Children's home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire Dales

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’s provision is outstanding because:

 Young people receive excellent and highly effective care provided by a committed staff team. Consequently, young people make very good and sustained progress in all areas of their development.  Strong educational progress is achieved by young people through excellent school attendance. Key targets set at school are transferred to the home and actioned to help young people fulfil their full potential.  The service prioritises young people’s health needs. Those with complex health needs receive the help and care they need. Staff work particularly well in partnership with health professionals and consequently young people’s needs are comprehensively met.  Highly effective relationships exist with families and those important to young people. Contact arrangements support young people to maintain strong support networks with those important to them.  Staff are highly nurturing and work to a model of care that gets to the heart

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

of young people’s need for positive, secure and long-lasting relationships.  Young people are kept safe through outstanding safeguarding practice. Staff receive training in all aspects of safeguarding practice and fully implement this training in their work with young people.  Young people benefit from clear boundaries, structures and routines. Praise is fundamental and sanctions are rare.  This is a safe and stable home: a skilled leadership team prioritises the welfare and safety of children extremely well. There is excellent decision- making and very good planning for admissions. Staff help young people to move in and move on with considerable insight, sensitivity and respect.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority children’s home, which provides care and accommodation for up to six children and young people with physical and learning disabilities. The home provides long-term care and short breaks. The design of the home ensures that the dual purpose of providing long-term care and short-break services does not affect children and young people living at the home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 16/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/10/2015 Full Good 24/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/11/2014 Full Outstanding

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Outstanding

The management and staff provide highly effective and nurturing care to young people. Young people continue to be happy, settled and contented. The young people enjoy their lives. Their self-confidence increases because of living at the home or receiving short breaks at this service. Young people enjoy good, warm relationships with staff. Staff know young people well and interact with them in a very warm, affectionate and nurturing manner. Young people like and trust staff members. One parent stated that staff are, ‘absolutely wonderful, I could not wish for my daughter to be in a better place.’

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Outstanding

Young people’s educational development is constantly promoted and optimised. The home benefits from a very strong relationship with a special needs school. The deputy headteacher stated that, ‘The home and school have a very open relationship and work closely together.’ Young people have excellent school attendance. Staff attend personal education planning meetings at which developmental and learning targets are set. These targets are transferred to the home, which very effectively supports young people to meet them. Home and school staff meet daily. Information-sharing is further supported by good use of home/school diaries. School staff attend developmental days focusing upon maximising the potential of individual young people. This leads to excellent communication between the home and school, and a shared understanding of young people’s needs.

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Outstanding

Managers and staff possess an in-depth knowledge of young people’s health needs and exercise great diligence in meeting these needs. Many young people have complex healthcare arrangements arising from their disabilities. Staff work closely with a range of healthcare professionals, including paediatricians, occupational health teams and physiotherapists. Young people’s quality of life is significantly improved by the highly attentive practice of staff in the home. The staff use a range of specialised equipment and environmental adaptations to support young people to enjoy life to the full. For example, a young person is now going out on trips and taking a full part in community activities because staff obtained a new wheelchair that is better adapted to her needs. Her confidence has improved and she is enjoying life. In another example, following advice from medical professionals, staff implemented a new sleep system for a young person aimed at

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Outstanding

improving posture and mobility. Because they were so consistent in their practice, major spinal corrective surgery is no longer required. This young person has greater mobility resulting from improved posture and is now able to access a wider range of learning opportunities. The registered manager and staff recognise the crucial importance of young people maintaining contact with family members and those important to them. Staff provide a warm welcome to visiting family members and make efforts to ensure that visits are enjoyable and rewarding. One parent said, ‘I see my daughter when I want and the staff go out of their way to facilitate contact, they will come out with us and offer support, I am able to join activities and they will support us attending the local hydro-pool.’ Staff pay particular attention to the planning and organising of visits. All family contact is safe and takes place within a clearly agreed

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Outstanding

plan developed in collaboration with social workers. For example, managers and staff worked very closely with a parent to support a young person going home for some weekend stays. There was detailed contingency planning. This gave the parent assurance that staff would be there for them if required.

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Outstanding

Care planning arrangements are both purposeful and cohesive. This supports staff to provide outstanding care to young people. Young people benefit from meticulous care planning. The managers and staff complete care and placement plans prior to new young people coming to live at the home or receiving short breaks. These plans, harnessing detailed information from young people’s parents or carers, and from professional agencies, are reviewed regularly. The local authority disabled children’s services team manager stated that social workers, ‘have excellent relationships with the home. Social workers and staff have monthly meetings and have good information-sharing arrangements.’

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Outstanding

Young people’s views are important to managers and staff. The young person’s guide is tailored to the preferred means of communication of individual young people. Young people are supported by staff to produce short films about the progress they have made and the good times enjoyed at the home. Independent advocacy is a high priority for the registered manager, with young people receiving monthly visits from an advocate. Young people and their families are provided with information about agencies independent of the home that they can turn to if they have any concerns.

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Outstanding

The young people’s life skills and confidence improve. Staff members are very effective at supporting young people to develop new skills. For example, one young person recently acquired goldfish. Staff members, using various means of communication, remind the young person when to feed the fish and how much food to provide. This enables her to take on a responsible role, develops her practical skills, and boosts her self-esteem. The staff take young people on regular holidays and enjoyable activities in the local community. The managers and staff promote a culture of enrichment and exercise resulting in young people being active, engaged and healthy. They have fun and make considerable developmental progress. Judgement grade

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Outstanding

Young people’s safety and protection needs are of paramount importance to managers and staff. Staff have a very good understanding of how to protect young people and keep them safe. Staff undertake regular safeguarding training. This ranges from understanding what action to take in response to an allegation, to safely using hoists and lifting equipment.

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Outstanding

The home environment is safe and comfortable. Young people benefit from living in a homely, relaxed and pleasant environment. The building is well adapted and equipped to meet the needs of young people with a range of disabilities. Young people enjoy ball pits, sensory areas and music rooms. Young people have their own specially designed flat within the home. This provides them with a kitchen area in which they can practise using various items of kitchen equipment. The home is situated within safe and secure grounds that enable young people to access excellent outdoor play equipment.

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Outstanding

Detailed behaviour support plans help staff to manage young people’s behaviour. Support plans detail the presenting behaviours of young people, any issues that may be of concern, and behavioural triggers. Plans set out what staff members should do to defuse and manage difficult situations. Staff members keep clear written records of all incidents. This enables managers to identify and analyse patterns and emerging trends. This information is then used to inform individual behaviour support plans. This has resulted in physical intervention becoming extremely rare. Staff have exceptionally good relationships with young people. These relationships underpin the very effective behaviour management strategies.

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Outstanding

Staff members recognise and tackle risks proactively. The managers and staff complete detailed safe-care plans for young people. These plans encapsulate young people’s individual vulnerabilities, such as a lack of road awareness or very limited social awareness. Staff members complete individual work with young people by developing social stories. These help young people to better understand how to keep themselves safe.

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Outstanding

Managers and staff recognise the vulnerability of young people to bullying. They ensure that young people are monitored closely. The staff have completed individual work with young people about bullying, helping them to recognise what constitutes bullying, and the actions that they can take if they are concerned.

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Outstanding

Potential new staff members undergo a rigorous recruitment process. A full employment history is taken, references are obtained and verified, and a criminal record check is completed. This reduces the risk that young people are exposed to unsuitable adults. Judgement grade

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Outstanding

An experienced, qualified and knowledgeable registered manager oversees the home. She has worked at the home since 2012 and has extensive experience of working with young people with physical and learning disabilities. Two deputy managers, who also possess a great deal of experience and knowledge, support the registered manager. The management team works cohesively and provides strong and effective management.

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Outstanding

Managers and staff help young people through difficult transitions. New young people coming to live and stay at the service, and those leaving, receive excellent support. All transitions are well planned, taking into account the unique circumstances of the young person concerned. The managers and staff ensure that transitions take place at a pace that the young person is comfortable with and can cope with. They recognise that transitions are not solely confined to admission and discharge but also extend to key changes and events in the young person’s life. For example, one young person experienced high levels of anxiety transferring from the home environment to a classroom. The staff, in unison with teachers, developed a successful plan to manage these anxieties. Consequently, the young person was much less anxious and more open to learning when entering the classroom.

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Outstanding

Young people receive excellent care provided by a stable staff team. The registered manager ensures that there are high levels of staffing to meet the needs of young people. Staff have daily meetings to share information about young people. Additionally, the staff team regularly meets as a wider group to review the progress of young people. The staff feel able to raise any concerns and know that colleagues and managers will take these seriously.

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Outstanding

Staff members receive high quality guidance and support through regular professional supervision. They are accountable in their work. One member of staff said, ‘The managers have an open door policy and we also receive lots of informal supervision.’ Staff members receive annual appraisals where development targets are set and additional training needs are identified. Consequently, young people benefit from a well-trained and supported staff team.

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Outstanding

The registered manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths of the service and areas for further development. The registered manager receives insightful reports compiled by the independent visitor on a monthly basis. This information is used alongside information derived from feedback questionnaires completed by key stakeholders. The service and workforce development plan is ambitious and strategic. It sets out areas for improvement, timescales for completion and the criteria for evaluation.

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Outstanding

Young people, staff and visitors are kept safe through the excellent management of health and safety. The deputy manager takes the lead on all health and safety matters in the home. All necessary risk assessments are completed, with any identified actions undertaken quickly. Fire safety systems are strong and effective.

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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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