Children's Home run by Steps 4 Life Care Limited in Wolverhampton

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 make good progress because staff provide good-quality care.  Staff encourage young people to attend education and support them to overcome the barriers to engagement in education.  Staff recognise the importance of encouraging a range of activities to help develop young people’s emotional well-being and self-esteem.  Young people experience carefully assessed and supported contact with their families, friends and people who are important to them.  Staff have a commitment to ensuring that the home is well maintained.  Young people receive good-quality help and protection from the registered manager and staff.  Each young person’s individual risks and vulnerabilities are well understood.  Staff promote positive behaviour.  Episodes of self-harming and of young people going missing reduce.  Staff feel valued and supported by the registered manager and each other.  Partnership working with other agencies remains vital in helping young

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The children's home provision is good because:

people to make good levels of progress educationally, socially and emotionally.  Strong recruitment and vetting processes are in place.  A few shortfalls have been identified during this inspection. These include supervision not taking place regularly for bank staff, staff not being up to date with all aspects of their training and care plans are not quickly updated to demonstrate the young people’s current levels of supervision.

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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

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must— (2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 20/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience (Regulation 33 (4)(a)). 22/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child, are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 22/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private company .

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/11/2015 Full Good 10/12/2014 Full Adequate

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Good

Young people receive good individualised care. Staff take time to build solid and trusting relationships with young people in their care. One young person commented, ‘The staff are good here and they help you.’ Another young person said, ‘It’s really nice. I like it here. The staff help me.’ Young people make good progress because staff provide good-quality care. Young people are clear about their progress. A young person commented, ‘I try and be positive rather than negative towards people now.’ A social worker commented, ‘Staff are genuinely caring towards the children in the home and appear to have excellent engagement skills.’ Staff encourage young people to attend education and support them to overcome the barriers to engagement in education. They have a never give up attitude in this respect and as a result, all young people attend educational placements. One young person, who previously had not been in education for some time, is now

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Good

maintaining a full-time placement. The staff have worked collaboratively with educational providers and placing authorities to create and update tailor-made educational packages. The registered manager has also escalated concerns in relation to education, to strive for the best outcomes for all the young people in the home. Young people make progress in relation to health and their emotional and social well-being. For example, the company provides therapists to work with the young people. Skills and relationships are carefully considered when matching a therapist to a young person. This provides young people with the best opportunity to engage and benefit from this resource. Staff write in a book for young people as a keepsake of their time at the home. This captures achievements and the ‘good times’. This helps young people to reflect on all the positive aspects of their lives. Young people’s meetings (children’s

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Good

chat) also capture and celebrate each young person’s achievements. This helps to bring a positive start to each meeting and helps them to engage. Children’s chat is used to enable young people to have a voice and to be listened to. Young people feel confident to identify issues and make suggestions about issues that are important to them. The registered manager has a good overview of these meetings and responds to each request being made. Staff recognise the importance of encouraging a range of activities to help develop young people’s emotional well-being and self-esteem. For example, young people enjoy activities such as dog walking for a local charity, baking within the home, swimming and going to the cinema. These daily experiences help young people to develop a sense of self-worth and to have a positive connection with their community. Young people experience carefully assessed and supported contact with their

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Good

families, friends and people who are important to them. They are helped to develop these relationships in ways that promote their future living arrangements, be those returning to family, reuniting with estranged family or returning to live with a suitable foster family. Young people are also supported to bring an end to relationships where necessary. Alongside this, young people are learning the skills that they need to be independent adults. For example, young people are able to do their own laundry and prepare meals. Staff have a commitment to ensuring that the home is well maintained. Staff encourage young people to personalise their bedrooms by choosing the colour of the walls, wallpaper and putting up posters of their choice. Pictures around the home of the young people who live there also provide a sense of belonging and identity. Young people have clear care plans in place. However, these are not promptly

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Good

updated to reflect the changing needs of young people. This means that staff are not working with up-to-date information about the young people.

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Good

Young people receive good-quality help and protection from the registered manager and staff. Each young person’s individual risks and vulnerabilities are well understood. For example, in cases where young people self-harm, staff are aware of the patterns of behaviour for each young person. This aids them in identifying times of potential crises for the young person and the opportunity to put in preventative measures to enhance the young people’s safety. A social worker commented, ‘Staff go above and beyond to ensure that the young person is safe and cared for.’ Staff promote positive behaviour and reward it, so that young people learn the benefits of acceptable good behaviour. A young person commented, ‘The staff help me. They are lovely, not strict but firm.’ Rewards are often in the form of ‘surprise wrapped treats’ that the young person chooses for their personalised treat jar. This can comprise from anything from an art activity to a hair accessory. Staff mostly

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Good

prevent incidents from occurring through vigilance and good use of individualised de-escalation techniques. They plan shifts well and ensure that young people know what they are doing and who is looking after them. On occasions when restraint is necessary to prevent serious harm, there is careful debrief and analysis of each incident. However, the form used to complete such measures is confusing and has led to staff filling it in incorrectly. In some cases, it has appeared that medical attention has not been offered when it has been. The registered manager is aware of this and has staff training planned to address the shortfall. Episodes of self-harming and of young people going missing reduce. This is due to the nurture and care that young people receive from staff. Staff work in effective partnership with police, therapists and local authorities to protect young people from harm in these circumstances.

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Good

Staff understand the risks to young people of child sexual exploitation. They know the signs and symptoms, and proactively monitor all young people at the home. Staff have engaged with training to raise their individual knowledge base. Young people’s safety is promoted through detailed ‘missing from home’ plans. These specify the actions to be taken by staff and others. ‘Return from care’ interviews are consistently available to young people. This integrated approach to protecting young people means that they become increasingly safe. The manager has a good overview to ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard and that all the appropriate health and safety checks are carried out. This in turn helps to keep young people safe.

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Good

The registered manager has worked at the home for over two years. She holds a level 4 qualification in children and young people and holds the registered manager’s award. A keen and able deputy manager supports her. All members of staff take a child-focused approach in their everyday practice to enable young people to thrive educationally, emotionally and physically. A social worker commented, ‘My young person has made progress since being in placement and staff understand her needs.’ Staff feel valued and supported by the registered manager and each other. They feel listened to, and that their views are valued. This helps the staff to remain highly motivated in their care of young people. A member of staff commented, ‘The management have been very good to me. They push me to be better. They are open and transparent. They look out for the staff and young people.’ Another staff member commented, ‘The manager and duty manager are very supportive. We are

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Good

a very close team. We can share ideas.’ There is a good balance of experience among the staff team, with the majority of staff holding their level 3 qualification in residential childcare. Other staff are booked onto the course and are due to finish within the required timescales. Staff undertake specialised training to raise their awareness in self-harm, attachment training and issues connected with young people going missing. However, the same level of commitment is not paid to ensuring that basic training such as basic food hygiene and fire awareness are updated for all staff. This means that not all staff are working with up-to-date skills and knowledge. The registered manager is aware of the strengths and areas of development for the service. She has brought about a number of improvements, such as developing the role of a quality assurance worker to help drive forward improvements in the home. Further areas of development include developing paperwork and seeking

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Good

further training. The registered manager is enthusiastically committed to ensuring that the service continues to evolve and develop for the benefit of the young people in her care. An independent visitor undertakes monthly visits and produces a report. The registered manager finds these useful. The company is currently developing a new system that clearly helps to analyse young people’s progress across differing aspects of their lives. This is currently in its infancy. However, this, with other systems, enables the manager to monitor the quality of care. The registered manager has taken time to ensure that there is a good development plan in place for the home. As a result, young people benefit from consistency of care that achieves better outcomes than previously. The manager ensures that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the services offered to young people, updating when necessary. The statement of

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Good

purpose is shared with placing authorities and helps social workers to be well informed about the provision of care. Partnership working with other agencies remains vital in helping young people to make good levels of progress educationally, socially and emotionally. A social worker commented, ‘I was regularly updated about the young person’s significant events. I received regular reports and written evidence of any incidents.’ Strong recruitment and vetting processes are in place. Applicants undergo appropriate checks, including criminal history and employment history checks. These reduce the possibility of young people being harmed by those in positions of trust. Permanent staff receive good-quality supervision. However, bank staff are not afforded the same opportunity. This hinders some staff members’ opportunities to develop their practice.

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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

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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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