Children's home run by Five Rivers Child Care Limited in Wiltshire

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:

 The staff are sensitive to and accommodate the children and young people’s unique needs. This allows the residents to follow particular lifestyles and beliefs. The staff research the children and young people’s chosen lifestyles to equip themselves with a good understanding of their needs.  The children and young people have all made good, and in some cases outstanding, progress in relation to their starting points, irrespective of the length of time they have lived in the home . This includes young people who have reached adulthood and have moved on.  The relationships between the children and young people and the staff are extremely positive. Residents have formed friendly, respectful attachments to members of the team, even when this has proved to be very difficult for them previously.  The home is well led and managed by an experienced, qualified registered manager. He is well supported by an able deputy manager and senior leaders.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The home continues to provide a warm, attractive and comfortable environment for the children and young people. Decisions about the use of space have been made with the children and young people. The home has a very large garden, which has been put to good use during the summer months.  The children and young people are closely involved in day-to-day decisions about their lives. They all have individually tailored structured programmes of activities and events. This helps them to feel confident and secure in the home.  The children and young people are kept safe through careful staff recruitment, induction and training. There are robust systems in place to ensure that prospective staff are fully checked and that all references are verified.  The company regularly reflects upon and reviews its own practice, which is excellent. These reviews allow the company to make changes between inspections, to incorporate the learning from any incidents and from

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The children's home provision is good because:

management monitoring. Senior managers promote learning from research and development in health and social care.

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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

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to updating the premises risk assessment to highlight and reduce hazards in the environment, such as young people accessing the roof; prompt replacement of broken fencing panels in the garden; ensuring that risks posed to children during medication administration are minimised; ensuring that food and food-handling materials are stored in a hygienic location; and that fire exits are free from obstruction; the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(1) ensure that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and (b) that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child

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Requirement Due date

from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 30/12/2016 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

16 (1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (3) The registered person must— (a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (1) and (3)). 30/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

40 (4) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— (b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; or (e) there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b) and (e)). 30/12/2016

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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

 Ensure that there are suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. In particular, ensure that medicine administration is done in a private place with sufficient security to eliminate any risk of another child obtaining the medicine. It is recommended that medicines are not given to young people in pots, but are administered out of the original packaging and that there is effective supervision while they are being taken. (‘Managing medicines in care homes’, March 2014, and ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, April 2015’, page 35, paragraphs 7.15 and 7.17)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being such as, but not limited to, the use of tobacco. In particular, ensure that young people do not roll up cigarettes in front of much younger children and others who may be influenced by their behaviour. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, April 2015’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that records kept electronically (regulation 38) provide information that can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. In particular, consider how the home’s electronic records system can be made more comprehensive, so that all the information for each specific incident can be accessed easily. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, April 2015’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that independent return interviews are carried out within 72 hours of the child returning to their home or care setting. This should be an in-depth interview and is normally best carried out by an independent person (i.e. someone not involved in caring for the child) who is trained to carry out these interviews and is able to follow-up any actions that emerge. (‘Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care, January 2014’, page 14, paragraphs 31 and 32)

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home is operated by a national company. The provider also operates a number of other children’s services in England, including a fostering service. Several of the children’s homes, including this one, are located close enough to enrol children in the company’s own specialist independent day school.

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five boys and/or young men who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 16/11/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/04/2015 Full Outstanding 08/12/2014 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/06/2014 Full Good

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Good

The present group of children and young people reflects a wide range in ages and complexity of needs. The staff have ensured that all the children and young people receive highly individualised and nurturing care. This includes children and young people who wish to follow specific religious beliefs, or adhere to a special diet.

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Good

For example, staff have respected and supported one young child’s clearly stated wish to follow a vegan diet. They have researched the subject to ensure that he receives all the nutrients required for healthy growth and development.

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Good

The children and young people each have a structured daily programme, which is displayed on the wall together with a list of staff on duty, and the weekly menu. This enables everyone in the home to understand what is happening each day. Knowing what to expect helps children and young people who may be new to the home to settle and accept their new routines. The children and young people have been in the home for different periods of time, and even the most recently admitted residents have made progress in some areas. One social worker commented that the home has ‘definitely provided a secure and stable environment’ which has helped their young person to grow and develop.

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Good

The staff and manager receive regular, focused consultation from a member of the company’s clinical psychology team to help them to identify and respond to individual children and young people’s changing needs. These meetings review targets and develop new strategies to support children and young people as they learn to regulate their behaviour and emotions.

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Good

The children and young people enjoy their time with the staff and benefit from warm and respectful relationships. The inspection took place during half-term week, and the children and young people were busy with activities throughout this period. They clearly enjoy spending time with the staff and value their company. Some of the young people commented that the home is ‘a good place to be’.

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Good

The children and young people do not always have harmonious relationships. This is because they have varied and complex needs, and it is also due to the reality that any large household will occasionally have strains in relationships. Any difficulties between the children or young people are managed well, and are carefully monitored.

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Good

All the children and young people have made good or outstanding progress in their education. One young person has done exceptionally well in his GCSE exams. Children and young people who were previously struggling at school, or not attending at all, are now going every day and making good progress.

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Good

One former resident has received a great deal of staff support to move on from the home. Because he was not quite ready, he was able to stay for several months beyond his 18th birthday to help with this very challenging transition.

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Good

The home is full of photographs which show the children and young people engaging in exciting activities with the staff team. Each child and young person has an ‘All about me’ book, which contains a photographic record of their time in the home. This helps children and young people to enjoy happy memories and assists them in their understanding of their history and identity.

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Good

The staff team supports the children and young people to have contact with their families and friends, when this is agreed with the placing authority. One child regularly meets a friend outside the home, and staff facilitate this very positive activity.

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Good

The children and young people’s views have played a considerable part in planning meals, activities and the layout of the home and garden. They are at the centre of the home’s ethos and daily life. The children and young people have made suggestions about the use of space within the home, and this has resulted in the staff office moving upstairs and one of the best communal rooms in the house being made available to the young people. Currently this is primarily used as a space for constructing and painting war-game characters, which reflects some older young people’s interests. The conservatory is currently being used as a room for various computer games, which will be geared to a wider age range.

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Good

The children and young people receive very good support to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. Staff show energy and enthusiasm, encouraging the children and young people to engage in sports and other pastimes. Physical activity helps them to keep fit and remain healthy.

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Good

The children and young people enjoy a well-balanced, home-cooked diet. They can help to prepare meals and bake cakes. The children and young people are encouraged to contribute favourite recipes to the menu and to show others how to prepare meals that reflect their interests.

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Good

Healthcare needs are generally met well, and medicines are kept in a secure cabinet in the games room. Controlled medication is double-locked for additional safety. Medication is recorded correctly, and staff double sign to show that it has been administered. Medication administration requires improvement, and is further discussed later in this report.

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Good

A young person rolled a cigarette while in the house, sitting next to a 10-year-old child, although he did go outside to smoke it. Rolling up in front of young children sets a very poor example, particularly when, as in this instance, there is a very positive bond between the child and young person concerned. Young people who smoke should be helped in a sensitive way and should not be made to feel ostracised by their addiction, but there must be some boundaries set to clarify when and where they can safely roll cigarettes.

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Good

Although there are three breaches of regulation and quality standards on this occasion, none of these have had a direct impact on the welfare and safety of the children and young people. Three requirements and four recommendations have been made to help the service to improve practice.

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Requires improvement

The service requires improvement because a number of health and safety shortfalls were found on this inspection. The registered manager has undertaken to respond to all of these matters.

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Requires improvement

Since the previous inspection, a young child has managed, on one occasion, to climb onto the steep main roof of the house. The child was rescued, by the police, through the bathroom window. Had he fallen from that height, he may well have received a serious injury. After the incident, the registered manager updated the child’s risk assessment, but did not update the premises risk assessment in light of this new information.

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Requires improvement

This was a new experience for the home, as no children or young people within memory have done this. The manager and staff must now consider how to prevent a recurrence. It is essential that children and young people are prevented from gaining access to the roof in future.

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Requires improvement

The garden fence is in a very poor state of repair. It is a larch panel fence, which was in reasonably good order until it was damaged during the summer. A young person, who left the home in July, kicked one of the panels away, leaving a gap in the fence. Three months later, it still has not been repaired, and now further damage has been done by other children and young people.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager obtained a quotation for a much more attractive and robust close-boarded fence. The unexpectedly large sum involved in replacing the fence has contributed to the delay. The gap in the fence gives access only to a piece of waste ground next door, which is not in itself a serious problem, but the damage is unsightly and attracts further negative behaviour. There is also a small but avoidable risk of injury from sharp, spiky and broken fragments of wood. The home has a well-designed kitchen, but it is busy with four young people and the staff team all using it. Consequently, it is short of storage space. During the inspection, a number of food items were found stored in the hand-washing area of the small staff toilet, which is located at the back of the kitchen. The hand-washing area cannot be used for its proper purpose, because the basin is also full of stored materials. Staff and visitors have to wash hands in a hand basin in the kitchen

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Requires improvement

itself, which is not the best hygiene practice.

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Requires improvement

In addition, a storage rack had been placed in the short passageway leading from the kitchen to the fire exit into the garden. Although it is possible to walk past this rack and through the exterior door, the fire exit was partially obstructed. The registered manager said that he had obtained a quotation for a cupboard to be created under the stairs, which will provide much-needed storage.

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Requires improvement

During the inspection, a controlled drug was administered to a young person at the dining table. There was a much younger child standing next to him. This is not a confidential environment, and there is a risk that another child could snatch and take medicine which has not been prescribed for them, particularly as it was placed in a pot rather than given out of the original packaging. This has been included in a requirement under Quality Standard 12, which also covers the other matters described above. A recommendation has also been made with regard to medicines administration.

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Requires improvement

There have been a small number of incidents in which children and young people have gone missing since the previous inspection. Some of the young people who have done this over the past few months are no longer resident at the home, and have moved into adult provision. The home has a clear protocol, which is agreed with the police, to guide the staff’s responses when children and young people have left the home unauthorised. The staff follow the children and young people when possible, and work with the police and other agencies to ensure their safe return.

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Requires improvement

Although the majority of serious incidents are notified to Ofsted, two episodes where a currently resident young person went missing for two nights on each occasion were not notified. This means that the regulator is not in a position to maintain an overview of the young people’s safety. A requirement has been made.

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Requires improvement

Not all of the missing young people have received interviews from a person who is independent of the home within 72 hours of their return. On several occasions, local authority social workers have attended the police station when the young person is found, and have seen them then, but this is not the case in all instances. A recommendation has been made.

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Requires improvement

The children and young people live in an attractive, warm and cosy home, which benefits from a large garden. The home has ready access to open countryside and beaches for walks, crabbing and other activities.

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Requires improvement

The home has been undergoing refurbishment for many months. Some of the works have taken longer than planned, for example due to difficulties in obtaining the correct electrical connections for the new computer games room. This room is now almost complete.

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Requires improvement

The home’s risk assessments on individual children and young people provide the staff with useful strategies to help them to manage behaviour and activities safely. Risk assessments are generally updated promptly to inform staff of changes in strategy. The registered manager ensures that all staff are kept fully up to date with any developments and alterations to the young people’s care planning, through regular team meetings.

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Requires improvement

Over the past year, the service has reviewed its behaviour management policy and physical intervention practice. There are now a wider range of positive intervention techniques available to staff that are used well. This provides alternative methods so that staff do not have to hold any child on the ground. There has been one prone hold since the previous inspection, which took place before the review. This incident involved a small child who was engaging in highly dangerous behaviour. The intervention was considered at the time to be unavoidable, in order to prevent serious injury to the child and to staff.

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Requires improvement

The children and young people benefit from clear boundaries around their expected behaviour. They receive appropriate rewards and incentives. One child has a lucky- dip bag to encourage him to settle at night. Another young person, who had previously been out of education, was given a digital music device for attending school for six days. There are numerous smaller rewards, such as going out for a milkshake or a hot chocolate, or going to the cinema. Children and young people may receive a negative consequence, for example for being late to school. This is usually a short-term restriction on using tablets and game consoles.

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Good

The home has an experienced registered manager, who holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management. He is also a qualified child psychotherapist. The manager had been a deputy manager in the home for some years. He took on the role of house manager in January 2016 and was registered by Ofsted in March. After considerable reflection, the registered manager has taken on another role within the company and has resigned from his present post. The resignation takes effect from 16 November. The new manager will have a two-week handover period to help to smooth the transition. A deputy manager will support her new manager, the staff and the young people during and after the registration process. Senior leaders within the company provide additional support and guidance when required.

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Good

During his period in charge of the home, the present registered manager has ensured that the character and ethos remain as child-focused as possible. He has exercised good decision-making in terms of admissions to the home. The home has continued to grow and flourish under his management, and the shortfalls found on this inspection are likely to be due to staff shortages during the summer months, which have had an impact on management time.

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Good

The home has a number of newly appointed staff, all of whom have been recruited with care and thoroughly inducted into their roles. The use of agency staff is kept to a minimum, and now that there is a full staff team in place, this should no longer be necessary. The home has some sessional workers who are all well known to the young people.

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Good

All staff receive regular, good-quality supervision, either from the deputy manager or from the home’s senior residential staff. Most of the staff surveys were very positive and confirm that professional development is well supported. Staff all receive annual appraisals in order to identify their strengths and development needs.

p.13

Good

The company provides exceptionally good training for all staff which is over and above that required by mandatory courses. The registered manager and his senior colleagues circulate research articles, guidance and reports for the staff to read. The quality assurance manager also sends the team useful reading material to promote its learning and development. The company is now running workshops on the role of the independent visitor, and on safeguarding matters. This provides the staff with detailed information to help them to provide a very good service to children and young people.

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Good

The registered manager has some good ideas for the home’s continuing development, but some have taken longer than expected to come to fruition. For example, no further progress has been made on achieving registration as a therapeutic community. This remains part of the home’s plans for the future, but the proposed new manager will now take this forward. Maintenance and improvement work to the home is under way, but again, this has taken longer than anticipated.

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Good

The home has a clearly structured, accessible statement of purpose which reflects Schedule 1 of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015. The latest update was in June 2016, but missed a number of important points. For example, the Children’s Rights Director retired some years ago; the section on therapy does not mention the strengthening of the company’s clinical team over the past year. The physical intervention methods used in the home and the structure and membership of the staff team are also out of date. A requirement has been made.

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Good

The home’s electronic recording system provides a powerful management tool to document and evaluate the children and young people’s progress. The system is now well established for this home, but there are still some forms, such as the incident report, which are only available as Word documents. There is a good reason for the delay in uploading all the templates, as further work was needed before this could happen. The impact is that some key information, such as the length of time missing and whether or not there was a return interview, cannot easily be monitored because they have to be looked up separately. A recommendation has been made.

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Good

The registered manager and staff work very well with the police, the company’s school and clinical team, the town’s schools and colleges, youth offending teams and local authorities to maintain productive relationships. These positive professional links help to ensure that children and young people receive a good- quality, child-focused service.

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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 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

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

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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