Children's Home run by G B A Care Limited in Calderdale

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 make good progress in all aspects of their lives through living at the home. Their future outcomes significantly improve because of their increased attendance in education and developing aspirations for the future.  Staff are enthusiastic, dedicated in their role and are consistent in their approach in offering good routines and boundaries.  Over time, young people learn to trust staff and through these relationships young people begin to listen and apply the advice and guidance they are given.  Preparation for new young people coming to the home is thorough. Staff quickly establish an understanding of young people’s needs, personalities and any risks that their behaviours may pose.  Young people become increasingly safe through living at the home. Staff work hard at offering young people positive alternatives to activities or behaviours that pose a risk to their safety and welfare.

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

 A committed and enthusiastic manager leads the staff team. She understands and knows the young people well and is driven to continually improve the care that the home offers.

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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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) 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:

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9). This is with particular reference to the replacing of carpet in the lower ground floor, ground floor, stairs and landing areas.  The importance of understanding who we are and where we come from is recognised in good social work practice, for example through undertaking life story work or other direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14).  The policy on protection of children from abuse and neglect should include arrangements in relation to dealing with allegations involving staff in the home, e-safety and to counter risks of self-harm and suicide (‘Guide to the children’s

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Recommendations

homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19). This is with particular reference to the clear and transparent recording of enquiries made by the manager in these circumstances.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4). This is with particular reference to the records of individual key work sessions with young people and staff team meetings being focused, in their content, upon the progress of young people and relating to placement plans.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned and run children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for four children with emotional and/or behavioural problems.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26/04/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/01/2016 Full Good 17/06/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/01/2015 Full Outstanding

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Good

Most young people are in full-time education and their attendance levels are high. Those young people who are not yet in education are very new to the home, and there are plans in place to ensure that their educational needs are met. Staff place a high value on young people receiving appropriate learning opportunities and this, in turn, is communicated to young people. Prior to their placement at the home, some young people rarely attended education. They now speak about their future goals and identified careers with enthusiasm and optimism.

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Good

Staff understand young people well, and as a result young people are responded to as individuals. Most young people appreciate and seek out the individual time offered by staff. Young people, commenting upon their key workers, described them as, ‘soundest guy ever’, ‘nice’ and that they ‘trusted them’.

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Good

Staff are quick to understand, engage and encourage young people’s interests and this results in young people developing positive use of their time and becoming safer. One social worker, commenting on the progress that a young person had made, said: ‘Previously he was in a bad place. Not sleeping, taking lots of drugs, continual involvement in criminal activities. He has made progress.’ An Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), commenting on the improved outcomes for another young person, said: ‘This is the most settled I’ve ever seen him, it has been a very, very positive move for (X), a great turnaround.’

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Good

Staff offer a range of individual activities to enable young people to develop their social skills and learn to have fun in positive and rewarding ways. These activities include go-karting, cinema, boxing, attendance at a gym, local parks and museums and in-house activities, such as table tennis and film nights. These activities are woven into and around healthy daily routines, such as suitable bedtimes, laundry tasks and general tasks, such as assistance with preparation of meals. These offer young people opportunities to learn the basic skills they will need to live successfully as adults.

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Good

Contact with family and friends is well supported by the staff. For some young people this has led to an agreed increase in family contact and progression to overnight stays. This has been brought about through staff meaningfully engaging and supporting young people, and ongoing support being offered to family. One young person spoke highly of the support he had received from staff regarding the increased contact, adding: ‘They listen here. They drop me off and pick me up. It’s a good home.’ One IRO commented: ‘They have managed for him to be more sociable, spend time with his mum and they have improved his independence skills – this has been a massive turnaround for (X).’ Young people, however, do not currently benefit from life story work that would further enhance their sense of identity and clarity about their histories.

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Good

Planning for young people to join the home is thorough, and staff seek extensive information from the placing authority prior to placement. One social worker commented: ‘At the planning meeting they asked lots of questions and it went on for a long time. Before I brought him they were asking for documents, chronologies and reports.’ This ensures that young people’s backgrounds are understood, as are areas of greatest and immediate need. Young people are given a warm welcome and staff work hard at ensuring that young people feel comfortable and at ease. One young person, very new to the home, said of the home: ‘Proper safe, good and nice – it is still good and nice.’

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Good

On the whole, the home is comfortable and well equipped, with a newly refurbished games room. Since the last inspection a recommendation has been met with regard to young people having access to a computer. However, some areas within the home require re-carpeting as they are excessively worn.

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Good

Young people become increasingly safe through living at the home. Consistent boundaries, combined with individual work with young people, ensure that missing from home incidents and unauthorised absences decrease significantly.

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Good

In addition, young people reduce their previously high-frequency drug use down to rare or occasional use. Some young people cease drug use altogether. One young person commented: ‘When I first came here I use to get myself into lots of debt and I smoked lots of weed. I was using weed for four years when I came here, but I don’t do that now.’

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Good

The staff and manager ensure that there is a high level of inter-agency liaison in order to keep young people safe. The manager has established good links with local safeguarding professionals and is a regular attender at information-sharing forums.

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Good

Professionals such as IROs and social workers consider that there are good levels of reporting and discussion about young people’s safety. The local missing from home coordinator commented: ‘When young people go missing they are really proactive. They go out and look for them, which is great. Such episodes have lessened for one young person. They have got him into other activities and are on the ball with diversionary tactics. When young people move into the home they share all known concerns and this gets us up to speed before they arrive.’

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Good

This approach is further strengthened by the introduction of a new streamlined document that draws together all known risks about young people, and the steps that staff should take if young people are not where they are expected to be. This has added clarity for all staff. As a result, the requirement made at the previous inspection has been met.

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Good

Allegations or suspicions of harm are appropriately shared with other agencies and notifications are sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. However, discussions with other professionals are not clearly recorded by the manager, and a chronology is not maintained. This limits transparency of events and prevents full access to such information by others who may need it.

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Good

Young people are supported to negotiate relationships and differences of opinions that might arise. Staff consistently communicate to young people their expectations about standards of behaviour. There is a team approach taken by staff to each young person and this affords consistency and stability.

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Good

A restorative approach is taken by staff to resolve any incidents, and physical intervention is used only when methods of de-escalation have not been successful. Sanctions are rarely used by staff to modify young people’s behaviour and when they are used, are proportionate and effective.

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Good

The manager was registered to manage the home in October 2016. She holds suitable qualifications and has extensive experience in providing care and accommodation to young people. The manager provides effective leadership to a staff team which is experienced and committed to improving the outcomes for young people. As a result, young people make good individual progress in many areas of their lives.

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Good

The manager understands well the strengths and areas for development within the home. She is committed to developing further the skills of staff and strengthening the management team. Her presence within the home is strong and she is available to both staff and young people. There is effective challenge provided to staff by managers and supervisors, in order to continually improve young people’s experiences of living at the home.

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Good

Staff feel supported and there are good formal and informal supervisory processes in place to ensure that the care offered meets the needs of young people. Regular team meetings and formal supervisions take place. However, the records of team meetings do not reflect the breadth of discussion that takes place about young people. As a consequence, staff who are not present at the meeting have no written reference point to update their understanding.

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Good

In addition, key working sessions that take place with young people do not reflect the objectives and outcomes of the placement plans. Opportunities for staff to focus the discussion or activity and enhance progress are therefore missed.

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Good

The manager and staff have established good working relationships with other professionals involved in the care of young people. The sharing of information and attendance at meetings is a key strength within the management and staff team. This is driven by a genuine desire to work effectively with other services in order to ensure that young people’s needs are holistically met.

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Good

The manager has appropriate monitoring systems in place that offer an overview of the home and the quality of care that is being offered. These systems assist in informing the changes that need to occur in order to adjust and improve care offered. This is further supported through her involvement with young people and the plans that are developed for them. Some young people’s files, however, do not contain certain documents that would further inform the home’s care planning.

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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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