Children's Home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Hertfordshire

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 well-maintained house is warm and homely, and rooms are personalised for children prior to each stay.  Children say that they feel safe and cared for, and rarely go missing.  Children participate in a range of activities both in the community and at the home.  A well-established staff team uses consistent boundaries to assist children to effect positive change in their behaviour.  The parents report that staff work with them constructively and assist them to use the same techniques at home.  Children benefit from a joint approach to their care planning, with the aim to help families to stay together.  Children are involved in developing their placement plans, which ensure that their views are heard.  Staff maintain contact with their key child and their family between stays and offer outreach sessions as required.

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Information about this children's home

This local authority home is registered to accommodate up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, under short-break arrangements.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

This home offers short breaks to children, as part of an outreach programme aimed at preventing children coming into care. One child spoke positively about attending the home one weekend a month, for the coming months, as part of a ‘step down’ process following a six-week placement at the authority’s residential home. The house is extremely well presented and maintained. The communal areas are decorated in a homely and inviting manner. Children have use of an arts room, music room, games room and a sensory room, which is being developed. The staff have access to a vast number of games and resources to use when working with the children. These materials can be used in play or to approach topics, such as going missing from home and staying safe in an age-appropriate way. The children and their families benefit from being involved in developing their care plans and programmes. This allows the children to have input into the decision-

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Good

making process and encourages their participation levels. Each child has a folder of pictures, colouring books, memory books, photo albums and self-created canvasses. Staff use these to personalise each child’s room prior to their arrival. Children are encouraged to bring items that may assist them to settle. One child had detailed in her plan that she would bring her own duvet, as this would allow her to relax at bedtime. These actions allow children to have a sense of belonging and a feeling of well-being. The authority’s joint-working approach allows easier access to therapeutic input for children when this intervention is an identified need. Staff receive therapeutic support to facilitate reflection and identify strategies to utilise with the children to effect positive change. One child said that she felt better equipped to control her emotions with techniques that she has developed since using the service. When

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Good

asked for an example, she described ‘counting down’, and how this had improved her relationship with her mother. There is a warm, jovial and nurturing rapport between the staff and children. The children are clearly relaxed in the company of staff and appear to feel at home from the moment they arrive. One child was having his last stay, having recently moved to a new foster home. The manager and staff had planned the child’s farewell weekend to incorporate his favourite foods and activities. He said: ‘I have been a nightmare, but the staff put up with me.’ He spoke positively about the support that staff had offered in relation to his gender fluidity. The manager has encouraged staff to research the topic and facilitated staff discussions about the child’s recent wish to be referred to as a male. This level of support has enabled the staff to learn and develop, while ensuring that the child feels listened to.

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Good

The staff have good relationships with the local schools and they take and collect the children from school as part of their stays. This contact enables staff to liaise with the school staff, to gain some insight into how the children are progressing in education. Children’s meetings occur on the first day of each stay and are used to discuss the expectations, activities and planning for the weekend. Set agenda items include bullying and equality. These meetings also include wider discussions about topical issues. The meetings promote the children’s ability to have a debate, form opinions and be mindful of differing views. A new policy of handing phones in for the duration of the stay has been implemented in response to issues of bullying via mobile phones. One child said: ‘I hated it but I don’t mind now.’ The staff report that the children are getting used to the policy and hand their phones over without fuss. The topic was recently debated

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Good

at a house meeting. The benefit has been that the children more readily interact with staff and each other and are able to ‘absent’ themselves from their usual networks for a few days. Children have access to an independent advocacy service that allows them to raise any issues with an impartial person. As a short-term respite provision, there are continual conversations with children and their families about transitions and the gradual withdrawal of the services. These include follow-up calls straight after each stay and at intervals between stays. Staff also conduct outreach visits on a needs-led basis if any issues arise. This allows the children and their families to feel supported. A grandparent said: ‘The staff are supportive and take it all in their stride. I can’t praise them enough. They are fantastic.’

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Good

Each of the children has an individualised risk assessment, which is updated by keyworkers prior to each stay. The staff on each shift are required to read each of these risk assessments prior to the children arriving. This ensures that staff are aware of the current known risks and strategies that should be implemented to minimise levels of risk. The home has a range of general risk assessments, including a comprehensive location assessment. This helps to guide staff to care safely for the children. Although the need to make safeguarding referrals has been minimal, the home has a good working relationship with the local authority’s designated officer. Children rarely go missing from the home, as they have opted to attend the respite stays. Staff are aware of the policies and procedures that they must follow in the event that a child absconds. There have been two episodes of missing from care since the last inspection. These related to a child placed in an emergency. The staff

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Good

followed all processes appropriately. Consequently, the staff have reviewed the criteria for admitting children into the emergency bed, to minimise disruption to the children having planned respite stays. One child has a history of self-harming. Staff have incorporated checking for implements used to self-harm as part of the clothing and belongings inventory conducted at the start of each child’s stay. The child said: ‘I don’t bring anything with me now.’ The child described staff conducting room searches when they had concerns about his behaviour. These actions show children that they are cared for in a safe environment by staff who quickly recognise changes in their moods and presentations. During the inspection, a staff member was researching ‘sexting’, in order to speak with the children about it at the house meeting later that evening. This approach enables open and transparent discussion with children about issues that affect

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Good

them and pose risks and dangers. Group discussions have covered the potential risks of online gaming and applications such as Pokémon Go. It is commendable to note that a child raised the safety issues of children being lured to unsafe places and the importance of letting people know where they are going. This demonstrates that staff encourage the children to be aware of risks and of how to keep themselves safe.

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Good

The registered manager left the home at the start of July 2016. The current manager commenced her role a few months earlier and has had a thorough handover period. The newly appointed manager holds a relevant level 4 qualification and has many years of experience, working with children and young people in a residential setting. The model of work used in the home is the attachment, self-regulation and competency (ARC) model. Discussions with staff during the inspection demonstrated that they have some understanding of the theory. The staff team is stable and experienced, with only one leaver and one new starter since the last inspection. The home’s statement of purpose is currently being updated to reflect the staff changes. Staff retention is good, and it is clear that staff enjoy working at the home. A staff member said: ‘I absolutely love it. I wish I had left my old job sooner.’ This positivity is evident in other staff members, and

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Good

they all report feeling supported by the management team. The managers ensure that they plan and coordinate the children’s stays to maximise the benefit to the children, and they achieve this through the matching process. This includes placing children with similar needs with those who have developed and are able to offer a degree of peer mentoring. This was evident in the two children in place, one of whom had been using the service for some time and the other who had only been twice. The manager has good working relationships with a range of professionals, and both she and the staff have successfully challenged some referrals that they felt were inappropriate for the service and the children placed. One professional described the manager as ‘brilliant and hardworking with a big heart and mind’. Discussions with staff and children also present a positive view of the manager and the support that they receive from her.

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Good

Staff provide children with positive feedback after each stay. Families are asked to provide feedback about how the children present while at home. This supports staff to update the children’s placement plans, which are reviewed prior to each stay, based on the combined information. This, in turn, supports with future planning and indicates whether there is a need to schedule interim outreach sessions. The managerial overview of these processes enables effective progress tracking of the children’s behaviour and improved family interactions. Staff supervision occurs on a monthly basis, and the sessions are used in an open and reflective way. Annual appraisals are completed and signed off by staff and managers. A new staff member was complimentary about the induction process and was able to demonstrate that he had confidence in putting new ideas to the team. He gave examples of how these ideas would promote the children’s levels of

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Good

independence and assist with the development of crucial life skills, such as budgeting. Staff are encouraged to take active roles in shaping the service, which in turn brings new opportunities for the children’s learning and development. The manager oversees staff training and ensures that staff are able to select both mandatory and developmental training programmes, to support them in delivering effective care that meets the children’s needs. The team meetings are held on a weekly basis and used to discuss the children who attended that weekend and to plan for those staying for the two following weekends. This allows the staff team a space during which to reflect on the most recent weekend and to consider any potential issues or events that may arise in the coming weeks. It is commendable that these meetings include the outreach staff who are also working with the children. This ensures that children benefit

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Good

from a team that has a joined-up approach and consistent boundaries and expectations. The managers pride themselves on the positive impact that the service is having on preventing the children from coming into the care system. However, they are not complacent and are constantly seeking ways to develop the service further.

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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

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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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