Children's Home run by St Christopher’s Fellowship in Sandwell

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:

 Since the last inspection, which resulted in an inadequate judgement, the regional manager has taken over management of the home and made significant positive changes. Staff are now meeting the needs of young people.  Following refurbishment of the home, young people enjoy comfortable, well- maintained and welcoming surroundings. They have personalised their rooms and can relax here.  Young people are making positive progress in their independence and through engaging in education.  Young people have warm and trusting relationships with staff who demonstrate a strong child focus.  Staffing has improved, with less reliance on agency staff, thereby providing young people with consistent care.  Young people feel listened to and staff encourage them to express their views, wishes and feelings.  Young people have fun with staff who take them on holidays and days out. Staff now spend more time with young people supporting all areas of their

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The children’s home provision is good because:

development.  Highly trained staff respond quickly and appropriately to situations where young people are at risk of harm. Staff keep young people safe, and young people feel safe.  Sensitive and skilled staff understand the reasons behind young people’s behaviour and address these issues in key work sessions.  The regional manager has taken action to meet all of the regulatory shortfalls from the last inspection. This has improved staff morale and overall practice.  The company has appointed a new manager who has many years of experience managing children’s homes and is well known to the company.

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Information about this children’s home

This service provides care and accommodation for four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. A charitable organisation owns and operates the setting.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

27/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Inspection Judgements

The overall experiences and progress of children and young people living in the home are

p.5

Good

There are now photographs of staff and young people around the home. This helps to provide a homely and personal feel to the house, which in turn, helps young people to feel increasingly valued.

p.5

Good

Young people describe having warm and trusting relationships with staff members, commenting to the inspector that staff listen to them, and respond positively to requests and concerns.

p.5

Good

Previously staff spend a considerable period in the office. New rules, instigated by regional manager, now ensure that staff are not in the office when young people at home. Consequently, their input to young people’s lives has improved significantly.

p.5

Good

A reduction in the use of agency staff has helped to give young people better consistency of care. This is now helping young people to make progress that is more meaningful. For example, over the summer holidays young people have enjoyed lots varied trips with staff. This has included trips to the seaside, ‘Go ape’, theme parks, and to London. Staff have actively involved young people in bike rides and playing with their new stunt kite. Staff have taken young people to football matches and play FIFA computer games. One young person did a 5k run with the regional manager to raised money for charity. Young people and staff all enjoyed an awards night when they dressed up and celebrated their achievements.

p.5

Good

Young people are making positive and sustained progress. One young person no longer goes missing and her ability to manage her emotions and behaviour have improved significantly. Both young people now engage in education, including doing additional work over the holidays to catch up and prepare for the new term. This is improving their overall attainment. One young person successfully completed work experience at an office during July, taking phone calls, tidying, helping to improve surveys and completing administration duties. This is been a valuable experience that has given the young person increased confidence for their future.

p.5

Good

Young people say that staff have helped them in all areas of their development. One young people has been encourage and helped to join the cadets. Staff proactively support young people’s identity needs and one young person has been able to have contact with a family member for the very first time, due to dedicated staff advocating with the local authority on his behalf.

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Good

The social worker for one young person says, ‘He has come on leaps and bounds- he has matured a lot and can make decisions and choices. Staff work with him on his independence. He has an awesome relationship with staff.’

p.6

Good

The regional manager has addressed all previous safeguarding concerns. When incidents occur, the staff respond quickly and appropriately. Staff have received additional training in safeguarding, including work on radicalisation, behaviour management, child sexual exploitation and the links between attachment and behaviour.

p.6

Good

Better staff consistency has been achieved. The use of agency staff has significantly reduced. This change has resulted in young people receiving better support from a staff team that know them and can apply appropriate boundaries.

p.6

Good

Young people are closely involved in their behaviour management plans and engage in key work sessions with staff. These sessions help them to learn how to keep themselves safe. Key work includes discussions about relationships with peers and family, how to make stress balls and behaviour towards staff. Young people have confidently raised a bullying issue at a young people’s meeting. This resulted in one young person acknowledging that his behaviour was potentially bullying.

p.6

Good

Staff work closely with other childcare professionals and agencies to ensure that they identify potential risks and keep young people safe in all situations. They regularly review and update risk assessments and behaviour management plans which are now of a far higher standard. The holiday risk assessment identified the need for one-to-one staffing and clear safeguarding strategies. The home is well maintained, and staff lock away all knives and sharp items in a cupboard, to reduce the risk of self-harm. Staff have demonstrated an increased awareness of risk and ability to report incidents. The social worker for one young person commented that staff now provide reports, which include more detail of the work that staff have undertaken. She says that safeguarding work is now, 'much, much better’, and ‘Staff now realise they can’t let their guard down.’ She considers that the young person is safe and that staff are proactive in developing plans and

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Requires improvement

Since the last inspection, the regional manager, who is highly experienced, has managed the home. She has provided the team with leadership and management, which has raised staff morale and standards of practice. The regional manager has reflected on the previous judgement and has robustly addressed all of the concerns.

p.7

Requires improvement

A number of staff now hold their level 3 diploma in residential childcare. Other staff are working towards their award in the required period set by regulation. This is giving young people access to a staff team that not only know them well, but also are suitable skilled in their roles and responsibilities.

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Requires improvement

The regional manager has ensured that staff receive regular supervision that tests their knowledge and challenges their practice. One staff member commented, ’Staff morale was low, and they had lost focus.’ She said that the regional manager has now put everything in place for the home to go forwards.

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Requires improvement

The regional manager’s input has undoubtedly led to better practice and to staff providing a higher standard of care to young people. She does not allow staff to spend time in the office after young people return from school. Consequently, staff spend more time engaging with young people.

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Requires improvement

The leadership and management require improvement as the regional manager is not the onsite manager. The company has recruited a new manager whom it knows and trusts, but she has yet to start in post and is, therefore, untested in this home. The regional manager has addressed and met the requirements from the previous inspection, resulting in the home having undoubtedly ‘turned a corner’.

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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

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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