Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Coventry

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 Managers do not ensure that emergency admissions to the home are consistent with the home’s statement of purpose. This compromises staff’s abilities to meet young people’s needs.  Initial compatibility risk assessments completed by managers do not consider the impact upon young people already resident. These have an impact on the staff’s ability to maintain young people’s safety.  Managers do not consistently evaluate measures of control, discipline and restraint. Incidents of physical intervention are not recorded appropriately and young people are not consistently debriefed following a physical intervention.  Staff do not consistently progress and evaluate young people’s independence skills.  Managers fail to ensure that staff receive appropriate training to meet the individual needs of young people living there.  Managers do not consistently record complaints.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 Young people like living in the home and enjoy the support that they receive from caring and enthusiastic staff. They are able to pursue interests and activities that build their self-esteem and confidence.  Young people say that they have good, trusting relationships with staff and are able to talk to them if they are worried or concerned.  There is an effective anti-bullying strategy in place. Staff consistently challenge incidents of bullying.  Staff engage well with parents and support contact arrangements effectively. They offer constructive advice and guidance, which parents find helpful.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(b)(vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently. 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(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 (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe (iv) manage relationships between young people to prevent them from harming each other. 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to: (2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. Specifically that each member of staff is trained in understanding the specific needs related to autistic spectrum disorders. (f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered persons must ensure: (2)(a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs 30/11/2016 are within the range of needs for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, compatibility risk assessments need to consider the impact upon children currently resident. 35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that: (a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child within the home, a record is made which includes: (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so: (i) has spoken to the user about the measure and (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate (c) within five days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. 30/11/2016

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates the home. It provides care and accommodation for up to seven young people with learning and/or physical disabilities or sensory impairments.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 09/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/07/2015 Full Good 31/03/2015 Full Good 20/02/2015 Full Inadequate

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Requires improvement

Young people’s experiences and progress are variable. All benefit from a committed staff team which works hard to ensure that each young person is settled and happy. Those young people who have previous experience of placement disruptions are beginning to develop positive relationships with some staff members. For others, their experience is compromised by the competing needs of other young people living here, who are more challenging.

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Requires improvement

Since the last inspection, there have been a number of new young people admitted to the home. Risk assessments for young people who are newly admitted to the home do not consistently take into account staffing sufficiency and the compatibility with existing young people living there. The quality of matching has been poor and the transitions have been limited in quality. The matching does not consistently reference the statement of purpose. The arrival of young people has had an impact on the dynamics of the home and at times staff have struggled to adjust to their differing needs. Staff are able to identify negative behaviour but are not always sufficiently skilled and experienced to deflect and de-escalate challenging behaviour. For some young people this means that their needs are not appropriately met, and for others their progress is limited.

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Requires improvement

Young people report positive relationships with staff. As one young person commented, ‘My key worker is very supportive, she makes time to chat and I feel I can talk to her about anything.’ Parents and visiting professionals consistently praise staff’s commitment and care.

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Requires improvement

Staff make sure that young people’s health needs are met and good health is promoted. Healthy eating is actively encouraged by staff, who encourage young people to make healthy meal choices. The managers ensure that the home operates an effective medication policy. This helps staff to be clear over their responsibilities to safeguard young people by making certain that they receive their medication in accordance with their doctor’s instructions. These measures help young people to stay healthy.

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Requires improvement

All young people attend appropriate education provision and are making good progress from their starting points. All achieve excellent attendance. Staff have effectively supported one young person, who was previously on a reduced timetable, to return to full-time education. One young person has successfully completed GCSE examinations over the summer. Where young people’s education plans are not in place, the home chases and challenges the placing authority. For example, staff advocated effectively on behalf of one young person to secure an appropriate college placement located nearer the home.

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Requires improvement

Young people feel valued because they are consulted about life in the home. Staff make sure that residents’ meetings are held regularly, and these provide opportunities for young people’s voices to be heard. Staff use a range of communication methods, including Makaton and Widgit, to make sure that all are able to contribute effectively. Young people make clear choices about activities and menu planning. Staff support young people to participate in a range of activities, including theatre trips and swimming. Over the summer, a number of young people went on holiday to the coast with staff. For some, this was their first holiday experience. Staff support young people to attend community groups, such as cubs and cadets. Young people have also been involved in some charitable fund-raising and one young person regularly undertakes voluntary work at a local charity shop.

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Requires improvement

The home is appropriately furnished, and staff support young people to personalise their own bedrooms. Young people live in a physically safe environment where the manager ensures that all routine checks, risk assessments, and safety policies and procedures are completed.

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Requires improvement

Staff make sure that family members are warmly welcomed into the home and are regularly updated. Young people do not live too far from their home area and are well supported to stay in touch with people who are important to them. Parents appreciate the support and guidance they receive from staff. As one parent stated, ‘The structure and support from staff has made a huge difference.’ Another commented, ‘Staff keep me regularly updated and genuinely care. It’s like family.’

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Requires improvement

Young people’s preparation for independent living is not consistently progressed and evaluated. Staff are not consistently working with agreed plans to help young people develop their life skills or grow their independence. Although young people have gained some practical independence skills, there is no assessment or evaluation of key skills. This makes it difficult to assess their readiness to move on, or to evaluate their progress.

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Requires improvement

Young people say that they feel safe in the home and with the staff who look after them. They say that they are able to talk to staff if they are concerned or upset, and that appropriate support is provided. In the words of one young person, ‘There’s always someone to talk to here.’

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Requires improvement

Managers do not ensure that consistently robust compatibility risk assessments are completed prior to young people moving into the home. This has placed the young people living at the home at an increased level of risk. Assessments are completed without full consideration of young people’s histories of challenging behaviour and the impact this may have on others. This has led to young people moving into the home without a full assessment of their needs and the potential risk their behaviour may pose to other young people and staff. This has an impact on the safety and well-being of both the young person who has required an alternative placement to be sought and others living in the home.

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Requires improvement

Some young people’s behaviour has improved significantly since living at the home, while for others incidents of challenging behaviour have notably increased. Staff strategies to promote positive behaviour are often ineffective, and managers have failed to evaluate and establish alternative strategies. Sanctions used by staff do not relate to the specific incident and their effectiveness is not evaluated. This has meant that staff continue to repeat sanctions with limited success. This has affected the safety and well-being of the other young people. Some have physically hurt others and have begun to copy unacceptable behaviour, while others are reluctant to invite friends to visit.

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Requires improvement

Staff use physical intervention only as a last resort to manage challenging behaviour. However, managers have not ensured that all incidents of physical intervention are thoroughly documented and evaluated. Managers do not consistently review each incident or make sure that young people are appropriately debriefed. Learning from this is not captured. This denies staff and the young people the opportunity to reflect on and learn from such incidents.

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Requires improvement

Young people do not go missing from the home due to the high level of supervision and support of staff. Most of the young people have complex needs, and appropriate staffing ratios make sure that they are kept safe. Although missing incidents have not happened, there are appropriate systems in place should a missing from home incident occur.

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Requires improvement

Risks of sexual exploitation are not consistently considered, and not all staff have undertaken appropriate training to raise their awareness of the wider risks of exploitation for young people with learning disabilities. Staff have undertaken individual work with one young person to raise her awareness, which she considered has been helpful. The manager is aware of this shortfall and has identified a strategy in his development plan to address this.

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Requires improvement

Staff challenge incidents of bullying effectively. The manager makes sure that all incidents are evaluated effectively to consider the impact on the victim and to identify any patterns of bullying behaviour. This ensures that effective work is undertaken with young people to improve relationships. During anti-bullying week, the young people took part in group activities to raise awareness of the impact of bullying.

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Requires improvement

Young people know how to make a complaint, including the use of external professionals and advocacy services. However, the manager’s recording of complaints from external agencies is not consistent. This lack of transparency compromises young people’s safety.

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Requires improvement

There is a detailed location risk assessment that highlights risk factors in the surrounding area and indicates how these will be managed. Staff complete regular fire and health and safety checks in the home.

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Requires improvement

Managers ensure that safe recruitment practices are used to ensure that young people are protected, and that all staff at the home are suitable and safe to work with young people.

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Requires improvement

The current registered manager is leaving his post at the beginning of November 2016 to take up a new position in the company. A new manager has been appointed. He has been working at the home since May. He is suitably experienced and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for children and young people in residential services. He has submitted his registration application to Ofsted. An experienced deputy and a newly appointed senior will support him.

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Requires improvement

The new manager is committed to improving the service and providing the best possible care to the young people living in the home. He has established a new development plan for the home, which provides a realistic appraisal of the current strengths and weaknesses. The new manager has acknowledged that some areas of practice, for example in managing behaviour, will need to be re-evaluated following inspection. He has begun work to strengthen areas such as staffing sufficiency. The recruitment of new staff has been successful and the home will be fully staffed in November. The staff training plan is being reviewed to reflect the presenting needs of the young people and to build upon existing staff strengths. He has recognised the shortfalls in the current impact risk assessment and has begun to revise this.

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Requires improvement

The internal and external monitoring of the home is regularly completed and the reports are forwarded to Ofsted. The internal monitoring report has been strengthened to include formal feedback from professionals, staff and young people routinely. This ensures that current stakeholder feedback shapes and informs the home’s development and improvement. This was a requirement at the last inspection.

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Requires improvement

Staff are supported to develop their practice through monthly team meetings and regular supervision, both of which enable them to reflect on their practice, discuss how well the young people are progressing and provide challenge. Staff access training courses to enhance their knowledge further, for example in online safety. However, managers have not ensured that staff are able to access training to address the presenting needs of young people, for example in autistic spectrum disorders. This compromises their effectiveness to support young people. The new manager has recognised this and has developed a plan to address this.

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Requires improvement

All permanent staff have either achieved, or will complete within the statutory timescales, a level 3 diploma in residential childcare. This ensures that staff have the right skills and knowledge to work effectively with young people.

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Requires improvement

The quality of professional relationships between the staff, families, placing authorities and other external agencies is good. Social workers report positively of the service, particularly in respect of staff support to young people to make positive transitions from the home. All are positive about the level and quality of communication they receive from the home, which promotes effective partnership working. Staff use partnership relationships to advocate and challenge on behalf of young people to ensure that they receive appropriate support to meet their needs, such as in securing appropriate support in their transition to adult provision.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children’s home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children’s home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of children looked after is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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