Children's Home run by The Beeches UK limited in Peterborough

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:

 This home provides a consistent standard of care for children.  Children have built trusting relationships with staff.  Children have made good progress at school. Some have transferred to a mainstream college in the local community.  Staff have developed skills to help them to discuss specific issues with the children regarding gender, sex and sexuality. This is a particular strength of this home.  Staff are aware of the risks to children from exploitation, and they work with the children to raise awareness of these risks.  There is a restorative approach to behaviour management, which means that sanctions are rarely used. Incentives support the children to improve their behaviour.  The shortfalls identified during the inspection relate to staff qualifications, incident recording and staffing ratios.

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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 an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification: the level 3 diploma for residential childcare (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’) or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the level 3 diploma, by the relevant date. (Regulation 32(4)(5)) 31/05/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff and is kept under review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  Ensure that the statement of purpose indicates how the home provides individualised care to meet the quality standards for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5) This is with particular regard to lone working arrangements, the experience and qualifications of staff, and arrangements for the supervision of staff practice.

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Information about this children’s home

A private company operates this home. It is registered to accommodate up to three children aged from 10 to 18 years who may have learning difficulties and/or emotional and behavioural difficulties .

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 09/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/08/2015 Full Requires improvement 24/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/12/2014 Full Adequate

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Good

This home provides a good standard of care for the children. Both the children have made progress at school and have started to attend a mainstream college in the community. This means that they are building friendship groups outside of the home. The children have started their entry-level qualifications. This will prepare them for further education opportunities and eventually the world of work. A social worker for one of the children said: ‘She has started to attend college one day a week. Staff have supported her to develop some independence skills, such as using the bus, which has been a real bonus. She gets herself to and from the college with no concerns. This is something that she could not do previously.’

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Good

Children build positive relationships with the staff, who use every opportunity to complete key work with them. These one-to-one sessions are used to discuss important information and issues that are raised in the children’s care plans. The manager has sourced information and training regarding specific issues that affect the children, which helps the staff to focus on these aspects of the children’s lives. This is a particular strength and the children benefit from being cared for by knowledgeable staff who can address individual issues on a well-informed basis. A social worker said, ‘The staff have done especially well. This child has made progress across all aspects of their care plan.’ Observations of children interacting with staff show an open and caring approach with appropriate humour. Children feel able to discuss issues affecting them. One child described the atmosphere as being like an ‘ordinary family home’.

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Good

Children receive help and support to maintain their relationships with their extended families. Staff are keenly alert to the importance of family contact. In particular, staff work with children to understand how important these visits are. The purpose of this is to improve these interactions. This means that the children are able to sustain these connections to their home and their own community.

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Good

Children choose activities that interest them and they participate in a range of events. There are regular meetings between the staff and children to discuss these activities and to ensure that staff can cover these arrangements. Children express their views and wishes to staff, who listen and act upon them. Recently, these meetings have resulted in trips to theme parks, local events, the cinema and ice skating, as well as attendance at specific groups which support children to develop their self-worth and build on self-esteem.

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Good

Independent living plans support the children to develop their skills in the security of their home ahead of any move to independence. Staff work with the children to assess their ability to complete daily living activities, such as washing, cooking and budgeting. This helps to prepare the children for their eventual move away from this home.

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Good

Staff are aware of the risks to children from exploitation. They have completed a range of assessments and key work that raise children’s awareness of the risks. Staff support the children to keep themselves safe in the home and in the community.

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Good

There are times when the children absent themselves from the home without the permission of the staff. When this happens, staff follow the missing from home protocol and ensure that the children are reported to the police as absent. Staff stay in close contact with placing authorities to ensure that they are fully informed when the children are absent or missing. The staff keep families informed about the efforts that they make to locate and return the children to the safety of the home.

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Good

Children have engaged in individually designed work around their specific needs. Staff listen to the children and, in response, the manager and staff have developed a package of support regarding gender, sex and sexuality. This helps the children to make safe choices, and helps the staff to understand these issues. This is a particular strength of this staff group. Staff have helped the children to express themselves openly and without judgement. Consequently, children feel confident to discuss these issues directly, and this promotes their self-confidence and self- worth.

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Good

There have been three incidents of restraint since the previous inspection. A review of the records of these interventions illustrates that staff have tried de-escalation tactics ahead of the incidents. The manager has reviewed the records to establish the nature of the incidents and to look at alternative methods to manage such incidents if there were to occur again. However, one incident record lacked clarity. Consequently, the staff are not able to reflect clearly on this incident or the action taken to manage the situation. The manager has highlighted this in her own audit of the records. She has taken action through supervision of the staff involved to reinforce appropriate recording methods.

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Good

Staff complete risk assessments before activities take place to ensure the children’s safety. These assessments guide the work that the staff undertake and help to identify triggers that may affect the children’s behaviour. The staff monitor changes in behaviour and update the assessments accordingly. A review of behaviour management plans shows that the staff have implemented a restorative approach. As a result, sanctions are rarely used and key-work sessions identify areas for children to consider when managing their own behaviour. Consequently, children learn to understand the implications of their actions.

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Good

Children can earn extra money for activities or pocket money through maintaining positive behaviour, which has helped them to self-regulate. A social worker said, ‘This child has much better relationships now than previously, particularly with staff. The staff have helped this child to be better able to manage their behaviour. Staff have managed this through talking to the child and trying to understand their anxiety.’ The restorative approach has been effective with the children and has seen an improvement in their overall behaviour.

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Good

The manager has a level 4 qualification in childcare and management, and a relevant degree qualification. She has been working in children’s residential care for 15 years. She skilfully supervises the staff to ensure that they are meeting the children’s complex needs in their day-to-day work.

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Good

Staff have completed induction training which helps to prepare them to work with the children. However, not all staff have completed the required level 3 qualification. This means that the staff may not have the full range of skills and knowledge required to meet the specific needs of the children.

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Good

There are occasions when staff work alone with the children. Although these occasions are infrequent, they are not detailed in the statement of purpose, therefore the placing authorities will not be aware of them. At times, there are insufficient staff to meet the children’s needs. However, there are robust risk assessments and lone working arrangements in place to minimise the impact of these occasions.

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Good

The manager has worked closely with the independent visitor to review the service and to ensure that the home meets the children’s needs. This has included a review of the safeguarding policies and procedures, sharing this information with staff during team meetings. These regular meetings provide the opportunity to discuss issues in the home, help the staff to prioritise the children’s needs and plan the day-to-day running of the home efficiently.

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Good

The manager audits the written records of direct work and of any significant incidents. This helps her to understand the progress that children are making and to refocus the work completed by staff when she identifies shortfalls. For example, staff have been encouraged to help the children to talk openly about contact arrangements. This gives the children the chance to talk about their feelings with a trusted adult.

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Good

The manager has a robust and suitably challenging relationship with other agencies, ensuring that the children receive the information and services that they require. For example, she has recently pursued a local authority to provide a clear pathway plan that will assist in the development of independent living skills for one of the children.

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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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