Children's home run by Kisimul Group Limited in North Kesteven

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:

 The physical environment is safe and well suited to the needs of young people with complex needs.

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

 Leadership is confident and clear and strongly focused on the well-being and progress of the young people.

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

 The staff group displays care, sensitivity and skill in their dealings with the young people.

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

 Substantial effort is made to provide young people with the fullest possible life experience.

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

 There are good monitoring systems in place that enable the leadership to gauge the quality of care provided and prioritise areas for improvement.

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

 Young people are protected by robust safeguarding procedures and practice.

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

 Strong and positive links are maintained with parents, carers and external agencies.

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

 There is a holistic approach to the progress and well-being of young people, with good integration between care, education and therapy.

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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

The registered may only employ an individual if the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (3)(b) 15/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner that is consistent with the statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5) 07/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay of any incident as listed in paragraph (4) (a) to (e). 07/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 The registered manager must ensure that policies relating to the protection of children, and in particular allegations against members of staff, provide clear guidance to be followed when referring matters to the local authority. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager must ensure that records of restraint are clear and enable proper review of the use of control, discipline and restraint. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager must review the practice of staff supervision in the home and ensure that this meets the needs for staff to reflect meaningfully on their practice as well as how they may be affected by the behaviour of young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2 and page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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Information about this children’s home

This service is privately owned and provides education, care and accommodation for up to 66 children and young people who have learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 02/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/07/2015 Full Requires improvement 11/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/05/2014 Full Good

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Good

An extensive, well-equipped and well-maintained site provides young people with a rich and stimulating environment for their learning and development as well as their leisure needs. The five individual residential units provide young people with a family living experience and cater for varying levels of independence.

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Good

Young people with complex needs who come into this home are valued and respected by staff. They are able to build positive relationships with adults who are interested in what they do and the progress they make. They establish routines in an environment that becomes familiar and where they develop a sense of belonging.

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Good

Young people with communication difficulties are able to express themselves and give their views and opinions. This is because staff want to understand them and go to great lengths to devise ways to communicate effectively with them. Bedrooms reflect the individual tastes and interests of young people.

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Good

The education and learning of young people is integrated into the full spectrum of their daily activities: more formal learning takes place in the on-site school, while life-skills and other independence-building skills are nurtured in the care setting. There is crossover between these settings and this is helped by care staff who support individual young people in school and are able to transfer and support learning across settings. Young people make good progress with their learning and development in this environment.

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Good

Young people’s experience of the world and enjoyment of life are expanded and enriched by a wide range of stimulating and enjoyable activities, both inside and outside the home. These activities also provide opportunities for socialising and making friends. Good use is made of the extensive grounds that include a woodland walk and various play areas. Funding is in place and planning permission has been given for a swimming pool complex on the site.

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Good

Young people who come into this home make significant progress in becoming less reliant on personal support as they develop increased independence. They become more outgoing and thoughtful of others. Notable recent achievements include:

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Good

 a substantial reduction across the home in physical restraint  a number of young people achieving continence  previously self-isolating young people now joining in with social activities  underweight and overweight young people achieving healthier weights  a reduction in unhelpful obsessive behaviours  reduced staffing ratios for some young people due to their improved behaviour.

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Good

The good health of young people receives high priority. They are provided with healthy diets that meet their needs and preferences. They access routine medical checks and immunisation programmes. Medications are administered with care and precision, and rare errors are taken very seriously. Young people benefit from healthcare that is balanced and not over-medicalised.

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Good

Young people are treated with dignity, sensitivity and respect. This is because staff are committed to their good care and know them well. This enables young people to express themselves and explore their world with enthusiasm and without unnecessary restriction or over-protection.

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Good

The home maintains a close relationship with families and carers and facilitates contact for young people with care and consideration. Families report feeling helpfully supported by staff during contact and say that staff are always on hand to offer suggestions and advice should challenges arise. There is flexibility in arrangements, such as curtailing contact when difficulties arise for parents and carers.

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Good

Young people with complex health and care needs are protected and kept safe in this provision. The large and complex site is carefully managed and well-maintained with facilities that are designed and adapted to meet the needs of the young people.

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Good

Staff have a caring and respectful attitude towards the young people; they understand their unique needs. Staff supervision levels reflect when and how young people receive one-to-one support and in every case, medication administration is meticulous.

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Good

Staff are well trained and aware of potential threats and risks to the young people. Staff awareness and training includes the risks associated with sexual exploitation, internet safety and radicalisation. They are also well informed by relevant and comprehensive risk assessments about how to keep young people safe, both on- and off-site. This allows young people to take appropriate risks, which expand their life experiences. Allegations against staff are taken very seriously and procedures are followed to immediately safeguard young people and refer matters to the local authority. Staff, however, require greater clarity about how to limit their actions to avoid possible contamination of evidence and how to avoid worsening pressures on those making allegations.

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Good

The home maintains a close working relationship with the local safeguarding designated officer who describes the home as proactive, cooperative and very responsive to directions and requests. Notifications to Ofsted about serious incidents are, however, not always sent within the prescribed timescales.

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Good

Young people have not gone missing from this home, or when out on activities, because staff are vigilant and young people are adequately supervised at all times.

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Good

Physical restraint is only applied when de-escalation strategies have been exhausted, and is mostly aimed at protecting young people from self-injury. The extent and duration of restraints is proportionate to circumstances. After each restraint, staff are enabled to reflect upon it and consider if restraint could be avoided in similar circumstances in the future. The recording of physical restraints does not always give a clear description of the relevant issues and actions taken by staff. This inhibits effective managerial oversight.

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Good

Improved staff practices and a more stimulating and enjoyable daily programme for young people have contributed to a significant reduction in the need for physical restraint over this inspection period.

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Good

The well-qualified and experienced registered manager has been in post for seven months and has approached his role with notable vigour and enthusiasm. He is currently receiving significant support from senior managers from within the wider organisation.

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Good

Since the last full inspection there has been a sustained and focused effort by the leadership team to improve key areas of the provision. This has been in response to a range of requirements and recommendations previously made. At the most recent (interim) inspection, the provision was found to have improved effectiveness. The home, however, also displays an internal motivation to improve the quality of care provided, unrelated to inspection judgements. A planned improvement programme is currently being led with enthusiasm by the registered manager, supported by his three deputy managers.

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Good

The current staffing complement is adequate to meet the needs of the young people but is under strain due to staff shortages. Some overtime working is used to meet shift requirements. Staff have also been under pressure as a result of the drive for improvement. The management in the home is fully aware of the situation and is engaged in recruiting new staff. A current staff group, however, expressed confidence in meeting the current needs and said that they are prepared to be patient about recruitment and stated, ‘We don’t just want more staff, we want the right staff.’

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Good

The home has its own human resources team and recruitment practice is of a particularly high standard and includes a very thorough vetting process of all new staff. Suitability to work with children, and specifically these children, lies at the core of care staff recruitment.

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Good

The daily deployment of staff across the five houses is done with careful consideration and young people are able to enjoy a continuity of care from familiar staff who know them and understand their particular needs. Staff express confidence in their managers and are proud of the improvements that have been achieved so far and express motivation to continue the process.

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Good

Although staff are competent and experienced to meet the needs of young people, a number have not yet achieved the required level 3 diploma within the specified time frame. Since coming into post, the registered manager has made concerted efforts to support staff to complete the qualification but a number remain unqualified. This also contradicts the statement of purpose, which specifies the qualification as a condition of employment.

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Good

Managers and leaders have a range of auditing and monitoring systems in place to gauge the standard of care being delivered as well as the quality of support and development of staff. Good use is also made of regulation 44 and 45 evaluation processes to monitor progress. Significant efforts have also been made to obtain feedback from young people, parents and professionals to inform improvement in the quality of care.

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Good

Leaders and managers have achieved the requirement for the regular supervision of all staff and have now started monitoring the quality of this supervision. It is evident that there has been a strong emphasis on performance and operational requirements in supervision, to the detriment of the supportive elements, such as personal reflection on practice and how young people’s behaviour might affect staff. Improvement in this area will increase staff resilience in providing consistently good care.

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Good

The quality of care is supported by a significant investment in staff training. A training coordinator closely monitors induction, mandatory and refresher training for all staff and arranges bespoke training when required. In-house trainers and level 3 diploma practice assessors also form part of the training team. Staff value training and regard this as essential to their practice.

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Good

Young people have clear and relevant care plans and programmes for key working, and their progress with these is monitored by managers. The registered manager displays good knowledge and understanding of the young people and is enthusiastic about their achievements and progress.

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Good

The registered manager heads a management structure that is able to monitor progress and support improvement. There are plans for staff succession and development in place. The registered manager is able to plan effectively to achieve a staff team that is stable, effective and has the motivation to provide the best possible care for young people with complex needs.

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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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