Children's Home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Hertfordshire

home are

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:

 The children are safe and are well cared for. They have positive relationships with the staff team members.  The children are listened to and are encouraged to make decisions about their own lives.  The manager provides strong leadership to a stable team that works well together. There is openness and warmth in the home.  Staff have a clear focus on supporting the children to improve their independence skills, to help them with moving on.  Staff support the children to access education and they have high aspirations for the children.  The children are making good progress towards their own goals. They are becoming healthier, more sociable and more confident.  The children are happy and settled. They understand the ethos of the home and the behavioural boundaries and generally respond well.  Communication with children’s family members is positive and is consistent.  Staff work well together when children go missing, they act quickly and

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The children's home provision is good because:

effectively to minimise the risk.  Some shortfalls have been identified during the inspection. The shortfalls relate to recording and reporting, recruitment processes, room searches and liaison with the designated officer in the local authority.

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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

The registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3) (d) Schedule 2 (6)) This is with particular regard to full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment. 28/11/2016

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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 designated officer is consulted if a child makes a complaint about or an allegation against a member of staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.18)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4.) In particular, ensure that the recording of room searches includes the reasons for the search, the efforts made to seek the child’s consent, any associated risk assessment and details of the management oversight of the search.  Ensure that notifications include full details of the action taken by the staff in response to the event and the outcome. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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Information about this children's home

This is a local authority children’s home registered to accommodate six children who have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 11/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/10/2015 Full Good 09/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/09/2014 Full Adequate

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people living in the home are

The children have positive and nurturing relationships with staff. Each child has an identified worker who completes weekly reflections sessions with them. This enables the children to explore their feelings and discuss any incidents that have happened during the week, and to discuss their achievements. Staff have a clear focus on ensuring that children have access to and engagement in education. The children are not in mainstream provision. However, the staff support them to engage with bridging provision, home tutoring and college. The staff actively work with other professionals to ensure that the children have an individual educational plan. There is consistent staff attendance at all education meetings. One child has recently completed his GCSEs and now has support to attend college. The staff encourage the children to engage with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the National Citizens Service Award and one child is

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people living in the home are

attending a 12-week Arts Award course. Staff support the children to attend work experience and they provide the children with activities that have educational themes. Consequently, children receive strong messages from the staff about the value and importance of education. Staff provide a variety of activities for the children to engage with, inside and outside of the home. There is a dedicated room in the home for table tennis, children enjoy going to the cinema and trampolining. They have been to Snowdonia and are planning to go on holiday to Spain next year. These experiences have a positive impact on their self-esteem, confidence and enjoyment. Staff provide good support for family contact. They understand the complex family relationships and the potential associated emotional triggers for children. The communication between staff and family members is good. One parent said, ‘They are very good. They keep me up to date with what is happening.’

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people living in the home are

The manager is proactive in helping the children to stop smoking and the children are encouraged to attend the ‘Stop Smoking’ clinic. Parents are included in this and staff send letters out requesting their support and assistance. Staff support the children to manage their individual health needs and conditions to improve their outcomes. Well-trained staff use a therapeutic attachment, regulation and competency model with the children. A systemic psychotherapist attends the home every week to provide guidance and advice to the staff team. These approaches provide the children with the support that they need to recognise and develop healthy lifestyles and good emotional well-being. Transition plans identify the needs of the children who move in to the home, with planned introductions whenever this is possible. Impact assessments are effective and robust, taking into account the needs of the new child as well as the current

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people living in the home are

children in the home. This supports children to have a positive start to their time in the home. The children learn to develop their independence skills in preparation for moving in to adulthood. Staff keep in touch with the children who move on and they continue to support them. The manager has formulated a leaving-care protocol, outlining the commitment to this process for each child and detailing how children can access this ongoing support. This gives clear messages to children about being valued and cared for beyond their time in the home. Staff provide clear and consistent behavioural boundaries, which support the development of positive behaviours. The children present with challenges, which staff manage well. A social worker said, ‘This is the only placement that has been able to manage and maintain her behaviour as previous placements have broken down.’

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people are helped and protected

Professionals and parents say that children are safe in the home. Clear, up-to-date risk assessments and behaviour management plans provide staff with consistent guidance to care for the children. Careful decision making, in conjunction with parents and social workers, continues to keep the children safe. Staff support the children to access mental health services and adequate staffing ratios mean that children receive the levels of supervision that they need to keep them safe. Staff maintain a consistent approach to incidents of bullying. The children involved receive support to enable them to address the issues within their relationships and to move forward positively. Incidents of children going missing from the home continue to occur and this fluctuates with periods of stability and instability. Although the risk of child sexual exploitation continues to be an issue that is high on the agenda, it is minimised by

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people are helped and protected

effective communication and relationships with outside agencies and the children. The police hold positive views about how the staff have managed the care of a child who has complex needs. Staff provide a robust and consistent response when children go missing and take action to reduce the risk of future occurrences. Clear behaviour management plans are in place which identify the potential triggers for negative behaviour and give guidance to staff to manage behaviour effectively. Children’s views and wishes form part of the individual plans, which make the plans more effective. Incidents are well documented and recorded, with debriefs taking place with the children after every incident requiring physical intervention. The children have access to an independent advocate who visits them monthly. This gives an additional layer of safeguarding and enables children to raise concerns with someone independent of the home.

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people are helped and protected

Staff make contact with the police in response to serious incidents. There is a clear emphasis on avoiding criminalising the children. Restorative justice enables children to consider the consequences of their behaviour and actions on others. Room searches take place in response to specific concerns and have been used when necessary. The records of these searches do not consistently reflect the reasons for the search, the efforts made to seek the child’s consent, associated risk assessments or management review of the searches. This does not provide adequate information to establish the rationale for searches or to reflect that there is a good level of management oversight. There have been very few allegations made against staff. However, there has been an occasion when an allegation was made and managers did not refer it to the designated officer in the local authority. Managers did take action but the lack of

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people are helped and protected

consultation with the designated officer meant that an opportunity was missed to ensure that all safeguarding processes had been followed. Recruitment procedures are in accordance with the local authority guidance. However, an area for improvement is raised in respect of ensuring that all employment history gaps are fully verified to ensure that any potential concerns are identified.

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leaders and managers

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced with over 13 years of managing children’s homes. She recently completed an advanced diploma of therapeutic art and education. She is passionate about driving the service forward and has progressed her own learning to maintain a good knowledge and skill base that benefits the staff and the children in the home. The home is sufficiently staffed to meet the needs of the children. The staff are qualified to level 3 and a core-training programme ensures that they have the essential knowledge that they need to provide appropriate care for the children. Staff feel supported to progress their own training and development and they say that the leadership team listens to them and is supportive. The views of professionals and staff demonstrate that there is clear leadership and that the management of the home is effective. The manager ensures that the quality of care is good. There are weekly team

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leaders and managers

meetings to share information with and between the staff. The staff receive regular and effective supervision. There is close monitoring of the progress of the children, which is reflected in the children’s six-monthly reports as well as in the monthly network meetings to aid communication with the social workers. The manager has met the recommendations from the last inspection. She recognises the strengths of the home as well as the areas for improvement. She has a focus on therapy provision for the children and is driving this forward. Staff ensure that care plans are completed and are up to date and that they put support in place for the children to start communicating positively with other professionals. At times, this is not easy for the children due to their own experiences but this support enables them to make progress and reach their own individual targets and goals to improve their life chances.

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leaders and managers

The recently reviewed statement of purpose accurately reflects the current service provision and the aims of the management and staff team. The manager provides Ofsted with notifications of concerns and significant incidents. However, one notification did not contain comprehensive information to give a clear overview of the incident and action taken. This did not enable Ofsted to establish that children were adequately safeguarded.

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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 looked after children 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 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, 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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