Children's home run by Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited in Hertsmere

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 receive good individualised care.  Young people make good progress in their emotional and social well-being.  All young people attend full-time education.  Young people have access to a range of activities.  Staff give young people good encouragement to keep in contact with their family.  Staff support young people to prepare for leaving the home when the time is right.  Young people live in a safe environment where they are protected from harm.  Staff base their management of behaviour on encouragement of acceptable behaviour.  Staff view young people positively and help them to overcome their past difficulties, including helping young people to reduce self-harming behaviour.  The registered manager has established effective systems for the running of the home.  The registered manager is child-focused in his practice.  Staff receive good-quality supervision.  The registered manager maintains strong partnership working with other

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

agencies to help young people to make good levels of progress educationally, socially and emotionally.  Parents and external professionals are extremely complimentary about the home.  This inspection has identified a few shortfalls in practice. Not all staff are qualified to the required level 3 in residential childcare, the home’s appearance is unkempt and there has been no recent review of the home’s suitability through the location assessment.

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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: (2)(c)(i) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification. This is met if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the level 3 diploma for residential childcare. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)) 17/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. Providers should refer to the non-statutory advice about the location assessment process: ‘Children’s homes regulation amendments 2014: advice for children’s homes providers on new duties under regulations that came into effect in January and April 2014’ (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1).

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private company and is part of a large national organisation. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/06/2015 Full Good 14/01/2015 Full Inadequate 13/10/2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people receive good individualised care. Staff take time to build solid and trusting relationships with young people. One young person explained to the inspector that he liked living in the home as he liked the staff.

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Good

Young people make good progress because staff provide good-quality care. Young people and their families are clear about their progress. One parent explained to the inspector that her son’s behaviour had improved due to the work staff had completed with him. She felt that this was due to staff gaining his trust and respect.

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Good

Staff support and facilitate contact. For example, the staff transport young people to contact and stay nearby to support them or the parent if required. This helps the young people to maintain links with people that are important to them.

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Good

Young people make progress in their emotional and social well-being. For example, the company provides a therapist that works with staff, young people and their parents. This provides young people with the best opportunity to engage with and benefit from therapeutic support.

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Good

All young people attend full-time education. For one young person, attendance has improved from 58% to 100%. Staff have high aspirations for the young people and support good attendance. For example, staff from the home go into school to help support the young people. Staff have worked collaboratively with education providers and placing authorities to create tailor-made educational packages that enable young people to achieve their educational potential.

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Good

Positive relationships with staff enable the young people to engage in one-to-one sessions. These are used to discuss subjects and gain views that are relevant to the young people, including health and welfare. This enables young people to make informed decisions about aspects of their lives that are important to them. For example, one young person was refusing to take his prescribed medication on admission. After a key worker session, he understood the reason for this medication and now takes his medication daily.

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Good

Staff recognise the importance of encouraging a range of activities to help develop young people’s emotional well-being and self-esteem. For example, young people enjoy community-based activities, such as canoeing and attending a forest school. Young people take pleasure in gardening activities within the large grounds of the home. These daily experiences help young people to develop a sense of self-worth and to have a positive connection with their community.

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Good

Three young people have successfully moved either to foster care or back home with family since the last inspection. Staff have fully supported these transitions through discussions and attending meetings. They have challenged any decisions that have not been made in the best interests of the young people. The use of advocacy has also enabled young people to have a voice and to feel listened to.

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Good

The home is currently undergoing decoration. However, the presence of an excessive number of cobwebs and dirty windows give an unkempt impression of the home. This detracts from a homely environment that young people can be proud of.

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Good

Young people confirm that they feel staff give a high priority to keeping them safe. This is achieved because staff use their in-depth knowledge and understanding of young people to ensure that safeguarding is at the centre of everyday practice.

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Good

The young people in the home are not currently at risk of child sexual exploitation. However, staff know the signs and symptoms, and proactively monitor all young people at the home. Staff have engaged in training to support their understanding and to enhance their awareness.

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Good

Episodes of self-harming and of young people going missing have reduced since their admission. This is because of the nurture and care that young people receive from staff. Staff work in effective partnership with the police, the therapist and local authorities to protect young people from harm in these circumstances.

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Good

The staff use individualised incentives to promote positive behaviour. Consequently, physical interventions are rarely used. On occasions when restraint is necessary to prevent serious harm, there is a careful debrief and analysis of each incident. Records made by staff when a physical intervention has occurred receive management oversight, and young people have the opportunity to discuss the reason for the restraint. This is helping to ensure that the use of restraint is proportionate and that staff and young people are receiving opportunities to reflect on incidents.

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Good

Staff are vigilant to signs of bullying and carefully monitor this. Young people explained to the inspector that they are not bullied and feel confident that the staff team would address any concerns.

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Good

Strong recruitment and vetting processes are in place. Applicants undergo appropriate checks, including criminal history and employment history checks. These reduce the possibility of young people being harmed by those in positions of trust.

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Good

Health and safety and fire risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated. The young people reside in a safe and secure home. However, the same level of oversight is not given to the location risk assessment. This fails to note some of the surrounding risks and ways to minimise these. Staff are, however, aware of these and the manager is undertaking a full review of this document because of this inspection.

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Good

Leadership and management is strong and effective. The registered manager holds a level 4 diploma in leadership and management, and has managed the home for many years.

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Good

Not all staff have obtained their level 3 in residential childcare in the appropriate timescales. However, there is an action plan in place to rectify this. Many staff have been at the home for a number of years. The home currently has two vacancies. However, current staff are working overtime and regular bank staff from another home are used to ensure that young people are experiencing continuity of care.

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Good

Staff speak highly of the manager and enjoy their time at the home. One worker told the inspector: ‘I think that he’s a great manager – he’s so supportive. He pushes me at work to learn and develop. He’s funny with it. He’s great at team building. ’

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Good

The registered manager is child-focused. He understands the young people’s individual needs, and ensures that, through specialised training, staff have the skills to meet them. The manager ensures that there are systems in place so that important training is regularly refreshed.

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Good

Staff receive good-quality and regular supervision. Any performance issues are clearly addressed and young people are at the heart of all discussions and decisions. The registered manager is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. He constantly strives to improve his and others’ practice to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people. An independent visitor undertakes monthly visits and produces a report. The manager finds these useful. These visits, together with other systems, enable the manager to monitor the quality of care. The registered manager has taken time to ensure that there is a good development plan in place for the home. This is regularly updated. As a result, young people benefit from consistency of care that achieves better outcomes than previously.

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Good

The manager ensures that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the services offered to young people, updating it when necessary. The statement of purpose is shared with placing authorities and helps social workers to be well informed about the provision of care.

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Good

Partnership working with other agencies remains vital in helping young people to make good levels of progress educationally, socially and emotionally. Parents and external professionals are extremely complimentary about the home and say that the manager and staff work well in partnership with them and that young people make progress during their time at the home. One social worker explained to the inspector that information is shared very effectively. Both achievements and concerns are quickly shared. A social worker told the inspector: ‘They are absolutely fantastic. I am really pleased with the placement.’ A parent told the inspector, ‘The staff are lovely and approachable. They all speak well of [her son].’

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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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