Children's home run by Dove Adolescent Services Limited in Wakefield

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 live in an aspirational, caring, stable and nurturing environment that places their needs first. A consistent and resilient staff team supports and empowers young people to address their complex and difficult lives. Their good engagement with external services adds value to their outcomes.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 High levels of staff vigilance and robust protective measures, and effective relationships with the police and other professionals, keep those young people at risk of child sexual exploitation safer.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Highly personalised care planning supports young people’s education, health, behavioural outcomes, independence and future plans.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Good communication between the staff team, professionals and parents ensures that issues are dealt with rigorously and without delay.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff show genuine care and concern for the young people. They invest in their lives, ensuring their access to new and interesting experiences. Positive relationships between young people and staff promote their sense of security and belonging.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people who demonstrate challenging behaviours are sharing their feelings with staff, who offer them unconditional regard. Staff help them to learn strategies that promote socially acceptable behaviours and make sure that they have no further contact with the criminal justice system.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The disruptive and harmful behaviours presented by some young people have resulted in difficult decisions to end their placements, which have been in their best interests and safety.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 A management investigation into bullying in the staff team has concluded, and the instigators of this behaviour no longer work for the organisation. Lessons learned from the experience have enabled the registered manager and staff team to rebuild a cohesive and stronger team that, despite the trauma and difficulties, has maintained a child focus. Staff morale is good.

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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 ‘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

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to ensuring that behaviour management measures are clearly endorsed by the manager and include the effectiveness and young person’s comments, that looked after care plans are signed by all parties and that care plans detail progress— (2) the registered person must— (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 03/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 03/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

Ensure full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that two written references are obtained for each applicant. (Regulation 32(3)(d)) 03/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  For children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

In particular, establish clear routines with young people to maintain the condition of their rooms to a good standard.

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately run children’s home that is registered to care of up to four young people. The statement of purpose identifies that the primary reason for a young person’s placement is to support their emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26/01/2016 Full Outstanding 04/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/11/2014 Full Outstanding 19/03/2014 Interim Satisfactory progress

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Good

Young people benefit immensely from living within an aspirational culture that provides them with high-quality individualised care and protection. Exceptionally good opportunities are available that help them to explore new and interesting experiences. This helps them to progress and make the best of their time at the home. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘[Name of the young person] has told me that she is very happy at [Name of the home] and sees herself living there until she is able to move on to independent living.’

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Good

Life for the young people has not been without difficulties, due to some of their significantly challenging and risky behaviours. Despite the skilled staff team’s sustained and tireless support and intervention, it has not been able to meet all of the young people’s needs to the standard that it is accustomed. This has resulted in some untimely moves, but inadvertently helped young people to access specialist services that the team has advocated on their behalf for some time.

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Good

The strong and trusting relationships forged between staff and young people encourage them to address their complex life experiences, negative behaviours and risks. Excellent key-work sessions reinforce the young people’s care plans and any issues that they wish to raise for discussion. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘She gets on very well with the staff team, and especially has a good relationship with her key worker. [Name of the young person] is a young person who likes to engage constantly with staff and the team makes sure that she gets the attention that she needs.’ Listening to young people’s views, wishes and feelings is central to care practice, and these are acted upon when it is deemed to be in their best interests. Young people discuss their plans, worries and fears with staff and, although they have access to the complaints procedure and advocates, have no cause to complain about the care that they receive from the staff team.

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Good

The staff team actively values and promotes education. The staff encourage young people’s engagement, giving praise and rewards in recognition of their achievements. The team is adept at working with education providers to help to overcome barriers to young people’s progress. Those young people who have an education placement experience excellent attendance and achieve vocational qualification. Their involvement in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme boosts their confidence in their abilities and gives them opportunities to develop new skills, make new friends and enjoy life experiences that bode well for them in the future. Young people new to the home are currently without education or employment, and their care plan determines how staff will support them to access other avenues to help them to reach their goals. Good health promotion, underpinned by effective care planning and support mechanisms, helps young people to attend their routine and specialist health

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Good

appointments. Those who smoke understand the dangers to their health, because staff speak to them and discourage such behaviour. Staff help young people who have a history of substance and alcohol misuse to abstain from these behaviours, which contributes to their improved health. Discussions about sexual health and other health-related issues take place between staff and young people, and help them to make informed choices.

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Good

Young people have very good access and opportunities to engage in a range of enjoyable and fun activities, either individually or as a group, for example visiting museums, pleasure parks, leisure centres and the cinema. Activities in the home let young people spend time watching DVDs, listening to music, and playing both board and word games and musical instruments. Such good distractions promote sociable interaction. Staff celebrate young people’s birthdays irrespective of their length of stay at the home, which values their significant milestones.

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Good

Young people learn useful skills that help them to prepare for independence, for example budgeting, shopping, cooking, baking, travelling without supervision and making their own health appointments. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘Staff support her to increase her independent living skills and are working with her on areas such as budgeting, cooking and laundry.’ The staff team remains loyal to young people who are making the transition into independent life. This ensures effective working relationships with professionals and supports young people to find the right placement. The registered manager said, ‘There is no way that we are going to dump her.’

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Good

Most young people benefit from having regular contact with their families, if this is appropriate and safe. This helps to maintain young people’s cultural and identity bonds with significant people in their lives. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘They have developed a good working relationship with mum and have supported their contact, which is now in a regular pattern again.’ Good relationships between the staff team and parents keep them involved in their children’s lives and show young people that they are working together in their best interests.

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Good

Effective safeguarding practices, underpinned by strong risk management strategies, shield the current young people from dangers to their safety and well- being. The conscientious and astute staff have a coherent understanding of the individual and generic risks to the young people. Their high levels of vigilance and awareness of the agreed safeguarding protocols protect those young people at risk of child sexual exploitation, missing from care incidents and other high-risk behaviours. Consequently, young people are safer and know that staff will act on any concerns that may threaten their safety and welfare.

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Good

Missing from home events are infrequent. However, the staff team clearly acknowledges that not all young people’s safety can be guaranteed in the long term. This is in response to a missing from home incident that raised serious concerns about the long-term security of a placement. The registered manager has taken proactive and decisive steps to address the concerns, and has effectively achieved this by implementing a robust risk management plan, working in partnership with the local police and other professionals. Consequently, heightened awareness and a commitment to keeping young people safe have resulted in no further missing from care incidents of this extreme nature.

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Good

Allegations made against other young people are dealt with to ensure that young people are safe to live with each other.

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Good

Experienced and intuitive staff act as positive role models for the young people. They ensure that the consistent boundaries are nurtured and use their relationships with the young people to enable them to learn how to cope with their emotions in more constructive and safer ways. For some young people, their behaviours escalated to the point where the staff team recognised that they could no longer keep them safe, and their placements have reluctantly been ended. A social worker commented in relation to the ending of one placement, ‘They did their best.’ More recently, improvements in young people’s behaviour show their emerging levels of maturity. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘Since [Name of the young person] moved to [Name of the home], the change in her behaviour has been wonderful to see, and, ‘the number of occasions when she attempts to hurt herself or others have massively reduced since she has been at [Name of the home] and she is

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Good

increasingly able to walk away if she begins to feel angry, to calm herself down, which is a huge improvement for [Name of the young person].’ A significant reduction in physical intervention has occurred, with none since May 2016. When restraints and sanctions have been imposed, the records do not show the registered manager’s oversight to endorse the measures and to check for inaccuracies, for example ensuring that the effectiveness of the measure used is clear and that young people’s comments are included. Safety checks on the electric, gas and fire prevention equipment protect everyone’s health and safety.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has held her current role for six years and has over 16 years’ experience of caring for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. She holds the national vocational qualification level 4 in leadership and management. The manager has the confidence and respect of her staff team.

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Requires improvement

A management investigation into bullying in the staff team has concluded, and a number of learning points have been implemented. The instigators of the bullying behaviour no longer work for the organisation. Lessons learned from this traumatic experience have enabled the manager and staff team to build a cohesive and stronger team that exudes high morale. Support from approachable senior management and higher levels of visibility strengthen the management support network available to the manager and staff team. No negative impact on young people’s care, safety and welfare has been detected during this difficult period. This is due to the resilient staff team continuing to prioritise and keep the young people at the centre of their work.

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Requires improvement

However, shortfalls exist in a number of areas and require improvement. For example, the most recent staff recruitment obtained one reference instead of two, as required under the regulations. Not all parties have signed up to the local authority care plan for one young person, and the individual internal care plans, despite progress, do not explicitly show this. The duplication of one month in regulation 44 reports was resolved shortly after the manager was alerted to the issue.

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Requires improvement

Although Ofsted has been notified about a number of serious events, not all of them have been sent or received within acceptable timescales. There is no negative impact on young people’s safety and welfare, but this impedes Ofsted from carrying out its safeguarding duties.

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Requires improvement

Overall, the home’s environment is maintained to a good standard. However, the unkempt condition of young people’s rooms are not conducive to a homely environment. It would benefit the implementation of clear routines by helping young people to maintain a good standard of accommodation and would further promote their independence.

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Requires improvement

Notwithstanding the shortfalls, the manager makes good use of her internal and external monitoring systems, and improvement is evident from the contents of the independent person’s reports. Overall, she has a good overview of most of the service’s strengths and weaknesses that informs her fluent knowledge of the young people’s progress, risks and plans. The manager has positively challenged social care professionals when they have failed to act promptly on serious concerns regarding young people at risk of child sexual exploitation. She has called meetings and involved key professionals, demonstrating her strong relationships with the wider systems, and she recently secured an early statutory review for a young person at risk of child sexual exploitation to confirm their plans. The manager shows a proactive and determined spirit which has resulted in safer working together practices. This is indicative of her highly child-focused, ‘hands on’

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Requires improvement

childcare practice that the valued staff team adopt, and has been praised by senior managers.

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Requires improvement

Regular team meetings, daily handovers, supervision and training keep the staff team abreast of the young people’s plans. Although young people benefit from one-to-one staff support, familiar agency staff provide additional support as an interim safeguarding measure.

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Requires improvement

The consistent and caring staff team has remained intact during a difficult and highly challenging period. Since the last inspection, a newly appointed deputy manager has taken up post. She is a familiar face to the young people and staff team, having worked with them for several years previously. She is supportive of the manager and staff team and, like the manager, has a ‘hands on’ approach to caring for the young people. She said, ‘I would not ask anyone to do something that I would not do myself.’

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Requires improvement

Professionals confirm that the manager communicates with them effectively and that the information supplied is of good quality. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘They always accommodate my visits, attend reviews and provide written reports which are comprehensive.’

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 ‘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 0300 123 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 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

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

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