Children's Home run by United Children's Services Limited in Leicestershire

Good

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

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

 Young people present as very happy. The progress they make and the experiences they have are very good.  Staff keep young people as safe as possible. Young people feel safe and their lives stabilise while living in this home.  The staff and managers work in close partnership with placing authorities, educational providers and in-house therapists. As a result, young people have bespoke packages of support, which have helped them to reduce incidents of risk-taking behaviours, such as aggression, going missing and causing damage, significantly.  Young people benefit from the warm and supportive relationships they have with a core group of staff members who know them well, who have a very good understanding of their needs, and who help them to work through their specific difficulties.  Young people are at the centre of practice. Their views are instrumental to the running of and presentation of the home. Young people are fully

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

involved with the preparation and review of their care plans.  The manager provides strong leadership through her child-focused practice, commitment and passion. Her core staff team shares her enthusiasm and dedication to ensure that children and young people receive the best care and support possible.  Two requirements are set as a result of this inspection. These are in relation to recruitment and supervision practices. Although these have not had an impact on young people’s progress and safety, they have the potential to do so if not rectified.

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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

With particular reference to the recruitment of new staff, the registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d)) 02/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 02/12/2016

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to care for up to four children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/12/15 Interim inspection Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Good

All young people have lived in this home for in excess of one year. They are very settled and they are making very good progress in all aspects of their lives. One young person reflected: ‘I have gone from being rock bottom when I arrived to now looking forward to a happy future.’ As a result of good individualised care and support, based on comprehensive assessments and detailed care planning, young people thrive.

p.6

Good

Young people make good educational progress. All have progressed from either not going to school or having disrupted educational experiences to attending either the company’s school or college full time, and achieving in line with expectations. A young person said: ‘Before I was not at school. I was very anti-school. Now I am in college, I have a job and I know what I want to do in the future. The staff are helping me achieve this. They are on my case 24/7, in a positive way, because they want me to do well.’

p.6

Good

Young people’s physical and emotional health needs are well addressed through access to universal services, local child and adolescent mental health services and in-house therapy. As well as offering young people direct weekly support, the in- house therapists offer regular consultation to the staff team members to help them to understand specific behaviours. Staff recognise that behaviour is a form of communication and, in consultation with the therapists, help young people to tackle the underlying reasons for particular behaviours.

p.6

Good

Young people speak positively about their experiences and about their relationships with staff. One young person said: ‘Staff are good, they spend lots of time with me.’ Another commented that: ‘They actually care.’ Although there has been quite a high turnover of staff since the last inspection, a core group of established staff members, who are very committed and caring, and who know the young people well, have minimised the disruption to them as a result of this.

p.6

Good

Young people benefit from engaging in a wide range of activities and experiences, which reflect their individual preferences and interests. A young person said: ‘I go horse-riding, to the cinema, to the gym and ice-skating. I am going to see a band next week. We can do anything within reason.’ Young people have the opportunity to socialise and make friends, they have fun and they develop improved confidence and self-esteem.

p.6

Good

Young people’s views are central to all that happens within the home. Through regular young people’s meetings, one-to-one sessions and through feedback questionnaires, the suggestions of young people are heard and acted upon. For example, in direct response to the requests of young people, some have pets, alterations and improvements have been made to the home environment, and updated television systems have been installed. Young people are also involved in the preparation of their care plans and in monthly reviews of them. Not only does this enable them to reflect on their progress, it also helps to motivate them to work towards goals that they have set themselves.

p.6

Good

Staff help to prepare older young people well for their transitions into adult life. A young person said: ‘I am on independence. I have learned how to manage money, I can now cook and I can also do my own washing and cleaning. I also travel everywhere independently.’ Well-planned, individually tailored independence programmes help older young people to develop emotional resilience as well as practical life-skills in preparation for their move into adulthood.

p.7

Good

All young people live some distance from their home areas, but staff support them to maintain good links with those who are important to them. Staff facilitate and support contact and, for some, family relationships improve because they have become calmer and have had the opportunity to reflect on and learn from their past experiences. A social worker said: ‘Staff have been really supportive and have helped the young person re-establish and strengthen relationships with significant family members.’ These improved family relationships help to improve young people’s sense of identity and self-esteem.

p.7

Good

Young people report feeling safe and they become much safer as a result of living in this home. A young person commented: ‘It is very safe here. It is in the middle of nowhere and staff keep a very close eye on what we are doing. They are always there for you to talk to and they are good listeners.’ The location of the home, close supervision by staff, and their availability to support and listen to young people help to create a safe and secure environment for young people.

p.7

Good

The home is a very settled, happy and calm environment. There is no bullying. Individual work and group discussions in respect of positive relationships are effective. Young people develop respect for one another. This, as well as appropriate staffing ratios, ensures that young people can live together harmoniously. A young person said: ‘We all get on well here, there is no bullying.’ This provides children and young people with an improved sense of safety. Robust and regularly updated risk-management plans, implemented by staff, help to keep young people safe. This, as well as a multi-agency approach to help and support, by way of six-weekly care planning meetings between the staff, social workers, educational professionals and therapists, helps to ensure that young people receive the targeted support they need and deserve. This approach, alongside some excellent direct work completed by staff, has proved very effective,

p.7

Good

as incidents of risk-taking behaviours have reduced significantly.

p.8

Good

Staff act sensitively and promptly when they identify potential emerging risks. For example, when staff monitoring of a young person’s social media use raised a potential safeguarding concern, direct work was undertaken. Staff completed this in a measured way to educate and inform, and to protect the young person from harm.

p.8

Good

Despite some young people living in this home having a significant history of going missing and having been assessed as being at risk of sexual exploitation, incidents of going missing have significantly reduced. On the few occasions when a young person has gone missing, staff followed individual protocols and they were promptly located and welcomed back home. A young person said: ‘If you go missing, staff are very quick to find you. They do not give up until they know you are safe and sound.’ The staff’s understanding of individual risks and strong relationships with the local police, as well as some good work undertaken in relation to personal safety, including internet risks, have been very effective in reducing the risk of young people going missing. A social worker commented: ‘Although there remains a risk of sexual exploitation, the direct work undertaken has been really effective in reducing risk. Missing has reduced and this is good

p.8

Good

Staff have a very positive and proactive approach to managing behaviour without recourse to physical intervention. Each young person’s behaviour support plan highlights their specific vulnerabilities, warning signs and triggers, as well as guidance as to how best to support them. The implementation of such plans, alongside high levels of praise and reflective sessions with young people, has had a very positive effect on their behaviours. A young person commented: ‘I used to be really angry and punch walls. I was also really abusive. I am not like that now. The staff have really helped me to manage my emotions better.’

p.8

Good

The service has clear recruitment systems in place to help to safeguard young people from inappropriate people working in the home. However, on one occasion, a new member of staff started work without full and satisfactory information being available prior to commencement of work. The risk associated with this was minimised as the member of staff spent no unsupervised time with young people on any shifts. It did, however, give them some level of access to vulnerable young people prior to confirmation that they were a suitable person. Judgement grade

p.8

Good

The registered manager is dedicated and experienced and is on target to complete the required management qualification within the timescales set out in the Children’s Homes (England) regulations 2015. She feels very well supported by senior leaders and her deputy manager. She leads a small, but very committed, staff team which is very complimentary about the working environment that she has created. A member of staff said: ‘I cannot stress how well supported we feel by the manager. We are a very small but very tight team. I love working here.’ Morale in the home is good and a committed and enthusiastic staff team is helping young people to achieve very good outcomes.

p.9

Good

There has been a high turnover of staff since the last inspection. However, recruitment is ongoing and the manager has managed this situation well, with core staff doing additional shifts to provide consistency of care. This has minimised the impact of this on young people and has not had a detrimental effect on their outcomes.

p.9

Good

Staff complete a good range of training, all of which is relevant to the needs of the young people currently living in the home. They have all also completed, or are on target to complete, the required professional qualification in residential childcare. The training completed, as well as regular access to the home’s therapists, helps staff to understand each young person’s specific needs and behaviours and to develop strategies to help and support them effectively.

p.9

Good

Staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice, their development and on the needs of the young people during regular team meetings and during one-to-one supervision. For the majority of staff, supervision is regular. There are, however, some exceptions to this. For example, a newly appointed member of staff did not have one-to-one supervision until almost three months after commencing work. Although there is no evidence to suggest that this has had an impact on the care they provided, irregular supervision limits opportunities for reflection and has the potential to hinder staff development or improvements to their practice.

p.9

Good

The home’s statement of purpose is up to date and provides clear and accurate information to parents and placing authorities about the care, support and services that the home offers. The young person’s guide is also a comprehensive document, which includes the perspectives of young people currently living in the home. This will provide any young person moving into the home with an understanding of what it is like to live in the home through the eyes of their peers. The manager monitors effectively the progress that young people make. Data, collected daily and weekly in respect of all aspects of young people’s lives, enables the manager to analyse patterns and trends in behaviours and their progress against their individual targets. The manager shares the information collated with social workers and with each young person’s therapist. This helps to ensure that risk management and care plans remain relevant and up to date.

p.9

Good

Quality assurance systems are good. Internal and external quality assurance reports highlight the home’s strengths as well as areas for development. This, as well as clear development plans, formulated with the assistance of feedback from young people, staff, family members and professionals, is indicative of a service committed to improving the lives of young people.

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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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