Children's home run by Aspris Care North West Limited in Wyre

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 highly experienced and knowledgeable registered manager works effectively in partnership with the staff team. She understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and takes action to develop the service further.  The young people receive therapeutic care delivered by staff who have suitable and specialist therapeutic qualifications and knowledge. Young people develop meaningful relationships with staff whom they trust. They enjoy time spent with staff.  Young people make good progress, emotionally, educationally and socially. They also make good progress with their physical and mental health.  A stable and consistent staff team has the needs of the young people at the centre of their practice. They strongly advocate for the young people. Young people feel safe and supported at the home.  Educational needs are supported and met. Young people achieve good attendance and achievement levels.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) 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

10: The health and well-being standard 1(a) The health and well-being standard is that the health and well-being needs of children are met. (2)(i) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. 31/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure that: 2(a)(i) staff 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. In particular, they must ensure that risk assessments are accurate and up to date. 31/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard In order to ensure that the care planning standard is met, the registered provider must ensure: 1(a)(b) that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 31/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which sets out how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home. In particular, this is with reference to the effectiveness of any consequences used. Regulation 35(1)(a) 31/12/2016

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for four children of a single gender who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is a specialist residential, therapeutic community, providing care and treatment to psychologically traumatised young people. It is part of a larger organisation that has a number of homes in the area.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement N/A

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Good

This is the first inspection of this home, which has been open since July 2016. The organisation bought a new property, and young people and staff moved into the new premises. Since this time, there has been one admission, and one young person has left the home. Young people’s outcomes are mixed: some are at the start of their journey to achieve better outcomes, while others are more settled and have good experiences. Experiences of moving into or leaving the children’s home have not always been positive for young people. One young person moving into the home described her transition as an event that ‘ruined her life’. It is acknowledged that this was not the fault of this home, but, despite the registered manager agreeing that the treatment that the young person received was appalling. However she made no attempt to question this practice. Another young person leaving the home was placed in a holiday caravan in a nearby resort, while the same local authority found more

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Good

suitable accommodation. This was not in the best interest of the young person and fails to promote their dignity. Two young people attend an education provision located close by. Attendance levels are excellent. Young people make very good progress with the support of the care staff during the school day and after school with their homework. Young people say that they enjoy going to school. One young person finds it very difficult to attend a formal education setting, and the staff are working hard with the virtual head to find an alternative form of education or apprenticeship. As a result of the therapeutic treatment, young people make good progress in making healthy attachments, processing feelings and relating to others. A significant part of the home’s therapeutic ethos is for the young people to gain confidence in living together with others. This aspect of the treatment and care is successful.

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Good

Young people receive individualised psychotherapy sessions once a week for as long as they are required. All psychotherapy reports are included in placement reviews and information is shared with a range of professionals involved in their lives. As a result, young people are able to talk about what is difficult. Some young people make progress in regulating their emotions and begin to talk about their early life experiences. The service is working in collaboration with the local child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) on young people’s emotional well-being. However, staff are not always offering the support that the CAMHS team has suggested. One young person said, ‘The staff are supposed to do my mood tracker with me and they haven’t. It’s my appointment tomorrow, and I will have to tell her the staff didn’t help me.’ While there was some evidence to support the fact that staff had tried to offer this to the young person and she had refused, it was not always

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Good

consistent. The staff team provides a wide range of activities that the young people enjoy, such as a sports day on site for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Diamond Challenge, and local social events, such as bonfire night and the cinema. Young people are also involved at the local homeless centre and help to cook a meal for 50 people once a month. This provides young people with a strong focus on working with people in their community. All activities are age appropriate and risk assessed. Young people have a strong voice in choosing activities that they wish to participate in and enjoy a range of free time with friends as much as organised activities. This boosts young people’s self-confidence and is fun. Staff encourage young people to make healthy life-style choices, from healthy eating to reducing their smoking and cannabis use. Referrals are made to local drug and smoking cessation services to support young people in making good

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Good

decisions about their health. Mealtimes are very social occasions, with staff promoting social skills. Young people respond extremely well to engaging with staff in this way. Staff work hard to facilitate positive contact for each young person and their family. The staff and registered manager work directly with families, providing a supportive relationship. This promotes young people’s self-esteem and identity. Young people are free to bring their friends for tea and they enjoy this aspect of the care home.

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Requires improvement

Risk management is weak, particularly when a young person is admitted into the home. Young people’s initial individual risk assessments do not take account of their behaviour and dangerous incidents. Consideration of other young people already living in the home is not carefully assessed or risk assessed. In some cases, these referrals have a detrimental impact on those who are already resident in the home and result, for example, in disruptive and unsettling behaviours. Behaviour management systems ensure that young people are safely managed. A calm and skilled approach is adopted to diffuse evolving incidents. Young people respond well to clear boundaries set by staff. Over time, young people develop more appropriate ways of communicating their feelings to others. Young people are encouraged to raise matters that concern them in group and individual meetings or key-worker sessions. Although there is evidence of sanctions being imposed, they

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Requires improvement

are not routinely recorded on their effectiveness. The failure to record means that they cannot be monitored or evaluated. Therefore, young people do not benefit from a consistent planned approach to their behaviour, in order to effect positive and lasting change. Safeguarding policies and procedures are clear and robust. Staff members are aware of the procedures and of their implementation in practice. Young people are kept safe by a staff team that demonstrates very good knowledge of safeguarding practices. Staff are trained in recognising actual or potential harm or abuse. The registered manager leads on safeguarding in relation to referrals and seeking advice from external safeguarding authorities. The senior leadership team keeps under review safeguarding records that are clear and informative. Staff usually understand how to respond to young people who go missing. Staff develop positive relationships with the local police, including the missing-from-

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Requires improvement

home coordinator. They work in partnership with the police in developing missing- from-home protocols, which promote the importance of young people being missing for the minimum time. Staff always look for young people when they go missing. They follow them and call them on their mobile phones and try to persuade them to return to the home. The staff employ a restorative approach to incidents of bullying or unkindness. There is a clear system for reporting, recording, tracking and responding to incidents of bullying. Young people are clear in what to do if they feel that they are being bullied. One young person said, ‘We talk about bullying. I am not bullied here; I get on with everyone.’ Managers safely recruit and vet staff to prevent unsuitable people from having the opportunity to harm young people. Casual staff who work in the home are subject to appropriate checks and induction to the home, so that they can safely care for

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Good

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2013. She has suitable qualifications and has completed a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. The staff team is a strength of this service. Staff have the skills and ability to form caring and professional relationships with the children. Young people respond extremely well to these relationships. Counsellors who work with the young people are suitably trained to deliver therapeutic care in line with the home’s stated therapeutic ethos, as set out in its statement of purpose. They also receive specialist training so that they can meet the needs of the young people. Monitoring of the service is good. Auditing systems in place address any areas that require improvement and inform future planning. Senior managers and leaders across the organisation, together with the registered manager, have clear oversight

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Good

and input into the structured quality assurance processes. They know the strengths and weakness of the home and have development plans that they are working towards. An independent visitor provides an objective view with recommendations that the registered manager actions. The home’s statement of purpose meets the required standard. It contains clear information that enables professionals to have a clear overview of the service when making placement decisions. The home is well equipped, well maintained and very homely. Facilities are up to date and meet the needs of the young people. The garden offers a large area for young people to play football and go on a trampoline. The registered manager and staff continually strive to improve this setting to benefit 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 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 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

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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