm. The use of clear risk assessment and effective safe working practice promotes the safety and well-being of young people. Risks associated with young people are well known and understood by staff.

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Good

Young people benefit from clear rules and effective boundaries to keep them safe from harm. Staff consistently place their safety at the centre of their practice, irrespective of the challenges this presents. Young people become increasing safer as a result of the actions staff take to support and protect them. Young people are kept safe and have a strong sense of personal safety.

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Good

The use of sanctions is kept to an absolute minimum. Rewards are used effectively to encourage and acknowledge the development of young people’s positive behaviour. The use of restraint is exceptionally rare and it is only ever used as last resort to protect young people from actual harm. There have been no restraints since the last inspection.

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Good

Staff understand that young people’s strong feelings and emotions can be communicated through negative behaviour. They help young people to self- regulate and take responsibility for their own behaviour. As a result, young people learn to resolve their conflicts positively. Young people know how to make a complaint, and rights and entitlements are met. The young person confirmed they have no complaints or concerns about their care.

p.7

Good

The young person came with a history of substance misuse, risk of offending and frequently going missing from care. Since their admission, there have been no issues with any of these risk-taking behaviours. Staff anticipate issues well and remain vigilant and alert towards the potential for any risk-taking behaviour. Should the young person go missing, staff are familiar with the procedures to be followed to promote their safe and quick return. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to ensure that appropriate action is taken by the right people charged with a duty to protect young people. However, since the young person’s admission there have been no significant incidents or events.

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Good

The home provides the young person with a physically safe, warm, comfortable and homely environment. The young person has personalised their bedroom in accordance with their needs, feelings and wishes. They take pride in their bedroom and clean their room on a regular basis. The young person is already beginning to develop a sense of ownership of the home. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively to promote a safe environment for young people.

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Good

The registered manager officially resigned from her post in June 2016. The acting manager has deputised during this time and has demonstrated effective leadership of the home’s operation. She has now applied to the company for the full-time manager’s position and if successful she will submit her application for registration with Ofsted.

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Good

An experienced, stable, well-trained and qualified staff team is employed to meet the needs of young people. Staff have access to regular, supportive and professional supervision to support their performance and guide them in the work that they perform. They have access to appropriate training to develop their individual knowledge, skills and practice. The training needs of individual staff are effectively identified and met.

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Good

Staff maintain effective partnerships with the police, schools, social workers and the families of young people to promote their specific needs. This ensures that the young people benefit from the best possible help and all-round support. The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose in providing a good-quality service for young people. There were no recommendations from the last inspection. The three requirements that were made have all been addressed and met. Risks associated with young people are recorded clearly and risks are well known and understood by staff. Notifications are now reported in accordance with the home’s statutory responsibilities. Significant events are reported promptly and without unnecessary delay. The home has revised the statement of purpose and notified Ofsted of its revision. Relevant plans are outstanding from the placing authority. The home needs these

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Good

to ensure its own plans are compatible with the plans prepared by the placing authority.

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Good

The home’s development plan has not been reviewed annually, which is a recording issue, but does limit the home’s capacity to pinpoint past and future development. That said, there are effective arrangements for monitoring and improving the standard and quality of young people’s care. Internal and external monitoring activities ensure that the acting manager is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and as a result, the service takes appropriate action to secure improvement.

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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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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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