Children's home run by Northern Life Care Limited, trading as UBU in North Yorkshire

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:

 Staff persevere and build strong and trusting relationships with young people. These relationships and attachments enable staff to support young people well, to make changes and progress over time.  Young people receive good advice and guidance on how to keep themselves safe.  Staff work actively in partnership with other agencies to support young people with their health, education and safety.  Young people live in a safe and homely environment. This provides them with surroundings in which to thrive.  Young people respond to the focus on positive behaviour, and to firm and consistent boundaries.  Young people receive care from a stable and experienced care staff team.  Staff receive clear direction and good support from the registered manager.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit, which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether: children are effectively safeguarded and: the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 28/12/2016

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this must include waking night staff and those staff working part-time. 28/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

(1) The registered person enables, aspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that:

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Requirement Due date

(a) helps children to aspire to fulfil their potential. In order to meet this regulation the registered person must ensure that there are sufficient funds to provide ample indoor and community-based activities for young people to broaden their social and life experiences. 28/12/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs Staff should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8). In particular, the home must ensure that the placing authority promptly undertakes return home interviews after each missing from care episode.

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for no more than four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 02/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/05/2015 Full Good 09/01/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/06/2014 Full Adequate

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Good

Staff are child-focused and work tirelessly to build trusting relationships with young people. Young people spoke positively about living at the home. Each said that they get on with staff. One young person said: ‘I trust staff’, and another said, ‘It’s a good place to live.’

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Good

Staff consult with young people about their individual care needs. This assists greatly in engaging them. This has helped young people to make progress in relation to their health, independence and education, and in reducing risk-taking behaviour.

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Good

The looked after children’s nurse said: ‘Staff promote young people’s health well, and they seek advice when necessary.’ Young people have regular health check- ups. Staff persevere and continue to encourage those young people who are reluctant to attend particular appointments.

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Good

Young people benefit from access to other agencies which assist to improve their health. This includes the drugs awareness agency and the mental health team which supports young people with their emotional well-being. All health issues are discussed with young people to help them to follow a healthier life style.

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Good

Some young people come to live at the home with a history of sporadic school attendance. Staff recognise the importance of education and have a desire for young people to succeed. Staff are proactive in building strong partnership working with schools, colleges and work placements. An education link person said: ‘Staff communicate with us well, always supporting X to attend school, and attending all education meetings.’

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Good

Currently, young people have inconsistent engagement in education. Some young people’s attendance is good, while others are at the beginning of new educational and work placements. Consequently, establishing improved attendance and attainment remain key goals for these particular young people. This will enable them to have a wider choice in further education or apprenticeships as young adults.

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Good

Young people receive good support to assist them to learn independence skills, appropriate to their age and understanding. This includes budgeting, cooking, chores around the home and independent travel. This helps to prepare young people to care for themselves as young adults. Young people have good support to help them maintain contact with their families and friends. Staff have established positive relationships with parents and family members. A parent said: ‘The staff are fantastic with my son. They are supportive to me. He has made so much progress since going to live at the home. I’m so pleased.’ This provides young people with the family ties that are important to them.

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Good

Young people spoke about how much they had enjoyed their summer holiday. The home promotes some activities and interests. One young person said: ‘We do go to the cinema sometimes, go shopping and hang out with friends,’ and another said: ‘I go to the youth club.’

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Good

Young people have their friends round to the home regularly. However, activities are limited due to the restricted funds available. Two young people said that activities are the one thing that the home could improve upon, as they do get bored. They would like more to do in the home and out in the community. Providing further social opportunities will give young people new life experiences and build their self-confidence.

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Good

Staff work effectively with a number of professionals to keep young people safe. This takes place through regular contact with social workers, the community liaison police officer and NSPCC worker. Prompt action is taken when there are safeguarding concerns, and multi-agency planning meetings take place. Monitoring and review of young people’s safety are routine, with the aim of reducing risk- taking behaviour. This assists in protecting and supporting young people, to keep them safer.

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Good

The number of ‘missing from home’ incidents has reduced. Staff now follow the missing from care protocols fully, searching for young people prior to reporting them missing. Young people said that staff frequently speak to them about keeping safe. One young person said: ‘I have to be in by a certain time. Staff will phone me while I’m out, to see where I am. If I did not come home on time, then they look for me and then report me missing to the police.’

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Good

Young people are aware of the rules and boundaries that staff implement to keep them safe. However, in some instances, the local authority has not undertaken return home interviews after a missing episode. This means that the opportunity for an independent person to explore the reasons for these occurrences is missed. Young people benefit from the strong focus that staff put on their positive behaviour and achievements. This is delivered through frequent praise and reward. Physical restraint is a rare occurrence, and is only used to protect a young person from hurting themselves or others. The use of sanctions for poor behaviour are low in number. Young people respond well to the consistent care delivered, through clear rules and boundaries, and the emphasis on what they do well. As a result, their behaviour continues to improve.

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Good

Staff have a clear understanding about the individual risks for each young person in their care. They undertake key work sessions on risk-taking behaviour. In addition, other professionals also support young people to recognise the dangers and provide them with advice and guidance on how to keep themselves safer. This ensures that safeguards are in place to protect young people.

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Good

The registered manager of this service has been in post since 2011. She holds the required qualifications for the position and has a vast amount of experience of working with children and young people.

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Good

The manager ensures that the home’s statement of purpose is followed. She has a clear understanding of the service’s strengths and weaknesses. She works actively to address weaknesses to improve the care provided to young people. Her management style is child-centred and this principle is embraced by the staff team.

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Good

Professionals report that they have good working relationships with the manager and staff. One professional said: ‘The staff communication with me is excellent, I am kept well informed,’ and another said: ‘In my view, the staff do their very best with a very challenging group of young people. They regularly phone me for advice. We have a positive working relationship.’ This ensures that the home is able to provide the best support possible to care for, and protect, young people effectively.

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Good

The majority of staff are qualified to level 3 in caring for children and young people. Currently, new staff are undertaking the qualification. In addition, staff undertake mandatory training. This includes behaviour management, child protection, first aid and more specialist areas, such as child sexual exploitation and drugs awareness. Staff say that they are ‘well supported’, by the manager and their colleagues. Regular staff meetings, training and formal supervision underpin this support. However, a small number of staff are not receiving regular supervision. For these particular individuals, this reduces the opportunity to develop and reflect on their practice.

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Good

The service has addressed one recommendation made at the last inspection. The decoration of the shower room ensures that all the facilities in the home are maintained to a high standard.

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Good

One recommendation remains outstanding. Young people do not have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of social and leisure activities due to a lack of available funds in the home.

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Good

The manager undertakes ongoing internal monitoring of the service. This, along with independent monitoring of the service, supports continual improvement to the quality of care. However, independent monitoring fails to evaluate whether young people are safeguarded effectively and whether their welfare is promoted.

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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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