Atkinson Unit

Good

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

p.2

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

 The home is well led and managed by a registered manager whose child- focused approach is replicated by managers and care staff. Collectively, the team shares the same values and determination to ensure that the young people‟s experiences and learning opportunities enable them to achieve their aspirations and desires.  Good quality care is provided by effective care plans, strategies and assessments of risk that result in young people receiving individualised packages of care designed to meet their specific needs.  Procedures and staff practices within the home are good, which effectively promotes and supports young people‟s safety. Links with external safeguarding agencies are strong, and are used effectively to ensure that allegations and safeguarding concerns are managed transparently and in the best interests of young people.

p.3

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

 Good relationships have been developed with the management board of the education provision. Members of the board are supportive of the young people‟s needs and hold high aspirations on their behalf. They have good knowledge about the education‟s strengths and weaknesses and offer good help and advice that is focused on improving the learners‟ experiences.

p.3

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

 The registered manager and staff team have the capacity to improve the home further. They have a good understanding of the weaknesses identified at this inspection and have taken steps to deal with them.

p.3

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.

p.4

Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, in particular the standard in paragraph (1), the registered person must ensure: (2)(d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health. Specifically, that a full audit of the environment is undertaken to ensure that all hazards that pose a potential risk to children are replaced and that subsequent checks of the environment are of sufficient rigour to identify when these are missing. 25/11/2016

p.4

Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

p.4

Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must: (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on: (ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 25/11/2016

p.4

Due date

Ensure an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification by the relevant date: (a) the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or (b) a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (5) The relevant date is— (a) in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a 25/11/2016 home; or (b) in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)) Ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 25/11/2016

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standard of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations.

p.5

Recommendations

 Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn. Specifically, continue improving the development of young people‟s mathematical skills so that they progress as well as expected, or better, by ensuring that their authorised absences are minimised and by implementing the behaviour management policy and strategies rigorously. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

p.5

Recommendations

 Ensure that staff maintain a written record of the steps they have taken to prevent and address bullying of children by other children, including the rationale for separating them and/or any restorative work that is completed. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.16)

p.5

Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person reviews and implements polices for the safeguarding of children which sets out clear procedures for referring child protection concerns. All policies should be regularly reviewed and revised where appropriate. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 44, paragraph 9.19)

p.5

Recommendations

 Ensure that there is a system in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice as required by the home‟s policy, which allows them to reflect on their roles and responsibilities and practice. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

p.5

Information about this children’s home

This secure children‟s home is managed by a local authority. It is approved by the Department for Education to restrict young people‟s liberty. Education is provided on- site in dedicated facilities. The children‟s home can accommodate up to 12 young people who are aged between 10 and 17 years and accommodated under section 25 of the Children Act 1989. Admission of any young person under 13 years of age requires the approval of the Secretary of State.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 24/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/09/2014 Full Adequate 04/02/2014 Interim Good progress 10/10/2013 Full Good

p.6

Good

Young people receive a high standard of care from staff, and as a result they make good progress. The majority of young people, who often arrive in crises, have the opportunity to work through the issues of why they have been admitted to the home, where they feel safe and are supported to stay safe. Being in the home often proves to be a positive experience and, for many, a life-changing one. Since the previous inspection, there has been a period of change regarding staffing. This change has included relatively high sickness levels, the introduction of new, less experienced staff and the increased use of casual and agency staff. Despite this, the management team has been able to maintain the high standard of care noted at previous inspections. This is recognised by others. For example, a professional who has regular contact with the home stated, „Staff are doing a good job with some vulnerable and damaged young people.‟

p.7

Good

Creating strong relationships between staff and young people is a particular strength of the team. Relationships are robust enough to withstand periods of challenge and unrest as young people adjust to their revised lifestyle. The quality of relationships underpins the high levels of communication and consultation that are ongoing in the home. The individual needs of young people are captured early in their placement and are reflected well in their written plans, strategies and risk assessments. These documents are individualised and updated regularly, often following a series of internal, multi-disciplinary reviews that take place weekly. This process is designed to keep the plans current and focused on young people‟s changing needs. A number of new initiatives have recently been introduced, reflecting the ambition of senior staff to move the home forward and improve practice. For example, the development and introduction of a revised and updated placement and care plan

p.7

Good

format that is designed to analyse the progress that young people are making. These are just two of a number of new initiatives that are improving how the staff team evidences the progress that young people make. Advocating on behalf of young people is another area of strength. For example, the team recently escalated issues, linked to disputes with placing authorities over transition plans, to the Office of the Children‟s Commissioner. The team also has a contract with an independent advocate who visits and meets with young people regularly. This provides them with good opportunities where they can make representations to someone who is independent of the home and their placing authority. The overall health needs of young people are being well met. This includes their physical, mental and emotional health. Resources for the home are planned to improve. For example, from October 2016, the consultant psychologist will be

p.7

Good

doubling the days per week they spend in the home. This will benefit young people as they will then have a specialist mental health worker on site four days per week. Health promotion is addressed with young people, including looking at their diet and exercise. This is supported by specialist health care professionals who advise on a range of personal and sensitive health issues, including sexual health and substance misuse. This service allows young people to understand the risks they may have been subjecting themselves to previously. Since the previous inspection, work has been completed on a range of new facilities. Externally, a new seated area and a multi-purpose activities track have been completed, and internally there are two new lounges and life-skill areas. This extends the areas of the home where young people can relax and enjoy a range of leisure pursuits, as well as developing and practising life-skills. It also provides the

p.8

Good

young people with extra choice of activities. Recently, the activity programmes for evenings and weekends had become stale due to a lack of effective planning. However, this is an area that leaders and managers have identified needs to be given a higher priority and improved. As a result, staff are now expected to give more thought to activity periods and to plan for them in advance. This structured approach should provide young people with improved experiences, once it becomes embedded into the daily life of the home. However, the impact of this is not yet determined. Consultation with young people is good. Group forum meetings take place weekly where young people are invited to make choices and express opinions about the home. Another recent innovation is the redesign of the format of the minutes taken at these meetings. The new format evidences well how staff respond to young people‟s requests. Young people therefore feel that their suggestions, views and

p.8

Good

ideas to improve life at the home are considered and acted upon. Overall, transition planning is good. Early identification of where a young person is to move to is the aim. However, much to the frustration of staff and young people, some placing authorities can be slow to implement these plans. Although not always successful, managers are proactive in challenging placing authorities and reminding them of their responsibilities to young people. The mobility programme underpins transition processes effectively. In a recent change, the contract for mobility, which includes agreement from the placing authority, is now presented for signing early in a young person‟s placement. This means that the mobility programme can start as soon as it becomes appropriate, eradicating any delay due to written consents from placing authorities not being received. The building is secure and in a good state of repair. Plans are in place and are

p.8

Good

about to be implemented to extend and improve the provision further. Despite being secure, the home creates a warm, child-friendly environment that is welcoming. The staff have created an environment where young people can relax and feel at ease. Bedrooms are decorated and personalised to suit individual tastes and reflect the interests of the occupant. Young people‟s views about their environment are summed up by one young person who told inspectors, „It‟s just like a home, except they lock the doors.‟

p.8

Good

There are good systems in place to help to protect and promote young people‟s welfare, with their safety and security being given a high priority by staff. Care practice is strengthened by a range of useful policies and procedures, which are understood and consistently implemented by managers and staff. Leaders and managers routinely consult with external safeguarding agencies and implement a low threshold for reporting and referring safeguarding concerns and allegations. As a result, matters of concern, no matter how small, are managed effectively and in the best interests of the young people. Staff know young people well and make every effort to manage their vulnerabilities and highly complex needs. They are acutely aware of the potential for bullying, and young people confirm that although this happens it is challenged and dealt with well by staff. There is a great deal of emphasis on a restorative approach and,

p.9

Good

when appropriate, work is completed to enable young people to reflect on the inherent issues and to rebuild positive relationships. However, in some cases records do not sufficiently describe this work, which is a missed opportunity to evidence the good work that is being undertaken. On occasions, young people have been separated into different living areas and kept apart from each other. Although detailed plans inform how this will be done, they do not always make clear the rationale for moving the young person, which, on the surface, appears in most situations to be the one who is being bullied. Young people‟s risks and vulnerabilities, including suicide and self-harm, are robustly assessed at the point of admission. Staff use this information to develop detailed risk management plans, which are constantly reviewed in partnership with mental health professionals. Staff are diligent in their efforts to implement these

p.9

Good

plans and provide parent-like support when young people are at their lowest ebb. They adapt their practice to counteract concerns and provide appropriate supervision to ensure that young people are kept safe from harming themselves. Positive relationships are fundamental to this process and these are well used to encourage young people to develop their own strategies for keeping safe. For example, one young person has identified that he feels particularly vulnerable at night, and that having specialist anti-rip clothing helps him to feel safe. This need has been incorporated into a multi-agency agreed plan, which is constantly revisited with the young person and by professionals. A high-dependency facility has recently been opened in the home. This is an excellent resource for young people who need time away from the general population. Since opening, this facility has been used successfully to provide

p.9

Good

intense, one-to-one support for two young people. The effectiveness of staff support and changes in behaviour are reviewed daily. This ensures that the plans are relevant and are individually tailored to each young person‟s needs. There is a clear focus on preparing young people to return to group living, providing opportunities for gradual exposure to this. Records of young people‟s time in the home are maintained. However, these have not been used effectively by staff, as a number of daily review records, which record staff observations, outcomes of reviews and changes to plans, are incomplete. Information could be found elsewhere in the home, and to date this weakness has not been detrimental to the care planning process. The manager has recognised the need to coordinate these records better to ensure that they provide a comprehensive picture of the care and support provided by staff and the progress that young people make.

p.10

Good

Mobility is used well to prepare young people for life outside of the secure setting. Staff take a risk-aware approach. Young people are provided with a range of recreational and learning opportunities, such as going shopping and completing work experience. All mobility activities are risk-assessed and contingency plans are in place should a young person abscond. Given the high number of mobility activities that have taken place, it is a testament to staff and a positive endorsement of the home that there have been no episodes of young people absconding since the last inspection. Policies relating to the searching of communal areas, bedrooms and individual young people are in place and are implemented effectively. These procedures balance the needs of young people with the safety and security of the home. Searching of young people is risk-led, using three levels of search, ranging from turning out pockets and use of an electronic wand, up to personal searches where

p.10

Good

young people remove clothing and put on a dressing gown. Young people spoken with say that their dignity is respected when subjected to this level of searching, which requires authorisation from senior staff on duty. Records of searches are maintained. However, a number of these records were found to be incomplete, mainly missing signatures of authorisation for level 3 searches. Also, these records do not always detail sufficiently how these searches have been undertaken, which makes it difficult to evidence that the protocol has been followed, or show the rationale for any deviation from this. On a small number of occasions, young people have managed to bring contraband into the centre. Staff responded appropriately to these incidents, ensuring that items were quickly recovered and removed. Well-structured routines and sensitive support from staff enable young people to learn how to better manage and control their behaviour. Positive behaviour is

p.10

Good

reinforced through clear and consistent boundaries, positive relationships and effective use of the home‟s rewards system, which is a combination of general and individualised targets. The majority of young people identified these factors as prime motivators for why their behaviour has improved, as they aspire to reap the rewards associated with the higher levels of the incentive scheme. Negative behaviour is proportionately challenged, favouring a restorative approach that encourages young people to reflect on their behaviour and make amends for what they have done wrong. Sanctions are rarely used. Managers keep close oversight of these approaches and are fully aware of the need to ensure that they are effective, proportionate and relate specifically to the behaviour. Staff are trained in the use of physical restraint. Combined with the strong reciprocal relationships they share with young people, this means that escalating

p.10

Good

behaviour is managed effectively, and wherever possible physical restraint is avoided. Given the challenging and complex needs of the young people who have lived at this home, the number of physical restraint incidents is relatively low. The manager demonstrates a strong commitment to reducing this even further, and the team is in the process of introducing a therapeutic approach to behaviour management. All staff have undertaken training in this model, which has recently been introduced into practice. Young people did not raise any concerns about restraint and confirm that they get good support from staff following an incident. Detailed records of restraints are maintained and every event is scrutinised by managers using closed circuit television. Learning points are noted and any concerns are discussed with the designated officer from the local authority, who up until recently has been coming into the home each month to review restraint practice. The manager is in the

p.11

Good

process of revising the quality assurance process to ensure that sufficient rigour and scrutiny are continued. The use of single separation is appropriate, and it is only used when young people present a risk to themselves and others. Records clearly show the reasons why this is necessary and demonstrate that young people are closely monitored by staff, who make every effort to bring the separation to an end as quickly as possible. The manager and staff have recently had training on „managing away‟ and demonstrate a good understanding of this. They have introduced a system for recording incidents of separation, which has been used on two occasions since having this training. The manager is aware of the need to embed this into practice and is providing good support for staff in this respect. Leaders and managers are starting to implement the government‟s „Prevent‟ duty. Managers understand their duties in this respect, and links with relevant agencies

p.11

Good

and professionals are in place should there be any concerns involving young people admitted to the home. Some staff have received training, and the manager is aware of his responsibility to ensure that the rest of the staff team receive this. Young people are protected by an extensive range of health and safety procedures, risk assessments and routine checks, which are designed to keep young people safe and to maintain the integrity of the secure environment. The home is well maintained and there are good procedures in place for ensuring that any damage is repaired quickly. However, during the inspection health and safety hazards were noted within the environment. This presents a potential risk to these extremely vulnerable young people who could use such items to harm themselves. A number of staff have been recruited since the last inspection. Those records reviewed evidence that the staff spoken to have been subject to careful checks and

p.11

Good

vetting to ensure that they are suitable to work with vulnerable young people.

p.12

Requires improvement

The home is led and managed by a registered manager who presents as extremely motivated and child-focused. He has high aspirations for the young people and is determined to make a difference to their health, safety and well-being. He is well supported by the managers and staff team who share the same child-focused approach. The opportunities and experiences of young people are paramount. These are shared values among staff and underpin their ethos. In recent months, staffing shortages have resulted in the management team undertaking extra duties that include working out of hours. To maintain continuity of care they have worked alongside the care teams to ensure that risk assessments have been adhered too. Morale is good and staff say that they feel valued and their care practice and commitment is recognised. They say that they are well supported by the management team, which provides guidance and support when staffing

p.12

Requires improvement

levels have been unbalanced. Gaps in staffing sufficiency have necessitated intervention workers and/or agency staff being used. On occasions, a higher number of intervention staff are required to cover shift vacancies. This has placed additional pressure on the management team and core staff, as intervention workers are not always experienced, or trained to an equivalent level to the core staff. All core staff are provided with appropriate induction and training opportunities. They complete core training, that includes physical intervention and safeguarding, before they work directly with young people. However, not all staff have received safeguarding refresher training in line with the home‟s safeguarding policy, and some staff lack specific training in key areas. This includes managing self-harm, the government‟s „Prevent‟ duty and supporting children who are at risk of child sexual exploitation. While staff receive support from the home‟s child and adolescent

p.12

Requires improvement

mental health worker, some staff lack the robust understanding needed to meet the diverse and complex needs of individual young people. All staff are expected to attain formal care qualifications, and most staff hold a relevant award. However, staff recruited within the last year, and some staff who have worked for the home for a number of years, are not enrolled on, or are still working towards, the qualification. This fails to support staff in their personal development or to provide them with a better understanding of their work with young people. Monitoring of the home is completed by the registered manager, the quality assurance manager and the independent visitor. Reports of their monitoring are detailed and informative and describe actions to be taken where improvement is needed. Despite this work, deficiencies noted within this inspection have not been identified. For example, records of complaints, searches and bullying lack critical

p.12

Requires improvement

information. They do not always detail actions taken and/or have a number of omissions. In addition, a number of the home‟s policies are out of date and the home‟s locality risk assessment does not consider the known prevalent risks when young people are on mobility and/or work experience. Information sharing systems have been reviewed and enhanced. As a result, daily handovers are informative and provide staff with up-to-date information on individual young people‟s risk assessments and changing needs. Multi-disciplinary meetings take place frequently and team meetings are, in the main, well attended. Staff shortages have had a negative impact on the frequency that staff receive formal supervision as required by the home‟s policy. Managers confirm that written records are not currently monitored and, as a result, they do not reflect the actual quality of supervision and support provided to individual staff.

p.13

Requires improvement

The home‟s recently reviewed website is informative and provides detailed information about the home and the services provided to young people. The statement of purpose, policies and information for parents, young people and social workers can be accessed easily from this. In the short period of time since it was launched, some young people have accessed the home‟s website and have written positive and reflective testimonies. The registered manager‟s aspiration to improve and develop the home is commendable. He has been exceptionally proactive and successful in securing grants that will develop the facilities and services provided to the young people. Building works are due to commence in the coming months and are included in the home‟s development plan. However, the manager has omitted to detail the smaller development plans that promote the voices and experiences of the young people, such as digital communication sharing systems and forums that are being

p.13

Requires improvement

considered, as well as involving young people in the recruitment and selection of new staff.

p.13

Good

The vast majority of learners make good progress with their education, considering their very low starting points. They make very good gains in the development of their English skills, in particular in writing, where many learners produce work of a high standard. They use this skill effectively to communicate their experiences, which they find helpful. The proportion of learners who make the expected progress with their mathematics skills is not as high, and it requires improvement. There are no differences in the progress and achievement experienced by different groups of learners. During education sessions, young people further develop their personal and social skills. For example, they become tolerant of each other and more resilient when faced with setbacks during lessons. In many cases, they enjoy supporting each other in class with their learning tasks and activities. They build respectful relationships with caring teachers and teaching assistants and, in doing so, learners

p.13

Good

experience an increase in their confidence, which is one of the key elements that enables them to engage well with learning. Despite the short time they spend at this home, the vast majority of learners leave having achieved a valuable and recognised qualification in areas such as food hygiene, hairdressing or design technology. Approximately half of the learners pass their functional skills in English and/or mathematics. Remarkably, the number of GCSE qualifications achieved by the learners last year increased greatly. Learners participate in external competitions, such as the Koestler awards, where last year they presented numerous entries, both in art and in poetry, obtaining recognition and highly complementary, professional feedback on the good work that they produce. This contributes towards celebrating learning success, which the learners find motivating to continue learning and progressing. Learners are supported well to discover and develop their interests in vocational

p.14

Good

areas. This is much facilitated by the improved curriculum and their work experience placements, which are new and particularly good features. For example, a learner discovered a passion for beauty therapies and, as well as studying for a qualification, she compiled an illustrated make-up and beauty manual that compares well to those produced by commercial firms. Many learners develop aspirations about their next steps in their studies and future employment. Learners make good use of their learned skills to contribute meaningfully to the home and the locality, for example by baking cakes for a charity. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good overall. Teachers are patient, good at negotiating with learners and are skilful at changing activities very often to keep the learners interested. Teachers and learners have built respectful relationships and, in the main, learners display consideration, and the majority are

p.14

Good

compliant with following instructions from the teachers. In some cases, learners receive individual support and tuition to meet their individual learning and behavioural needs well. Even in these cases, teachers make great efforts to ensure that learners have opportunities to take part in group activities and to rejoin the lessons as soon as appropriate. Teachers use their positive relationships with learners to keep them engaged by showing interest in what learners want to do next. In the few lessons where they are not so successful, the pace of learning drops and learners are not as productive as they could be. The newly created care assistant role is particularly good as it supports those learners with the greatest barriers to learning with practical help in the home, which builds their motivation to attend education. Teaching assistants play a very effective role in every lesson in supporting learners with their engagement with

p.14

Good

each task. Teachers know the learners very well, and are sensitive to the learners‟ emotional needs and personal hobbies and interests. Most teachers plan their lessons well and ensure that these are built into the learning activities. Teachers use good learning resources, including information learning technology equipment, and are equipped with an extensive selection of paper resources, such as worksheets. Teachers are well qualified and experienced and demonstrate great adaptability and flexibility by quickly changing their planned lessons in order to sustain the engagement and interest of learners. Learners undertake a thorough initial assessment that correctly identifies their individual learning needs and preferences. Teachers use this information well to set appropriate, challenging learning targets. Learners‟ progress is reviewed frequently and targets are adjusted as necessary. Good promotion of equality and diversity takes place in many lessons. For example,

p.15

Good

in an English session learners explored the meaning of freedom, and they discovered key facts about past historical leaders who had a positive impact on civil rights. Managers carry out frequent learning walks and teaching observations, along with scrutinising the learners‟ work, but observations are too narrowly focused on what the teacher does as opposed to evaluating the learning that takes place. The curriculum has been recently enhanced to provide more teaching periods and shorter lessons, from which the learners benefit. The core subjects, such as English, mathematics and science, feature prominently in the education timetable and appropriately meet the needs of learners. The afternoon curriculum focuses on embedding learning and promoting life-skills and vocational development. The young people enjoy this carefully designed balance. There are advanced plans to invest and further expand on the vocational areas available to the young people.

p.15

Good

Leaders and managers have responded well to the vocational and training needs of the young people. The special educational needs coordinator works hard to obtain the relevant information with regard to each young person‟s individual needs. However, despite their efforts, this has limited success as information is often missing. Educational plans and individual plans are quickly put together and shared with teachers to inform their teaching planning. Training is taking place to increase the knowledge and understanding of all teaching staff of the learning needs that young people have. The need to provide speech and language therapy remains a stubborn weakness, as this is not yet in place, despite the young peoples‟ needs in this area being evident. Physical education, dance, sports, swimming and a new artificial-turf area, as well as an outside playground area, all provide opportunities to exercise, which learners

p.15

Good

relish. Learners benefit from opportunities to develop information and communication technology skills in an embedded way across many different areas of the curriculum. In a few cases, teachers do not take advantage of naturally occurring opportunities to extend learning in aspects of English, such as speaking, and in mathematics. This impedes the accelerated development of these and other personal skills. Much of the curriculum is informed by learners‟ feedback and focuses on providing a viable way to explore their interests. There is a particularly impressive, extensive and varied range of excellent enrichment activities at the home and at external venues, which has been further increased in the last year. Activities provide leisure opportunities and intellectual stimulation. They include drama, film club, cooking, mechanics, gardening, textiles, bike maintenance, dance and trips to art exhibitions in the locality. These activities

p.16

Good

support the further development of social, personal and vocational skills very well. For example, the art teacher organises a creative week every term, inviting guest artists to meet the learners and share their work with them at the home. A forest school provided in the gardens of the home continues to provide a peaceful and welcoming environment for young people, where they can undertake activities such as cooking and gardening, increasing considerably their life and personal skills. The number of work experience placements has substantially increased in the last year. This is helping over a third of young people to strengthen their understanding of the world of work. Similarly, the number of employers that leaders and managers have built successful relationships with, in order to support the work placement strategy, has also increased notably. There is comprehensive careers guidance available to learners at different stages of their education at the home.

p.16

Good

However, the transition arrangements do not always include an educational placement. Considering the behavioural complexities displayed by the young people in the home, their behaviour in the main is very good in education, with the exception of a very few isolated cases, where learners use offensive language when directing themselves to others. Not all teachers manage these incidents sufficiently well and the application of the behaviour reward points system is not consistently or rigorously used by all. Attendance at education is good for the majority of learners who are able to attend their lessons and who do not have external appointments to attend. However, the absences from education, encountered by a minority of learners, are considerable and curtail the time that they spend in education. In these few cases, evidence shows that their progress in mathematics, in particular, is not sufficiently good. During the inspection, however, attendance and punctuality

p.16

Good

were good. Learners demonstrate good adherence to health and safety in lessons and follow instructions that help them to keep safe. Young people undertake an extensive induction to education period, where good emphasis is placed on being safe online as a useful life skill.

p.16

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the home 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‟.

p.18

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

p.18

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.18

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

p.19

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 .

p.19

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,

p.20

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

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

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