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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.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people are proud of where they live.  Young people make remarkable progress in their education. This is made possible because staff promote high school attendance and young people have high expectations of themselves.  Staff work collectively to create a climate in which young people feel nurtured and supported.  Staff are alert to the importance of family contact and take all the necessary steps to enable meaningful contact to take place.  Staff have effective arrangements for consulting young people and include them in decisions about their care and the home.  Relationships between staff and young people are very positive.  Young people work conscientiously and co-operatively with staff and one another and are very well-behaved, polite and courteous.  The manager consistently plays a significant role in fostering a good atmosphere throughout the home, which enables young people to thrive

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

socially, physically and emotionally.  The manager ensures that a high level of praise permeates throughout all aspects of life at the home.  The manager ensures that young people’s safety and welfare is an important feature of everyday practice.  The manager ensures that staff, young people and parents have a clear understanding of the home’s aims, core purposes and values, and how these are being taken forward to improve young people’s lives.  The whole staff team have a clear understanding of the importance of safeguarding and the need for vigilance to help to keep the young people safe.  Staff work hard to help young people to understand how to keep themselves safe on the internet.

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Information about this children's home

The children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/03/2016 Full Outstanding

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Outstanding

Young people experience genuine care and have secure relationships with staff who are highly dedicated, trained and experienced. One young person told the inspector that ‘The best thing about this home is the people who are in it. [Staff member] is amazing; she is cool and down with the kids. I would not change anything, everything is perfect.’ The warm and nurturing relationship between the staff and young people means that young people make rapid progress across all aspects of their development. Young people recognise all the ‘little extras’ staff do for them. This includes coming in on their days off to watch them receive awards, helping them to settle at bedtime, and sitting with them to complete school homework. Staff make sure that hugs and praise are commonplace. This helps to build on their nurturing approach so that young people feel cared for by people they know genuinely care. Young people often send staff little notes and poems thanking them for the care they

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Outstanding

receive. A young person told the inspector: ‘It’s like living in a castle here, I’m treated like a princess’. Because of the staff team’s care, young people feel important and have secure attachments with people they have grown to trust. There is not a day that goes by when young people do not engage in fun activities that help to build up positive childhood memories. Staff and young people take time to make up jokes together, which creates laughter and lots of fun for all. Young people feel listened to and respected. For example, staff use young people’s meetings as a means to gain their views, often with a young person chairing the meeting. The registered manager reads the minutes of each meeting and then responds to each young person individually. This makes young people feel valued and inclusive of the decisions made about their care. Young people are also encouraged to complete weekly sheets that help them to recognise the progress

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Outstanding

they are making, and to look at ways they could manage situations differently in the future. All the methods of communication enable young people to have a strong voice about their care. Every quarter the young people are asked to complete a consultation document, which helps inform their placement plan. The manager analyses each document and ensures that each young person’s care plan is reflective of any additional support required. Staff show insight into how best to get young people to open up and talk. This includes taking a young person for a drive, sitting and playing games or just having a cup of hot chocolate together before bedtime. As a result, staff not only understand young people’s views about the placement, but also adapt their care based on each young person’s personal contribution. This means that young people feel that staff understand them, and that their opinions matter. In- depth keyworker sessions further support the young person’s views. The staff will

p.5

Outstanding

often use evidence-based research to help them to tailor their keyworker sessions to the specific needs of the young person. For example, the staff have sourced research to help a young person to understand the safe ways to use the internet. This included taking into account their specific vulnerabilities. Staff apply research into early life trauma in order to increase their understanding of early childhood experiences on young people’s development. The registered manager has in turn updated the model of care for the home in line with the research. Integrated working is commonplace. Excellent links have been established with health, education, police and social workers. For example, staff recognise the importance of young people having access to effective healthcare services. From the start of a young person’s admission, strong links are used to secure the right health assessments and any required treatments. This close working relationship

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Outstanding

means that young people are getting the right health promotion to improve their physical and emotional well-being. The staff work extremely hard to ensure that young people have a stable experience in their education and are encouraged to aspire in their learning. One young person had previously struggled with their education. To counter this difficulty, staff worked alongside teachers, supporting him in and out of the classroom to rebuild his confidence. As a result, the young person has been able to re-engage in his learning and is now making measurable progress. A headteacher told the inspector: ‘The home is extremely supportive of the school and has worked alongside us as we support transition into provision. Communication is excellent and [the registered manager] ensures that all staff remain well-informed at all times of [young person’s] development and placement details. Staff are on hand to offer support as required. We feel that [young person] is nurtured and encouraged

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Outstanding

to take part in education and a number of other extra-curricular activities that the home facilitates.’ Staff enthusiastically encourage young people to engage in a range of positive social and recreational activities. These include drama classes, going to the cinema, and playing football. Young people’s self-confidence and self-esteem have dramatically increased, because of these diverse opportunities. Staff encourage young people to develop independence skills, which are appropriate to their age and understanding. Staff help the young people in their care to bake, use the washing machine and start simple budgeting skills. Staff also encourage voluntary charity work. The registered manager has encouraged the young people to take part in their local community, for example by baking cakes for the nearby elderly residents at Christmas. Young people take great pride in planning these charitable events and in turn strengthen their community

p.6

Outstanding

engagement. Staff value young people’s contact with families. This includes encouraging them to make telephone calls and to write letters to help maintain links with people who are important to them. Staff involve families, where possible, in the day-to-day decisions about their child. This is particularly beneficial for young people’s emotional and psychological development. A parent told the inspector: ‘They have been great around contact. I can phone without hesitation to gain information. They do everything they can to give care in line with their care plans. I’m really happy.’

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Outstanding

Young people’s welfare is the most important consideration in the staff team’s day- to-day care. Staff follow clear procedures and guidance to help them to take prompt action in response to any emerging concern about a young person’s safety or welfare. This includes knowing how to contact safeguarding agencies, including the police.

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Outstanding

Staff understand young people’s vulnerabilities due to age or the lack of understanding of danger. The staff are alert to the risks young people can face in the community, especially from people who are prepared to exploit their additional vulnerability. The manager ensures that there are well-developed strategies to ensure that staff can maintain regular contact with young people and can make swift safeguarding referrals when necessary. These comprehensive strategies reduce the risks and keep young people safe from harm. Because of these safeguarding measures, no young person has placed them self at risk of child sexual exploitation or attempted to go missing from care.

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Outstanding

Young people become increasingly safe because staff have excellent insight into their individual risk profiles. Staff regularly review risk assessments in order to consider if their actions remain right, and to reflect on the progress made by the young person. Staff recognise the importance of this live document in keeping young people safe. Staff are sensitive to the things that can trigger young people’s challenging behaviour escalating, and use early diffusion techniques successfully. When an incident does occur the staff work closely with the police and try their very best to ensure that the young person is not criminalised. The staff team’s approach to behaviour management has meant that the young people have reduced their challenging behaviour and have instead made safe decisions about their welfare.

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Outstanding

The manager is ambitious, energetic, and continuously looking at different ways to improve the provision of care. This includes having a development plan that is aimed at enhancing the young people’s outcomes. This extends to having set targets that are aimed at improving young people’s health, education and protection. The manager has managed the home since it was registered. She has completed her level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. The registered manager and staff model professional standards in all of their work, and demonstrate a high level of courtesy and respect towards the young people. The registered manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths and areas for development. She has already implemented a number of improvements, such as bringing in specialised computer software to help keep young people safe when accessing the internet, and creating a ‘chill out room’.

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Outstanding

Staff receive regular in-depth supervision that helps them to reflect on their own practice and sets key actions to aid their development. Staff value this level of oversight to help enhance their practice. Staff are trained in areas such as first aid and child protection, and receive in-depth training that is specific to the needs of the young people. Further supplementary online courses help to heighten the staff members’ awareness and understanding of current affairs. All staff are qualified to the level 3 in residential childcare, or are expected to finish their award in the required period. The aims and objectives of the statement of purpose are met. Staff understand the ethos and values of the home and deliver them in practice.

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Outstanding

Professionals speak highly of the staff. A social worker commented: ‘The staff show excellent and consistent care. . There is fantastic communication and they always respond to my emails and messages.’

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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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