Children's home run by Choices Home for Children Limited in Cheshire East

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people make exceptional progress from their starting points, and this is maintained over time.  Staff provide clear and consistent boundaries for young people, providing them with a strong sense of security. One young person said to me: ‗This home has changed my life immaculately. I used to be a big drug user… the staff give clear boundaries – you know that if you break them, there will be consequences.‘  Staff spend time getting to know young people and their experiences. They understand what is important to them and advocate tirelessly to ensure that their wishes and needs are met.  Staff are highly skilled in identifying triggers for young people‘s behaviour. They introduce individualised behaviour management plans. This results in significant improvements in young people‘s behaviour. A commissioner said: ‗It‘s hard to believe, but she looks like a totally different child from when I saw her in the last placement.‘

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Staff are proactive in identifying research and training to support their practice, which makes an exceptional difference to young people‘s lives, particularly around sexual exploitation and substance misuse. Their practice is disseminated widely amongst local authorities. These value the significant difference that staff make to young people‘s lives.  Young people invest in the home, including those young people with the most complex and challenging needs, because they develop positive relationships with staff and the registered manager. One young person said: ‗He‘s the best manager ever! He listens to me and is really good at sorting things out.‘  The registered manager and staff develop excellent partnership working with professional stakeholders and families to promote young people‘s progress.  There are areas of development identified. The registered manager has not ensured that the visitors book is always completed or that all risk

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

assessments and care plans are up to date. This has not impacted on the young people‘s extraordinary progress.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and ‗Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‘. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure— (2) that staff— (a)(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child‘s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensuring that risk assessments are accurate and up to date.

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Requirement Due date

(b) the home‘s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensuring that the visitors book is completed by each visitor. 21/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  All children's case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date. (‗Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

In particular, that children‘s up-to-date care plans are obtained from local authority social workers.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for five children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or physical disabilities. The home forms part of a social care company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 25/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/05/2015 Full Good 17/12/2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/05/2014 Full Adequate

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Outstanding

Staff and young people develop excellent relationships. Staff take the time to really understand them and their backgrounds. They know what young people like and what interests them. This means that they are able to develop highly individualised placement plans which show what the young person has been involved in developing. A social worker said: ‗Staff‘s skills are amazing. They put really good strategies in place which meet my young person‘s needs and she is able to engage because she is calmer, happier and more relaxed.‘ Staff are especially effective at achieving positive outcomes for young people regarding their education. They work tirelessly with education providers, virtual school heads and placing social workers to ensure that each young person receives the most appropriate education to meet their needs. When young people do not yet have an educational provision identified, staff ensure that they benefit from

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Outstanding

home tutoring and educational activities. Young people make exceptional progress both in engaging in education and achieving, including those who have disengaged from education for many years. As a result, some young people have just passed their public exams and are able to attend the college course of their choice, and others are predicted to achieve success at the end of this academic year. Staff promote healthy living, and young people access universal and specialist health services as required, including the child and adolescent mental health service. As a result, young people‘s physical and emotional health improves. Staff listen to young people and ensure that their health needs are attended to promptly. Staff develop excellent relationships with professional stakeholders, including the police, specialist child sexual exploitation officers, therapists, substance misuse services and youth offending services. They work collaboratively as a team around

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Outstanding

the young person to develop the most effective plans to achieve the best outcomes for each young person. A specialist child sexual support officer said: ‗I think the home is frankly amazing, as the young person I work with was at high risk of child sexual exploitation and is now low risk.‘ Staff promote effective transitions into and from the home. Those who are new to the home are welcomed, and staff quickly understand their behaviour and needs. Those who move on are well prepared, and they are successful in their new placements as they move towards living independently as adults. One social worker said: ‗The whole admission process was wonderful. It was planned with the previous placement and myself, and she settled, quickly developing relationships with staff. She is so much happier – she has not gone missing, self-harming has reduced from daily to rarely and the need for restraint has decreased. She is doing

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Outstanding

really well.‘ Young people are well prepared for the transition to adult life. They are able to plan meals, cook and do their own laundry. Staff support them to learn to budget and to how to access services that they may need to use. Some young people volunteer within the community. This gives them confidence and ensures that they are part of the local community. Staff ensure that young people are able to access activities in the community which reflect their individual interests, such as going for a coffee or a milkshake, going to the skate park, visiting farms or going to the beauticians. Staff encourage positive friendships. This enhances young people‘s investment in the home and community. All the young people benefited from a holiday together, which offered some young people their first experience of having a holiday. This broadens their horizons and boosts their self-esteem, as well as being great fun.

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Outstanding

Staff develop positive relationships which allow young people to talk to them about what is difficult. Young people know how to complain, although that is rarely necessary. Staff ensure that young people have access to an advocate to support them further in representing their wishes and feelings to placing authorities. Staff promote contact when that is safe and in young people‘s best interests. Regardless of the distances involved, staff ensure that all young people are able to keep in touch with their parents, sisters and brothers and extended family. This ensures that young people maintain their sense of identity. Staff create a warm and friendly environment which enables young people to invest in ‗their‘ home. A social worker commented: ‗The best thing today was meeting the staff and seeing my young person at her place, which she calls ―home‖.‘

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Good

Young people all make exceptional progress to become increasingly safe. Staff understand the risks associated with their risk-taking behaviour, including substance misuse, going missing, child sexual exploitation and self-harm. Young people feel safe, and this is reflected in their strong sense of investment in the home, with all risk-taking behaviours reducing significantly. One young person said: ‘Honestly, sad to be leaving as staff have helped me to overcome issues like child sexual exploitation – I have gone from high risk to low risk and I am grateful to every member of staff for the support that I have received... all staff and the manager show an outstanding amount of respect and care for every young person.‘ Risk assessments are not always reflective of the excellent work that staff are undertaking with young people, as they do not all specifically reflect their current risks and how staff should respond. The impact of this is ameliorated by

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Good

comprehensive oral and written handovers between a consistent staff group.

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Good

Staff work effectively to identify the triggers to young people‘s behaviours. They work creatively with them to develop individualised plans. This enables young people to improve their self-regulation. As a result, the use of physical intervention decreases and is rarely necessary. Young people recognise the effectiveness of staff in managing their behaviour and in giving them the tools to manage their own behaviour. One young person said: ‗Physical intervention is the very last resort here, not like at other care homes. They try to calm you down first.‘ Another young person said: ‗My behaviour is really bad when I get angry, but staff talk to me a lot and it really helps.‘ Staff ensure that restraint is recorded in detail and the registered manager ensures that young people benefit from the opportunity to reflect on their experience. He is proactive in recognising any shortfalls and now ensures that he records his debriefings with staff accurately.

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Good

Staff are skilled in understanding and managing sexual exploitation. They recognise the signs of child sexual exploitation and are proactive in diverting young people from this path. They work collaboratively with other stakeholders to ensure that a well-coordinated and effective package of support is in place. Young people who have been actively involved in child sexual exploitation are now considered low risk and are supporting their peers in understanding and changing their behaviour. This leads to improved self-confidence and self-esteem for all young people. Staff understand how to manage incidents of missing. They work effectively with the police and British transport police to ensure that young people are missing for the minimum amount of time. Staff look for young people in areas that they frequent and at transport hubs, and remain in contact with their families. Staff ensure that young people benefit from ‗safe and well‘ checks and independent

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Good

return interviews. This information informs strategic planning to improve responses to missing behaviour. The significant progress that young people make is evident in that there have been no incidents of going missing among any of the young people for several months. This represents excellent progress from their starting points and reflects their increasing investment in the home. Young people benefit from staff‘s support in understanding the risks that the internet may pose. Staff are proactive and vigilant in monitoring young people‘s use of social media, and take prompt action if they have any concerns. Staff understand how to manage child protection concerns and allegations, and complaints. Any necessary referrals are made and records kept to ensure that matters are immediately investigated. Staff do not unnecessarily criminalise young people. They make good use of restorative practice to support young people‘s understanding of the impact of their

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Good

behaviour. Staff work proactively with the youth offending team to encourage young people to comply with the requirements of their orders and complete them. Young people make excellent progress and no further offences are committed while living in the home. The registered manager ensures that staff are safely recruited so that young people are protected from those who may want to harm them. He has not ensured that the visitors book is maintained accurately. This means that there is an incomplete record of who has been in the home, which represents a weakness in safeguarding young people.

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Good

The home is managed by a permanent registered manager who has been in post for two years. He has the necessary skills, experience and qualifications, including the level 5 QCF qualification in leadership and management in residential care. The registered manager is caring and inspirational, to young people and staff alike. Staff appreciate his formal and informal support in undertaking this demanding work. He ensures that they receive thorough inductions to the home and appropriate training. This enables them to meet the specific needs of the young people in their care. For example, when a young person joins the home with a history of self-harm, he ensures that staff receive training updates to prepare them to meet their needs. Young people say that the registered manager listens to them and recognises what is important to them. One young person said: ‗He is the best manager ever! He is really good at sorting out problems. He is really good at listening to me. He made

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Good

sure that my contact went ahead with my sister when it wasn‘t going to.‘ The registered manager ensures that he prioritises the individual needs of each young person. When new young people join the home, he undertakes impact risk assessments to ensure that their behaviour and needs will not interfere with the security of group living. He talks to the existing young people and gains their support in welcoming new arrivals so that young people‘s initial settling period passes without adversely affecting those already living in the home. The registered manager understands that all young people make excellent progress from their starting points. He understands their plans and works tirelessly to achieve them and to ensure that their wishes and feelings are championed. There is excellent partnership working. The registered manager develops positive relationships with all professional stakeholders and families. They work

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Good

collaboratively to ensure that young people make exceptional progress as a result of the consistent and planned care that they receive. Leaders ensure that Ofsted is informed in a timely manner of all significant events so that the regulator is able to monitor trends and patterns. The registered manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home through regular monitoring. He learns from inspection and has ensured that the previous requirements and recommendations have been met. He has not ensured that all young people have an up-to-date local authority care plan in place, although there has been no impact on young people‘s plans being followed and fulfilled, as their last looked after child review minutes are within the home and are used to develop their placement plans. The registered manager ensures that the home is properly staffed by a consistent staff team. Staff receive mandatory and specialist training which equips them well

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Good

to provide high-quality care for young people. As the local police officer said: ‘The best thing about the home is the attitude and professionalism of staff.‘

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‗Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection‘. An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements

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What the inspection judgements mean

are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and ‗Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‘. the guidance, ‗Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted‘, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

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

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