Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Good

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

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Children and young people are cared for by a stable, committed team of staff who care about their welfare.  Children and young people enjoy secure and trusting relationships with staff who know them well and understand their needs.  Staff understand the risks to children’s and young people’s safety and well- being, and work positively to manage them.  Children and young people are demonstrably safer as a result of the care that they receive at the home.  Staff provide positive behaviour support, which helps children to develop personal coping strategies and reduces the number of incidents that take place.  Staff are able to identify and respond effectively to any safeguarding concerns. They have confidence in the registered manager and feel able to raise concerns.  Community professionals report high levels of satisfaction with the home. They feel that the registered manager and staff work in an open,

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The children’s home provision is good because:

transparent and cooperative manner.  Children and young people are supported to make excellent progress in many aspects of their lives. They are supported to achieve and engage positively in education.  The registered manager and staff support children and young people to express their views and raise concerns. Children and young people are listened to and their opinions are valued.  Staff receive regular supervision and feel well supported on a day-to-day basis. They describe the registered manager as extremely approachable.  There is a clear management structure in place and good support networks for the registered manager. The registered manager constantly monitors safety and quality, and responds positively when areas for development are identified.

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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

(1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in schedule 1. (2) The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to— (a) a person who works at the home; (b) a child, or a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered; (c) a parent of a child, or a parent of a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered; (d) a child’s placing authority; and (e) in the case of a qualifying school, the Secretary of State. (3) The registered person must— (a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and (b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (5) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is

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Requirement Due date

consistent with its statement of purpose. 04/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The home’s procedures must take into account the views of appropriate local services and have regard to police and local authority protocols for responding to missing persons incidents in the area where the home is located. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.29)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their

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Recommendations

use is fair, and the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to accommodate one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities. The home is owned by a private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/07/2015 Full Good 26/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/12/2014 Full Adequate

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Good

Children and young people are cared for by a small, stable staff team. This gives them the opportunity to develop secure and trusting relationships with staff who know and understand them well. The young person who currently lives at the home spoke extremely highly of staff and the registered manager, commenting that they were always available and ready to listen, if something was bothering them. The young person said that they had never settled in a home as well as they had in this one.

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Good

Children and young people who are cared for at this home make excellent progress across many aspects of their lives. A social worker said that, in their opinion, young people respond well to the individualised care and attention that they receive. They said that they were ‘absolutely thrilled’ with the progress made by a young person whom they had placed at the home.

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Good

A notable reduction in the high-risk behaviour of children and young people is evident when they are placed at this home. For example, one young person has dramatically reduced contact with people and places that may lead them to engage in substance misuse. Another young person has been supported to reduce their offending behaviour to such an extent that youth offending team workers have recommended the early closure of a referral order. Supporting children and young people to reduce high-risk behaviours helps to protect them from harm.

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Good

Positive behaviour management is a particular strength of this home. Staff place much emphasis on children and young people achieving positive behaviour, and they work in a consistent manner. This results in a very low level of incidents requiring physical intervention or sanctions, and assists children and young people to learn how to manage their emotions in difficult times.

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Good

The registered manager and staff strongly support children’s and young people’s educational achievement. One young person had achieved regular college attendance after several years of being out of education. We spoke with a college support worker who commented that staff had been extremely supportive and encouraging, and had showed that they really cared about the young person’s education. Supporting children and young people to achieve in education helps to increase their confidence, skills and life chances.

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Good

Staff support children and young people to maintain good health. Staff ensure that children and young people have access to healthcare support and advice when they need it. Any health concerns are addressed in a prompt manner and staff support children and young people to lead active and healthy lifestyles. For example, one young person had been encouraged and supported to attend a local gym.

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Good

Children and young people are encouraged to express their views and, when they do so, staff respond appropriately. Records of direct work with young people provide evidence that staff take action to address any issues or find answers to any questions raised. The registered manager has recently supported one young person to access an independent advocate to assist them in expressing their views to an outside agency. This led to a successful outcome for the young person.

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Good

Several community professionals commented that children and young people placed at the home tended to engage in a more positive manner with outside professionals. An independent reviewing officer, when taking part in a satisfaction survey for the home, wrote, ‘I have no doubt that young people placed within the service choose to attend their looked-after children reviews because they feel supported by staff and have been assisted to prepare in advance’.

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Good

The safety and well-being of young people are seen as paramount by the registered manager and staff. Young people feel safe and are encouraged and supported to share their concerns. They are safer due to the care and support that they receive at the home.

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Good

The registered manager and staff are able to identify risks to the safety and well- being of children and young people. They understand the actions required to keep children and young people safe, and work with external professionals such as the local police in a highly proactive manner. This results in effective planning and coordination to maintain children’s and young people’s safety.

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Good

The registered manager and staff are aware of the risks associated with individual children or young people going missing from home. They work closely with local agencies to develop risk assessments for each child or young person who lives at the home. If children or young people do go missing from home, staff respond in a robust manner by making every attempt to search for them and alerting other professionals.

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Good

This good practice is not fully supported by detailed procedures. Guidance and protocols in relation to children and young people being missing from home could be clearer and more demonstrably aligned with the relevant local authority protocols. This would help to ensure that all possible action is quickly taken to safeguard a child or young person when they are missing. Positive behaviour management is a particular strength of this home. The young person who currently lives in the home receives their care from a small, stable team of staff with whom they have developed very positive relationships. The staff team knows and understands the young person well, and supports them in times of difficulty with a confident and consistent approach. This has proved highly effective in supporting the young person to develop coping strategies and regulate their own behaviour. A social worker commented that the young person

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Good

had benefited immensely from the staff team’s ‘measured, proportionate and consistent approach.’

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Good

All staff receive training in physical intervention, and this is regularly updated, although there have been no incidents of physical intervention at this home since the last inspection. The registered manager commented that staff are skilled in de- escalating situations, which means that physical intervention is rarely required. Discussions with the young person currently living in the home support this information.

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Good

Staff consistently promote positive behaviour and agree clear, achievable targets with children and young people. Much attention is paid to the achievements and positive behaviours of children and young people. A social worker commented, ‘The staff make a massive thing about everything that is good and they make very little about the not-so-good stuff.’ This positive approach supports children and young people to develop confidence and self-esteem.

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Good

Clear boundaries assist children and young people to understand what is expected of them. Staff work in a consistent manner when issuing consequences or sanctions, although these are rarely required for the young person who currently lives in the home. All sanctions are monitored by the registered manager to ensure that they are fair and effective. However, a clearer process for recording sanctions would enable more effective monitoring.

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Good

Clear arrangements to safeguard children and young people are in place and any safeguarding concerns are immediately shared with the appropriate agencies. All staff are trained to identify safeguarding concerns and to respond effectively to them. This training is regularly refreshed to help to ensure that staff maintain their knowledge and are aware of any changes in procedures. One staff member expressed confidence in the home’s safeguarding procedures and said, ‘We are all really aware of safeguarding. We know exactly what to do if there are any concerns.’

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Good

Children and young people are provided with a safe, comfortable environment. The home is well maintained and the registered manager carries out regular checks to ensure that all facilities and equipment, such as fire safety equipment, are fit for purpose. This helps to protect children’s and young people’s safety.

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Good

Robust recruitment procedures mean that all prospective staff are required to undergo a number of background checks before they are offered employment. Such checks include a full employment history and a criminal records check. This helps to ensure that children and young people receive their care from people of suitable character.

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Good

This home is managed effectively by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. The registered manager’s commitment to prioritising children’s and young people’s needs and to championing their rights is a strength of the home.

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Good

Children and young people who live in this home make good progress continually. This is demonstrated by the very positive outcomes experienced by the young person who currently lives in the home and those of other young people who have moved on.

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Good

A range of community professionals, including social workers, youth offending team workers, education staff and police officers, all report very positive relationships with the registered manager and staff. They speak of highly effective communication and an open and transparent approach. Their comments included: ‘They are very proactive and always provide any requested information straight away’, ‘They work very positively with us and are very supportive’ and ‘I have always been struck by the quality of written reports provided in advance of meetings, and the number of workers (at different levels) who have made efforts to travel significant distances to attend meetings and who have actively participated and contributed to the decision-making processes/forums.’ Positive joint working such as this helps to ensure that children and young people receive well-planned and coordinated care.

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Good

The registered manager is able to challenge other agencies actively, when appropriate. Evidence is available to demonstrate examples of the registered manager advocating for children or young people when there are concerns about the service that they are receiving.

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Good

The registered manager reports that he is provided with a good level of support and supervision, and feels that he receives adequate resources to provide an effective service. The home is well resourced, and children and young people benefit from the care of a small, stable staff team.

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Good

The registered manager has created an open and supportive culture within which staff feel able to raise concerns and express their views. Staff receive regular supervision, which provides them with an opportunity to discuss training, personal development or any concerns that they may have. Records show that supervision is effective and assists staff to develop their skills and confidence in supporting children and young people. A staff member described the registered manager as ‘extremely supportive’ and commented that they would feel comfortable to approach him with any concerns.

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Good

New staff benefit from a well-detailed induction programme. The programme covers a range of areas relevant to their role and includes a variety of competence assessments during which they are enabled to demonstrate their ability to carry out various aspects of their role. This helps to ensure that staff are provided with the skills and knowledge to support children and young people in an effective manner.

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Good

Ongoing training is provided in areas such as safeguarding, positive behaviour management, risk assessment and care planning. Currently, all the core staff hold national vocational qualifications in caring for children and young people, or other qualifications deemed to be equivalent. Training is carefully monitored to ensure that all staff receive updates and refresher training at the appropriate intervals. This helps to support staff to maintain their knowledge and develop their skills.

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Good

The statement of purpose in place at the time of inspection did not fully reflect the service. Some parts of the document were out of date, as were some policies and procedures. This could lead to staff failing to work in accordance with the aims and objectives of the service, or failing to work in accordance with correct procedures. As such, a requirement is raised that the statement of purpose and underpinning policies and procedures are reviewed and available to staff at all times.

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Good

There are processes in place to enable the registered manager to monitor safety and quality across the home. These are used effectively and the registered manager understands the strength and weaknesses of the home. He regularly identifies areas for development and takes appropriate action. For example, he is currently in the process of implementing a new computer-based system which will help to support more consistent recording and quality assurance. This positive approach to monitoring quality means that children and young people benefit from a constantly improving service.

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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’. 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 looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 0300 123 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 looked after children 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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