Children's home run by Broadwood Residential Limited in Rossendale

Good

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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

 The young people speak highly of their time in the home and the relationships they have established with the staff team.  Care planning for the young people is sound. The young people are actively involved in their care and are routinely consulted.  Trusting relationships have been established between the young people and staff, resulting in many positive outcomes.  The young people are able to provide specific examples of how the staff have positively influenced their lives.  Young people transition in and out of the home successfully due to detailed planning by the staff.  Exceptional opportunities are provided to the young people to expand their social skills and world-view, such as trips abroad with staff.  The young people are kept extremely safe by the competent staff team.  The staff have successfully reduced missing from care incidents for all young people while establishing excellent links within the community.

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

 There have been no safeguarding incidents in relation to the young people.  The registered manager and his dedicated staff team have improved the overall functioning of the home to a standard which has merited nomination for a prestigious award.  There is excellent internal and external monitoring of the service provided.  The requirements and recommendations made at this inspection did not negatively affect the young people and will improve the service.

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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

 Staff must help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Recommendations

 Case records must be kept up to date, signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is run by a private organisation. The home accommodates four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/07/2015 Full Good 04/02/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness 15/10/2014 Full Good

p.5

Good

The experiences of the young people living in the home are rich and fulfilling. All young people speak very highly of feeling safe, forming positive relationships with the staff and understanding the aims and objectives of their placements. The social worker for a young person wrote, ‘Overall X has really done well while living here and considers it his home.’

p.6

Good

Care planning for the young people is sound. Young people are routinely consulted and their views are evident in their records. All records are detailed and reflect the progress of the young people while highlighting their accomplishments and areas for improvement. The staff need to ensure that all records are dated, as there were several documents reviewed which were signed but not dated.

p.6

Good

The young people have established positive relationships with the staff. They were all positive about the time they spent with staff. The staff said that they have great insight into the young people and this has allowed them to bond and provide security for them. The young people were observed actively listening to guidance and accepting boundaries set by the staff in relation to behaviours that were not appropriate. When a member of staff and a young person experience a breakdown in their communication, the manager intervenes to restore the relationship.

p.6

Good

The staff value the views of the young people. The young people are of the opinion that their wishes and feelings are extremely important to staff. They appreciate their views being incorporated into their day-to-day routines. The young people speak freely and honestly about their care and know how to complain if there are any concerns. ‘The staff helped me improve my confidence. I was previously bullied and that affected me. The staff continued to build me up and now I am fully confident in myself.’ This is a young person’s passionate view of the staff’s impact on his well-being.

p.6

Good

Young people are encouraged to access an independent advocate. The young people are achieving a wide range of success academically. Current pathways plans are on file with clear aims and objectives. The young people fully engaged with and committed to their education. A young person proudly spoke about receiving an A* in his GCSE. The young people in college have good attendance and study specific areas in which they would like to obtain future employment.

p.6

Good

Health needs are met in accordance with the health plans for the young people. The young people present as clean and neat in their appearance and have no known concerning medical issues. Young people have access to a therapist to meet their emotional needs. A placing social worker spoke highly of the influence the therapist attached to the home is having on a young person.

p.6

Good

Some young people in the home are experimenting with cannabis. The staff are resourceful in their efforts to engage the young people and identify support. A current member of the staff is completing a unit of training (within the Qualifications and Credit Framework) in substance misuse, with the intention of providing in-house substance abuse expertise and developing strategies to assist the young people in reducing their cannabis use.

p.7

Good

A through planning process ensures that young people new to the home settle in quickly. The impact risk assessments ensure that those already placed in the home will not be adversely affected by any new admittance. A placing social worker was pleased with the manner in which a young person residing in the home for two weeks had progressed. She said, ‘the staff have ensured that they have a good team around X and are focused on his education. The staff have daily communication with me at this stage due to the placement being so new. An introduction plan occurred consisting of an evening meal and overnight stay as part of the process.’

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Good

Young people are successfully transitioning from the home. Transitions are planned with a vast amount of support provided by the staff. Following a planning meeting for a young person who was soon to be moving, a professional wrote the following comment: ‘The staff have very good bond and relationship with young person. They are supportive of professionals and created a good plan for the young person to move on.’ He complimented the staff on the progress the young person had made, saying, ‘X has definitely come a long way and has matured while in your care. Hopefully, he will build on these accomplishments at his new placement.’

p.7

Good

Young people are provided with opportunities to develop their social skills through a wide range of activities, including trips abroad. Several of the young people will be heading to Spain with their key workers for a holiday. Young people are excited about the trip and have been supported to obtain their passports.

p.7

Good

Young people successfully achieve basic independence skills. However staff could be more challenging and persistent to ensure they all acquire skills in line with their age and ability, for example travelling to college independently. A placing social worker commented that he was expecting a little bit more in relation to independence for a young person who recently left the home.

p.7

Good

The protection of the young people is highly effective. Safeguarding policies have been developed that offer consistent advice and guidance to the staff when dealing with child protection matters for the young people. The young people feel safe, and staff are highly competent in their abilities to safeguard them.

p.8

Good

The staff regularly attend six-weekly meetings with the community warden and police to discuss any concerns. Professionals speak highly of the staff and their ability to safeguard the young people. The effective relationships that have been established with external professionals have raised the awareness of safeguarding for all the staff.

p.8

Good

There has been a robust response by the staff team to address the high number of missing from care incidents. One young person no longer goes missing from care due to the creative work undertaken by the staff. The young person was enabled to attend a formal professionals’ meeting where high-risk behaviours are discussed. Attending this meeting helped the young person understand their views. The child sexual exploitation and missing from care panel coordinator stated, ‘The staff have worked well to reduce the missing from care incidents for the young person, resulting in professionals no longer being concerned with his safety. His name will be removed from the agenda.’

p.8

Good

The staff address the subject of child sexual exploitation comprehensively. In addition to undertaking mandatory training, the staff go above and beyond to undertake learning on the subject matter. The staff have participated with a pop- up shop to educate the public on a child sexual exploitation awareness day. The behaviour management practices of the staff for the young people are consistent. Risk assessments and positive handling plans guide staff practice when addressing any concerning behaviour. The staff possess a clear understanding of all the risks associated with the young people, resulting in effective intervention, as evidenced by there being no physical interventions on record.

p.8

Good

The young people engage in age-appropriate risks, such as unsupervised free time outside the home to visit with family and friends if appropriate. The young people have been provided with contract mobile phones with suitable child restrictions on them. The phones allow the young people to be contacted when out of the home and no misuse of these has occurred.

p.8

Good

The home is maintained to a good standard. The young people have their own rooms, providing a private sanctuary when needed. The young children say that staff respect their space by knocking on their doors prior to entering. The location risk assessment is accurate and current. Health and safety checks are completed within acceptable intervals, along with fire safety and other household checks. A minor repair that need to be carried out was drawn to the manager’s attention. The manager confirmed that this would be addressed.

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Outstanding

The leadership and management of the home is exceptional. The experienced and qualified registered manager voluntarily cancelled his registration as manager of a second children’s home within the organisation several months ago. He is now only managing this particular home, and this decision has made the biggest difference in the effectiveness of the service for the young people.

p.9

Outstanding

Several members of the staff team report the increased availability of the manager has supported them to build more trusting relationships with young people. One member of the staff team said, ‘It has been a great confidence booster for the staff. We know that he [the manager] is on site daily and his time is no longer divided.’ The head of operations who supervises the manager said, ‘The move to managing the home solely has developed his practice and assisted him to grow, he does not worry about the house any more when not here.’

p.9

Outstanding

The manager has worked alongside his deputy manager to improve the staff practice of working with the young people. This has resulted in the home’s nomination for the Great British Care Awards. The manager and deputy manager successfully attended and passed an initial interview, thereby securing the place for the awards ceremony to be held in London later this year.

p.9

Outstanding

Professionals from the borough where the home is located previously had a negative opinion and concerns about how the home was functioning. This was due to several incidents involving the young people who were not from the local area. The management has changed the opinion of the professionals effectively, by being transparent with them and demonstrating the effective and competent leadership of the home.

p.9

Outstanding

A senior manager of the borough said: ‘The staff own and take responsibility for the actions of the young people and seek appropriate services when needed. The staff often offer their expertise when needed and there are no concerns with the community in relation to where the home is placed. The workforce is stable and the relationship with the borough is solid.’ A communication log has been developed and maintained in the home that reflects all communication with professionals in the area.

p.9

Outstanding

There is a robust system in place to monitor the progress of the young people. The manager oversees the care of all the young people by reviewing their files monthly. The process identifies effectively when further action should be taken to ensure that the young people make progress in relation to their goals while ensuring that documentation remains up to date.

p.9

Outstanding

Monitoring of the home continues to be extensive. The independent visitor provides monthly external feedback to the manager. On each occasion, attempts are made to gather the views of the young people directly and to look at how the staff are meeting their needs. The quarterly reports of the manager examine the monthly reports and provide a further opportunity to review the service. The development plan of the home and the recruitment process both include input from the young people.

p.10

Outstanding

The statement of purpose was updated in July 2016, clearly reflecting the ethos of the home, including current policies, procedures and full details for the staff. The children's guide provides information to the young people in a format they can understand.

p.10

Outstanding

All notifiable events are promptly reported to all relevant agencies. The limited number of notifications have been detailed, with an appropriate management response to address the issues.

p.10

Outstanding

The manager ensures that all the staff are provided with substantial and reflective supervision. The staff report that this enables them to be more effective in working with the young people. Comprehensive training is provided to all the staff, which contributes well towards their development and practice. Annual appraisals are up to date and include the views of the young people on staff performance. The majority of the staff are suitably qualified, and others are completing their qualifications.

p.10

Outstanding

A highly valued resource available to the staff team is the independent therapist. She meets with the staff every fortnight, offering strategies to improve their working with the young people and to develop their practice further.

p.10

Outstanding

There were no requirements or recommendations made at the interim inspection in January 2016. The shortfalls linked to the requirements and recommendations made during this inspection had no direct impact on the young people.

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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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