Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Milton Keynes

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:

 Staff are attentive to young people’s needs and are consistently looking at how to promote their welfare and ensure that they are kept safe.  Professionals speak highly about the staff team and the impact that it has on the young people’s experiences while they are living there.  The staff are creative and nurturing and are able to gain young people’s trust. Young people are encouraged to express their views in house meetings and other forums and they know how to make a complaint.  Risks for young people are very well understood by staff, and staff are able to recognise and respond well to any concerns.  The management team challenges to ensure that young people receive the appropriate services, and managers have developed strong links with other agencies and parents.  There have been a number of complaints received from local neighbours. These have been responded to promptly and strategies put in pace to try to manage

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) 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 person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to any individual employed to work at the children’s home in respect of the matters listed in schedule 2. In particular this refers to a full employment history, with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment history and satisfactory references. (Regulation 32(3)(d)). 30/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  Ensure that all staff, including those from an external agency, have the necessary qualification. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  Review the arrangements for when staff sleep in the home overnight to ensure that they have appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.26)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that any measure of restricting a child from leaving the home is proportionate and is in place no longer than is necessary to manage the immediate risk. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.52)  Ensure that language used in paperwork reflects a nurturing environment and that staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to take up to four young people who have emotional and/or behaviour difficulties. The home is one of a group of homes owned and operated by a private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

21/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people are supported to build relationships with staff and speak very positively about how they trust the staff and are confident that staff will listen to them and give them advice when needed. Young people describe the home as being like ‘a family’. Staff are attentive to young people’s needs and are consistently looking at how to promote their welfare and ensure that they are kept safe. Staff support young people to understand and come to terms with matters from their past that impact on their emotions and behaviours currently. Young people benefit from this individualised support, which helps them to grow in confidence. Since the last inspection in December 2015, there have been five admissions and six discharges. Placement endings have been carefully considered and when a decision has been made to end a placement this has been after the home has exhausted all avenues and staff have not been able to meet the young people’s

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Good

needs and keep others safe. Following discharges, lessons have been learnt about the management of admissions, such as the need for more comprehensive pre- placement assessments and more detailed information prior to placement. Two young people have successfully moved on from this home into semi-independent living, and one stated that she has only been able to do this due to the support that staff gave her in preparing her for this transition. Professionals speak highly about the staff team and the impact that it has on the young people’s experiences. Staff are described as ‘welcoming, professional, child focused and they provide a stable and supportive placement for the young people placed there.’ Each young person is valued as an individual and the staff members’ positive regard towards young people enables strong attachments to be formed and provides the foundation on which to develop and sustain appropriate

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Good

relationships with peers and family. Staff work consistently with each other, external agencies and in-house therapists to address the young people’s individual needs and promote their physical, psychological and emotional well-being. There is an emphasis on including young people in decision-making about their care planning arrangements and the development of the home. Key-work sessions, house meetings and daily discussions provide opportunities for young people to express their views and thereby influence the running of the home. The staff are able to gain young people’s views, and young people are encouraged to bring issues forward and they know how to make a complaint. Young people appear confident in speaking out about day-to-day living matters in the home. One young person stated that she could tell her key worker anything; this is evidence of attachments being formed and security in her placement being created. A culture

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Good

of openness provides opportunities for young people to raise grumbles or formal complaints. All forms of complaint are taken very seriously. The staff act as beneficial advocates. For example, they ensure that young people have access to appropriate education, and challenge when this is not forthcoming. This enables young people to improve their engagement and to attain their full potential. The staff give practical support to young people to encourage their educational progress. Young people are supported to be as independent as possible to be able to successfully manage their lives as adults. This is carefully considered for each young person in placement, both from an emotional and functional perspective. Staff also use regular discussions and therapeutic work to support young people to be independent in keeping themselves safe and to manage unsafe relationships. Progress for young people has been seen in areas such as their social confidence

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Good

and in reducing risky behaviours such as substance misuse.

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Good

The home provides an environment within which young people feel safe and where they are suitably protected from harm. Young people acknowledge the work that staff do with them in order to keep them safe. Risks for young people are very well understood by staff, and staff are able to recognise and respond well to concerns. They take immediate action and work with all the necessary professionals. Young people in placement are currently deemed as being at risk, including from child sexual exploitation. Staff are very aware of how to keep young people safe, and professionals spoken to during the inspection commended staff on the information sharing in place and the way in which they work very well with specialists in the local police to ensure the safety of the young people. They are proactive in minimising occurrences of young people going missing and take appropriate action when this does occur. Since the last inspection, there have been incidents of bullying that have taken

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Good

place. Young people spoken to feel that when incidents happen immediate action is taken and they do not feel unsafe. One commented, ‘At no point did I not feel safe. Staff intervened. They always do.’ There are clear strategies and consequences in place to minimise the occurrence of this behaviour. One professional described the home as ‘a really positive space and [it] has a good family feel.’ Staff work with young people on their relationships with each other, and meetings are used to discuss bullying and the impact that this may have. This ensures that everyone remains vigilant to any signs that require their support and intervention. Young people feel appropriately protected as a result. Members of staff receive training in the use of physical intervention. There is an emphasis on de-escalation and distraction. Young people are beginning to learn how to manage their difficult and challenging emotions in appropriate ways.

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Good

Physical intervention has been used and this has been appropriate. Staff do not use the police to manage behaviour, and police assistance is used as a last resort. Boundaries are clear and consistent, and young people know what is acceptable. The focus in the home is to provide a therapeutic environment. However, the language used in incident forms does not reflect the therapeutic ethos. For example, there are suggestions that placements will be at risk because of behaviours. Sanctions are imposed according to young people’s behaviour and generally used in a restorative way. The use of supervised spending as a sanction is an area that the home is again intending to review, to ensure that it is appropriate and effective. When staff perceive there to be a heightened risk of young people putting themselves at risk, all exits are locked. This has become routine practice and would benefit from being reviewed to determine whether staff are unnecessarily

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Good

restricting all young people’s liberty by locking doors. Recruitment processes do not, in all cases, evidence whether satisfactory exploration of information has taken place prior to staff commencing work. On one file, there is only one reference, and gaps in employment histories were seen on other files. The processes require strengthening. The environment is welcoming and the house decorated to a high standard. Young people are able to personalise their bedrooms and are involved in decision-making about the decor in the rest of the house. Necessary health and safety checks have taken place to ensure that the environment is safe. However, one member of staff who sleeps in at night uses the lounge, and this is not a suitable sleeping-in arrangement.

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Good

There is a strong team effectively led by the registered manager. Since the last inspection, the manager has been successfully registered with Ofsted and has completed the required qualification. She has the necessary experience to provide strong and effective leadership. Young people are clearly the priority in the home with all decisions being child focused and young people’s welfare fully taken into account. The management team ensures that young people receive the appropriate services, and managers have developed strong links with other agencies and parents. They are prepared to challenge other professionals, if they believe that this is necessary, to secure expected services. This ensures that young people receive the support they require and experience positive outcomes. One professional commented that they wished that all working relationships were as good. Staff are enthusiastic and committed to the young people in their care. One young

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Good

person commented that staff are ‘great’, and a professional stated, ‘Staff are welcoming, and young people have a great relationship with staff and they speak highly of them.’ Staff numbers, staff members’ levels of experience and the support provided to them are such that the staff sufficiently meet the needs of the young people. Staff undertake regular training, which provides them with the necessary knowledge and competencies to fulfil their roles. Staff have recently been enrolled on a cognitive behavioural therapy course to enable them to have an insight into the therapy being provided. Any shortfalls on the rota are covered by regular bank and agency staff known to the young people. The agency staff are competent. However, they have not undertaken the necessary qualification, and this information is not on the agency profiles. Staff spoken with feel well supported and able to raise any concerns through

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Good

supervision or by speaking to the manager. Effective communication through handovers and team meetings ensures that staff are kept up to date so that they can provide consistent care. There have been a number of complaints received from local neighbours. These have been responded to promptly and strategies put in pace to try to reduce any further complaints, for example by occupying young people at certain times of the day. The management team is working with the local police to try to build relationships in the local community. The registered manager has good monitoring systems in operation. This contributes to a sound understanding of the strengths of the service and any areas needing improvement. The manager examines trends and patterns during these processes, and information is then shared with the staff team. Monthly monitoring reports are undertaken by an independent visitor. However, these lack evaluation

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Good

and offer little challenge to the manager.

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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 that 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 that 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 whom 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, workbased 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

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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