Children's home run by Key Change Children’s Service Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Outstanding

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.

p.2

The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 This service provides young people in crisis, who have needed to be removed from their home area, with time to reflect on their past lifestyles and make suitable plans for their futures, away from the pressurised environment that they came from.  The admission and selection criteria are skilfully managed to ensure that only those young people likely to benefit from the experiences provided, are admitted to the service.  Young people are well supported by staff to develop new skills and participate in activities that can be challenging, demanding, yet rewarding. This gives opportunities for achievement, which grows confidence and self-esteem.  Staff are skilful at developing and maintaining strong and meaningful relationships with young people. They understand the vulnerabilities and risks associated with each young person, and create detailed plans and strategies to address individual need and to identify areas to work with.

p.3

The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Due to the trust and the quality of relationships built between staff and young people, coupled with clear expectations and set boundaries, serious behaviour management events are rare. Those that have occurred are well managed.  Young people are well managed, supervised and cared for in environments that, for some, are alien to them. Young people confirm that they feel safe and secure in their placements.  The service works well with young people who are disengaged from normal education, by stimulating and developing interests in areas that enable them to expand their knowledge in literacy, numeracy, history, geography and sciences. Progress is celebrated and acknowledged formally, giving young people a real sense of achievement.  The service excels in the quality of preparation, attention to detail and willingness to advocate strongly on behalf of young people, when preparing them for transition.

p.3

The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Staff are experienced and well trained for their roles. They are supportive of the manager, buying into the culture, ethos and working practices developed over the years. The whole service is well organised and managed.

p.3

Recommendations

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

p.4

Recommendations

 Ensure that the safeguarding policy and procedures include a section on the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty and that all staff receive appropriate training on this matter. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 9.12, page 43)

p.4

Information about this children’s home

 The service is a mobile programme provided by a private company.  It is registered to provide care and accommodation in separate locations for up to three young people, aged between eight and 17 years old.  It is registered to care for young people who have emotional or behavioural difficulties.  It can offer emergency placements and must ensure that placements do not exceed 120 days.  The service is required to keep Ofsted advised of all children in placement and their locations and to ensure that those locations are suitably risk assessed.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

16/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.5

Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Outstanding

Careful vetting through a stringent admissions procedure ensures that the service takes only young people who are likely to benefit from the unconventional approach taken by this mobile service. This results in young people regularly making exceptional progress based on their starting points. Young people experience new and stimulating experiences in a whole range of environments, reflecting the flexibility of the service. Concerns over a young person’s welfare and safety, or total rejection by them to adhere to boundaries and follow a socially acceptable lifestyle, are some of the reasons for referral to the service. For many, numerous placements have been tried before. The abrupt change to their daily routines by taking them out of their familiar surroundings and comfort zone provides young people with respite from their previous lifestyles. This gives them time and space to re-assess the direction in

p.6

Outstanding

which they want their lives to go. The experiences for many young people are often life changing. For example, one told the inspector, `I was going in the wrong direction until I was put in this service. They have helped me to sort myself out like getting off drugs, so I can go home.’ Another said, `It has helped me a lot, being in this service. It’s helped me clear my head and I have proper plans for the future.’ He concluded his conversation by saying, `I wish I could go back. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.’ Young people benefit from receiving care and direction from a team of staff who act as excellent role models and provide them with a high-quality consistency of care. They form strong bonds and develop trusting relationships, which survive difficult times and challenges as young people adapt to their new environments and lifestyles. As a result, young people, who often have long histories of disruptive

p.6

Outstanding

and challenging behaviour, settle and begin to develop new skills, collect new experiences and start to think positively about what the future holds for them. It is the high ratio of young people who reach this point that makes the service outstanding. Young people benefit from receiving intensive staff support This is based on highly structured and individualised personalised plans that identify and address a young person’s developmental needs. Staff and young people plan together to create weekly programmes that are adventurous and educational. These range from traditional outdoor pursuits to visiting museums, heritage centres and other places of interest. The flexibility of the service, coupled with excellent planning, allows for practical steps aimed at implementing transition plans to take place. For example, young people, dependent on where they are to move to, are re- introduced to areas that they are familiar with, or introduced to new areas, which

p.6

Outstanding

they and staff explore and get to know. This gives young people a fresh insight and perspective of an area that they are familiar with or which gives them some knowledge and familiarity with the locality they are going to move into. This is one aspect of the outstanding, high-quality transition programme that is ongoing during the placement. Staff and young people share the same experiences and living conditions, which helps to cement relationships and builds respect and trust. Young people and staff speak well of each other, reflecting this respect and trust. Staff, who can be directive and enforce appropriate boundaries when necessary, adopt a friendly and supportive approach, which creates a relaxed atmosphere. This provides staff with opportunities to influence young people about the way in which they think, act or behave in circumstances when they are more receptive, due to this non-authoritarian approach. It also reflects and demonstrates the

p.7

Outstanding

strength of relationships and levels of trust that are formed. A social worker recognised the quality of these relationships when stating, `The child I worked with seemed to genuinely like and respect the staff and there was good fun, but appropriate banter between them.’ Young people are supported to keep in touch with their families as laid out in their care plans. This ranges from telephone calls and visually chatting on line, to visits made to a young person’s home area if appropriate. The flexibility of the service means that all contact plans are timed and designed to meet individual needs. This often helps to repair family relationships that have been damaged previously. On admission to the service, young people’s everyday health needs are fully met by their being registered with a doctor and dentist as temporary patients at practices located near to the main office. The service also has suitable arrangements in place

p.7

Outstanding

for young people to see an optician. Health and promoting healthier lifestyles are viewed as areas of strength for this service. For example, recently one young person who had a long-standing problem with his toe had it resolved after visiting a chiropodist and has, for the first time in his life, been prescribed glasses by an optician. Visits to the general practitioner, coupled with a series of hospital appointments, enabled the young person to be ready to move on from the service with all his health needs being fully met. Some of these had been long standing. Young people receive excellent advice and guidance on a range of issues linked to improving their general health, for example in maintaining a healthy and nutritional diet, taking regular exercise and, when necessary, being introduced to programmes of smoking cessation and drug misuse. The organisation operating the mobile service has its own therapy department, which includes a consultant clinical

p.7

Outstanding

psychologist, art therapist and others. Care staff work alongside specialists, following an approach underpinned by attachment theory and the associated research that has gone into this field. This approach, supported with access to specialist input, provides a high consistency of care. For young people who have histories of rejecting and being non-compliant with their education, the activity-based programme is designed to re-stimulate interest. For example, they play games, which promote numeracy skills, use a variety of reading materials and are encouraged to keep a journal, which promotes literacy. They also undertake activities to stimulate interest in the environment. This gives young people the opportunity to gain awards and certificates of achievement, giving them the experience of educational achievement. This helps to prepare them for a return to education, once their placement has finished.

p.7

Outstanding

Preparing a young person for transition back to their local community or to a new placement is a real area of strength. Planning starts almost immediately and weekly activity programmes are tailored to allow for integration into the young person’s next placement, as they near transition. The service advocates strongly on behalf of a young person. For example, recently the service successfully challenged a local authority that had arranged for their young person to go back into the same environment and set of circumstances as the ones he was originally removed from. As a result, the young person went to a well-planned placement where he remains and is reported to be thriving. The success of placements is summed up by a social worker who stated, `The children are introduced to a wide range of activities and a way of living that is completely different to what they are used to, which must widen their horizons and

p.8

Outstanding

change their outlook on life to some extent. The ratio of staff to children is exceptional, and the child must benefit from all the care and attention they receive. The staff seem caring and friendly. The manager was keen to get some training from our service, which shows he sees the importance of equipping staff with a wide range of knowledge.’

p.8

Good

Young people confirm that they feel safe and well protected wherever they may be. For example, they are living in temporary accommodation such as campsites, camping barns, cottages and mountain bothies. The service also has its own narrow boat located on the inland canal system. All are risk assessed, along with the full range of activities that young people are involved with. Staff are trained in basic safeguarding and demonstrate an awareness of their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe. No incidents of a safeguarding nature have taken place since the previous inspection, but staff are aware of what they should do and how to report any potential incident. The manager has established good links with the external agencies responsible for keeping young people safe. Staff have yet to receive information and training on the radicalisation and ‘Prevent’ duty programmes. The manager is aware of this and is to take steps to arrange

p.8

Good

appropriate training. The ‘Prevent’ duty programme does not feature in the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. Staff are well trained in behaviour management practice, and any incident is closely scrutinised and monitored by senior staff. Incidents are reviewed and strategies revised to stop repeated behaviour. It is to the credit of staff, and a reflection of their approach and use of relationships, that serious behaviour management events have been rare since the previous inspection. For example, remembering that the service works with many young people who have been aggressive in the past, there have been only five occasions when physical intervention has been used. Staff have the ability, skills and patience to work through difficulties and to de-escalate challenges constructively. This is reflected in the fact that only one negative consequence has been imposed. This approach works well with the young people placed, helping them to adapt their

p.9

Good

behaviour to a more socially acceptable standard and to take some responsibility for their own actions. Many young people placed have a history of going missing and putting themselves at risk. Young people are well supervised on a two-to-one staffing ratio and programmes are designed, especially early in the programme, to minimise the risk of their going missing. Apart from one pushing the boundaries of free time, no young people have been reported missing since the previous inspection. The circumstances around why the young person had to be reported missing were reviewed with the young person and his social worker. The result was that fresh ground rules were agreed The young person has conformed well to those rules, so his free time has not been affected. This is a fine example of working through issues and difficulties and of finding solutions to meet the individual needs of young people. Specialising in outdoor pursuits carries with it risks. All activities are well planned

p.9

Good

and risk assessed. Staff only undertake activities that they are qualified to do. Communication systems between staff and management, when an activity is taking place, are excellent, with systems in place to confirm when all have returned safely. The service is regulated and licenced with the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA), which helps to ensure that activity providers follow good safety management practices. Recruitment practice and clearance procedures are thorough and meet with regulatory requirement and current guidance. Longer-serving staff are being re- checked regularly, which is deemed to be good practice. This ensures that young people are only being looked after by staff who have been suitably cleared and recruited.

p.9

Outstanding

The service is highly organised and very well managed by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager. He expects high standards from his staff, due to the high aspirations in place for the young people placed. The creation of a deputy manager post to coincide with an expansion of staff teams from two to three, is allowing more time for monitoring, reflection and identifying areas for improvement. As a result, the service is better managed than noted at previous inspections when it was deemed to be good. The manager has a clear understanding of the service’s strengths and areas that require development. There is a proactiveness about the management of the service, and practice is reviewed regularly so that developments can be made with a view to improving outcomes for young people. For example, as well as the creation of the deputy manager’s post and the addition of a third staff team, the manager has improved the depth and quality of

p.10

Outstanding

consultation with young people with the introduction of feedback forms. These forms have become fully embedded into the culture and working practices of the service, which has improved the level and depth of consultation taking place with young people. Both internal and external monitoring is thorough, with detailed reports being produced. Internal monitoring is another area of improvement, with the manager having more time to dedicate to this, following the appointment of his deputy. Staff said that they feel well supported. Communication levels between them and with the management team are high and effective. For example, the systems in place for the changeover of staff teams provide the team coming on duty with a clear understanding of any events that may have occurred. The formal programme of supervision that is taking place with consistency, coupled with annual appraisal, supports the views of staff that they are well supported. As

p.10

Outstanding

well as aiding professional development, it allows them to explore the impact that they themselves have on young people. This helps them to understand the implications of their actions, giving them greater appreciation of their roles and responsibilities. Staff are expected to participate in and keep up to date with the training programme that is in place. As a result, core skills, such as safeguarding, first aid, physical intervention and others, are refreshed and updated regularly. This ensures that skills remain current to meet the ever-changing needs of the young people being referred to the service. Staff retention is high, with few changes having taken place within the existing staff group since the previous inspection. However, a successful recruitment programme has been completed, allowing expansion of the service, which now runs with three teams, rather than the two in place previously. Staff are enthusiastic and fully committed to the way of working adopted by the

p.11

Outstanding

service. They believe in what they do and they believe that they can change young people’s lives for the better. This has created a happy, team-centred staff group with high morale, which transfers into the positivity of the relationships enjoyed between staff and young people. The home has an excellent record of compliance by addressing any requirements or recommendations that have been made, although none was made at the previous inspection. This is a service that is moving forward and going from strength to strength. There is a realistic view about what it can achieve and with whom. The parent of a young person summed up her views as follows, `I can’t praise the service enough. I have nothing negative to say about it. I am confident my son has been kept safe. Much safer than the placement he was in before. He has changed drastically. He shows more respect towards people. He is calm and managing his anger issues.’

p.11

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’.

p.12

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

p.12

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.

p.12

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 whom 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

p.13

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 .

p.13

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,

p.14

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.14

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.14

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

p.14