Children's home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Dacorum

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 All children placed at this home make progress, and for some this is particularly significant.  Children experience bespoke packages of care delivered by a familiar staff team which knows and understands their individual needs.  Each child experiences a range of social and leisure activities matched to their individual likes and areas of interest.  Creative communication tools offer children the opportunity for individual and group consultation to discuss their experiences of living in the home.  Staff support children to attain high levels of education attendance and to continue their self-care and independence learning within the home.  Children experience considered and well-planned moves into and out of the home to ensure smooth transitions.  Parents and relatives speak highly of the care that their children receive. They feel listened to and valued by the staff team.  The wider professional team recognises the staff’s commitment to the

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

children. They know them, they care about them and they help them to achieve good outcomes.  This inspection also identified a number of shortfalls. The quality of care monitoring reports from both the manager and the independent person lack consultation with parents and stakeholders. The independent person omitted to give an opinion on how the home safeguards and promotes the welfare of children. The manager failed to notify Ofsted of a serious event. Children’s risk assessments are not consistently updated in line with organisational policy and on one occasion an incident of restraint did not receive robust scrutiny.

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 06/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the independent person interviews the children’s parents, relatives and persons working at the home. (Regulation 44 (2)(a)) 20/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the independent person produces a report about the visit, which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether children are safeguarded and whether the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 20/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a review of quality of care provided for children the registered person must ascertain and consider the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5)) 20/12/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them in line with organisational policy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and principles set out in 9.35 are respected. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Information about this children’s home

This service provides care and accommodation for up to six children with additional needs such as a sensory impairment, a learning disability and/or a physical disability. A local authority owns and operates this setting.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 11/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/12/2015 Full Good

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Recent inspection history

13/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/12/2014 Full Good

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Good

This home offers children a warm, nurturing environment where familiar staff know each of them well. Large living spaces provide ample room for community living and personalised bedrooms, a space for privacy and time alone. The home is suitably equipped to meet the additional needs of the children in placement.

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Good

Children entering the home do so in a planned way with introductory visits to smooth their transitions. The home offers a children’s guide in a variety of formats to cater for individual needs. The home also offers a parental guide, so all are informed of the home’s practices and operations.

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Good

Children living in this home have a range of additional needs and each has progressed during their time in placement. For some, the progress is particularly significant. For one child, this means becoming continent day and night, a real achievement as she moves towards adulthood. For another, placement within the home prevented hospitalisation under the Mental Health Act and led to good mental health prevailing. One relative commenting on their child’s progress reported, ‘There has been great progress in how she manages herself, her moods.’ Another reported, ‘She has just blossomed.’

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Good

Like most children in care, children placed may have experienced past and current trauma. Their levels of additional needs, such as communication difficulties, compound their ability to talk out their distress. Children develop trusting relationships with staff and the skilled permanent staff team takes time to understand body language and reading signs of distress. This has been particularly significant, as two children have recently experienced the loss of close relatives. Staff take time to listen, empathise and, where necessary, engage specialist therapy. They also recognise the inner resilience of some children and praise their ability to overcome adversity.

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Good

All children attend an education resource and reach high levels of attendance. Both school and the staff team work together to support children’s learning from literacy skills to life-care skills. Within the home, personal targets are set for children to attain and they are celebrated once achieved. One headteacher reported the very positive progress of one child. The school provided a bespoke package of education prior to moving to the home, as he was unable to engage in the classroom. Since placement, he now spends the vast majority of his time in the classroom. Commenting further, the headteacher reports, ‘He is generally calmer and therefore able to engage in more activities. There has been a visible growth, things like making decisions, the right decisions.’ This home helps children to grow, to reach their potential and to gain the life skills to assist in their adult lives.

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Good

Staff meet children’s health needs. They work with all health professionals to ensure the general well-being of children. Some children have progressed to stopping or reducing medication as they begin to self-regulate their behaviour. Staff quite rightly feel proud of their contributions, and one said, ‘He is now off medication, he has flourished, thrived and achieved. I am proud to have been a part of that.’ Children are encouraged to eat a healthy diet and some show particular flair in their culinary skills. They are encouraged to prepare and to cook to their ability alongside staff, and develop independence skills as a result.

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Good

The home provides children with a range of activities, in which they can engage their interests, explore new pursuits and have fun. For one child who shows a talent in horse riding, coming second in her first gymkhana was cause for much praise and celebration by staff, children and family who attended the event. This child also volunteers at a local stable. This year children have also enjoyed holidays. Staff organised and supported a family holiday for one child. Her parent commented, ‘It was just lovely, really fantastic, we had quality time. She loved every minute of it and the staff were fantastic!’ All children had equally great times. For one child using a wheelchair, a member of staff sought a specialist holiday. He describes how the child could access everything, adding, ‘He had a great time.’ These opportunities help to build confidence, resilience and self-esteem in children. This is a particular strength of this home.

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Good

The staff team works particularly well with the children’s families. Relatives generally speak positively about communication with and from the home. Staff recognise the importance of the child’s family and strongly support contact in line with relevant plans. They have supported plans for children returning to the care of their families by offering tailored plans and physically supporting reintegration. Staff support children to maintain family ties, supporting identity and a sense of belonging.

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Good

The home offers children a safe, secure environment by providing predictable routines and boundaries. These have enabled children to flourish and make considerable progress. Children feel safe and happy. The manager, who has creatively composed a visual communication tool to gather children’s experiences of living in the home, has captured this information.

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Good

The safe and predicable environment, and the good relationships between staff and children, mean that children feel emotionally secure. One headteacher explained, ‘It feels like there has been an emotional recovery for him and he has become more confident.’ This child’s past frenetic presentation has calmed considerably, enabling him to engage in his life and to accept happily the opportunities offered by the home.

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Good

During this period, there has been one incident of bullying. Staff responded appropriately, offering children time to communicate their upset and unhappiness and to discuss the effects of such behaviour. Children have been able to acknowledge their own behaviour as inappropriate and have offered apologies. This positive intervention enables children to reflect on their presenting behaviour and helps them to self-manage in a socially acceptable style.

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Good

Since the last inspection, staff have physically intervened on just two occasions to manage behaviour. On one occasion, the manager helped staff to find an alternative method to help the child calm as physical intervention was not in his best interests. This knowledgeable intervention helped the child to self-regulate. On the second occasion, staff intervened to protect the child from further harm to self, others and property. Staff took considered action to seek medical attention and help calm the child. Staff took a restorative approach to managing the situation, choosing and succeeding in not criminalising the child for her actions.

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Good

The home has not experienced any children going missing. Each child has an individual risk assessment, which minimises possible risk, along with a sufficient number of vigilant staff, to ensure that appropriate monitoring is available in any given situation. Children are safeguarded as a result.

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Requires improvement

The impact and effectiveness of managers requires improvement because of the following shortfalls, resulting in three requirements and two recommendations. The monitoring tools employed by the home to assess the quality of care delivered to children fail to consider the views of stakeholders and children explicitly. This narrow field of feedback limits the manager’s ability to consider fully the wider view of interested parties’ experiences and thoughts about how the service delivers care. This affects the opportunity for the manager to plan and drive improvement to the service delivery and outcomes for children. In a similar vein, the independent visitor does not provide an independent and impartial opinion of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. This also does not offer the manager the opportunity to consider possible areas for service improvement.

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Requires improvement

During this review period, the organisation investigated a serious incident. Incidents of this nature occur rarely in this home. The manager worked in line with safeguarding protocols and the wider professional team to ensure the safety of the child. However, she failed to notify Ofsted of the incident. This prevented Ofsted from having a timely overview of the management of this incident.

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Requires improvement

A record of staff physically intervening to prevent a child causing further damage to herself, others and property was signed off by the manager. She had herself been involved in the intervention. This practice, although on just one occasion, does not give sufficient scrutiny to ensure that the intervention was fair and appropriate.

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Requires improvement

Staff regularly update the home’s risk assessments in respect of children’s activities, but they are not in line with the organisation’s policy. This has the potential for staff to work with out-of-date information and compromises the welfare of children.

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Requires improvement

At the last inspection, one requirement and two recommendations were set. The home has fully met these. In respect of the requirement, staff have completed supervised contact training. This has offered them new learning in this area of complex work. One member of staff commented, ‘It was really good, it has made me think more about matters prior to and post contact.’ In respect of staff supervision, records now demonstrate that staff receive better quality supervision. These now adequately focus on meeting the needs of children and reflecting on professional practice. One member of staff reported, ‘It is good, supervision gives you time to stop and think about your practice.’ The final recommendation was for the manager to incorporate a development plan within the quality of care review. Although limited by the lack of external feedback, a plan of development is evident.

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Requires improvement

The manager of the home is suitably qualified, holding both level 4 and 5 qualifications in leadership and management. She has a wealth of experience and has held the manager’s post since 2010. The home has experienced some changes to the staff team. The manager has a clear plan in progress to ensure the continued employment of permanent staff. However, a solid permanent core team delivers familiar and consistent care to children.

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Requires improvement

New staff undertake a full induction process to gain knowledge of procedures and policies. Shadowing opportunities offer staff time to understand operations and begin the process of building rapport with the children. The organisation offers both online and group training to expand staff’s knowledge, and all eligible staff are qualified to the required level 3 diploma in childcare.

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Requires improvement

Managers and staff work proactively and positively with the professional team around the children and with their parents and families. The members of the professional team speak highly of the care offered to children and the skills of the staff team. All recognise the positive impact that the home has had on each child’s progress. Similarly, they praise the close working relationship they have with the members of the staff team and how their knowledge of the individual children adds value to meetings. A close-working professional team offers children a shared focus where care planning offers safeguards and promotes their welfare. One child’s relative commented, ‘The communication is absolutely wonderful. There is good passing of information, which is very informative.’ Another added, ‘They offer me support when things between me and my child are difficult.’ This open and inclusive way of working bolsters professional and family relationships, ensuring

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Requires improvement

that parents and relatives feel a valued part of their children’s lives.

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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 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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