Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

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 relationships between the staff and young people are positive. Young people feel listen to and feel valued by the staff.  The staff are proactive in supporting young people to engage in education. This includes giving young people the practical and emotional support that they need to make meaningful progress in all aspects of their learning.  The care that young people receive is personalised and reflective of their individualised needs.  Highly committed staff keep young people safe, providing clear and consistent boundaries. Staff have clear and effective plans in place to reduce risk and to keep young people safe.  All admissions to the home are thoroughly planned with staff ensuring that impact assessments are completed.  The staff work well together, and receive excellent support and guidance from managers.  The registered manager and staff work effectively with a range of professionals

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The children's home provision is good because:

and families in order to ensure that young people receive the right support that enables them to thrive physically, emotionally and socially.  There are two weaknesses in practice. Young people are not encouraged to participate in their placement plans and the use of bedroom door alarms is not supported by individualised risk assessments.

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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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7: The children's views, wishes and feelings standard

In order to meet the children's views, wishes and feelings standard the registered person must— (2) (a) (vi) help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review. 25/11/2016

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21: Privacy and access

In order to meet the privacy and access quality standard, the registered person must ensure that, with specific reference to the use of door alarms that— (c) any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises— (i) is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; (ii) is necessary and proportionate; (iii) is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and (iv) allows children as much freedom as possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. 25/11/2016

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Information about this children's home

This home is operated by a private company. Care and accommodation are provided for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and may also have learning disabilities. The company has its own school and therapy team.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 22/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/10/2015 Full Good 03/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/01/2015 Full Good

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Good

Staff create a warm, positive atmosphere for young people to live in. Staff are affectionate and nurturing towards young people, offering hugs and praise frequently. This approach helps to meet the young people’s emotional health needs and means that young people feel settled, happy and secure. Staff and managers have good-quality relationships with young people. These relationships are based on a good understanding of young people’s backgrounds and past experiences. Staff listen to young people, are intuitive and quick to learn. Young people say that they like staff, find them fun, easy to talk to and feel that staff know them well. As a result, young people are able to confide in staff and receive the emotional support that they need. The staff team’s support and planning mean that all young people are engaged in education and making excellent progress. This success is down to the practical and emotional support that young people receive to overcome difficulties with school

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Good

attendance. Staff have achieved this by communicating well with the school, attending school with the young people and by praising all academic success. Staff are ambitious for young people, and consequently, young people are more confident about considering apprenticeships and higher education opportunities. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘The home does not just settle for a young person doing well, they keep pushing the young person to achieve their best.’ As a result, staff afford young people the best opportunity to gain the qualifications and skills that they need for future success. Staff are proactive in meeting the physical and emotional health needs of young people. Staff understand well the emotional health needs of each young person. Young people receive direct input from a clinical therapist as well as support from staff who are trained in reflective therapeutic intervention. A social worker said,

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Good

‘Therapy works because he trusts the therapist. It’s been offered at his pace. But it’s more than that; it’s about staff’s holistic approach to therapy.’ This therapeutic approach means that young people are making significant emotional and behavioural progress. Staff support young people to develop the skills that they need for adulthood. When a young person is nearing the age of independence, staff assess and identify what additional support they will need, and develop detailed independence plans. Staff equally recognise the importance of developing these skills from an early starting point, and encourage young people to complete household chores, plan meals and go shopping. For example, young people enjoy cooking and think nothing of preparing a meal for both staff and other young people to enjoy. Staff are proactive in promoting young people’s contact with their family. When young people live a long distance from their home, staff use video phone calls to

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Good

enable more interactive communication. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘The home has a really good relationship with mum and are supportive of contact and make sure it is positive.’ The staff team’s management of family contact has ensured that parents feel empowered and included in their child’s life. Staff and the registered manager plan well for new admissions. This includes ensuring that they have sufficient information about the young person. Young people are encouraged to visit the home in advance. Where possible the registered manager encourages and facilitates staff from the young person’s previous placement to continue to work with the young person during their transition week. This enables the sharing of information so that the staff team quickly gets to know how best to support the young person. Staff ensure that young people have opportunities to share their views about the care that they receive. This includes weekly young people’s meetings, regular key

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Good

work sessions, consultations, questionnaires and young people having agenda slots for staff meetings. As a result, young people feel that they are listened to and that their views matter. However, staff fail to consistently ensure that young people are given the opportunity to understand and have input into their placement plans. This impacts upon young people’s ability to fully contribute to the care that they receive.

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Good

Strong, positive relationships between staff and young people mean that conflict and risk-taking behaviour are rare. The staff team recognises young people’s triggers and indicators of risk. Young people, who have previously self-harmed, gone missing or demonstrated aggressive behaviour, no longer present with these behaviours. A social worker said, ‘I have nothing but good things to say about the staff. They are fantastic. They have taken a challenging young person and gave him a fantastic outcome. They give him good boundaries but are nurturing and empathetic.’ This demonstrates that staff know young people well and are able to respond to their individual needs in order to reduce the potential risk of harm. Staff are not risk adverse but instead plan well for situations that may expose young people to increased risk. For example, when a young person requests free time, this it initially planned around structured activities, with increased freedom

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Good

and autonomy allowed as the young person’s confidence, trust and skills permit. As a result, risk management does not hold back young people’s experience and progress. The manager understands well the dynamics and relationships between her staff and the young people. The manager will plan shifts to ensure that a key worker is available at the most important times for young people, such as when a young person is going to receive some difficult or upsetting news. As a result, staff handle situations, which have the potential to result in conflict or an incident of going missing, sensitively and calmly. This good planning helps to reduce the risks of young people harming themselves or others. Young people feel safe and secure at the home. They feel that they are able to talk through their problems and agree in advance strategies to manage situations of heightened emotions. For example, the plan for one young person is that he should

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Good

walk to the end of the drive, where he has some time on his own to calm down before returning to the house. When a young person does display challenging behaviour, staff are adaptive, calm and measured in their approach. As a result, physical interventions are rare. Staff are alert to the risk of exploitation. This is managed through effective supervision, restricted internet use and targeted key work sessions. Therefore, the risk of exploitation is reduced. The registered manager ensures that risk management assessments provide staff with the knowledge, insight and strategies to keep young people safe. However, the registered manager has not assessed or reviewed the use of bedroom door alarms. This affects young people’s privacy and does not prepare young people for their transition to independence.

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Good

The registered manager came into post in 2011. She holds a level 4 national vocational qualification in leadership and management of care services. The manager is knowledgeable and enthusiastic in her approach. She inspires her staff team to ensure that young people are at the centre of everything that they do. The strong staff team is child-focused and committed. A number of members of staff hold the level 3 diploma in residential childcare and all remaining staff are on course to complete their award within the expected period. The registered manager ensures that robust recruitment and vetting processes are in place. This reduces the possibility of unsuitable adults being able to work with young people. The staff team confirms that they receive one-to-one supervision and regular training. The registered manager ensures that all training is of good quality. Consequently, a staff team that is skilled and knowledgeable supports young

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Good

people to thrive physically, emotionally and socially. Partnership working with other agencies ensures that young people make good levels of progress. A social worker said, ‘They are brilliant at getting in touch. We can ask each other to work through problems. All of the staff are good at this. I can’t speak more highly of them.’ Staff relationships with other agencies mean that young people receive the best possible care. The manager ensures that the physical environment of the home is maintained to a high standard. The home looks and feels like a family home. This pleasant and homely environment helps to provide young people with a sense of belonging. The registered manager ensures that the statement of purpose stays under review and has clear aims and objectives for the service. The manager actively promotes a culture in which staff recognise and implement these aims and objectives into everyday practice. This results in young people feeling respected, valued and

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Good

supported. The registered manager is reflective in her practice and uses monitoring systems to assess young people’s progress against the objective of their placement plan. However, the manager has not utilised the effective relationships between staff and young people, to ensure that young people are contributing to their care. For example, placement plans do not formally record how young people have been involved in identifying short- and long-term targets. This leaves young people without the formal opportunity to influence the progress of their care.

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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 looked after children 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 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, 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

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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