Children's Home run by Inspire Children’s Services Limited in Lancashire

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 make exceptional progress from their starting points over a sustained period of time.  Young people make and sustain valuable relationships with the staff, who have genuine aspirations for them to reach their full potential.  Practice is informed by research-led training tailored specifically to meet the needs of young people in the home.  Education is prioritised and all young people regularly attend and make excellent progress which is reflected in attainment.  Health outcomes are particularly positive and young people are supported to adopt healthier lifestyles, as well as accessing appropriate specialist treatment and healthcare.  The home places strong emphasis on building and maintaining good relationships with parents and carers, which results in young people making positive transitions to be cared for within their families.  Staff are enthusiastic in supporting young people to access activities in the

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

community, and to explore their talents and interests, which results in increased self-esteem and development of social skills.  Effective behaviour management plans underpin practice. Consequently, risk- taking behaviour has stopped or reduced significantly.  Targeted key-work sessions tailored to young people’s ability and learning style are delivered frequently. The sessions are individual and promote emotional and social development. They help young people to reflect on their behaviour, values and approach to conflict.  The leadership team is enthusiastic, child-centred and motivated. The staff team is well supported and the approach to routine is consistent. Young people have a secure base from which they can build independence and thrive in all aspects of their development.  Placing authorities consistently provide extremely positive feedback regarding the quality of care provision at this setting.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 There are three areas that could further enhance the service offered. These are modernisation of the home, lone-working procedures and record-keeping practices.

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 The design of the home should, where appropriate, enable children to develop independence skills within the supportive environment of the home, in particular completing a modernisation programme of the kitchen and other communal areas of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.25)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, the organisation’s lone- working policy should be followed and associated checklists completed. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure the stringent record keeping of incidents that

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Recommendations

may impact upon the welfare of an employee or on their ability to care for young people. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who may be experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/11/2015 Full Good

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Outstanding

Since the last inspection, two young people have made very positive transitions to being cared for within their families. Both young people have made significant and sustained progress across a four-year period in all aspects of their development. The home has two further young people placed recently who are already showing very positive signs of building trusted relationships with staff and engaging fully in the home’s routines. One young person made a very powerful statement: ‘It’s only taken me a week and two days to feel comfortable here, when it took me two years in my last placement.’ Both young people appeared relaxed, settled and entirely comfortable in the company of the staff. All social workers report that young people like the staff, and one in particular said, ‘They do an awful lot for him.’

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Outstanding

Young people are consulted as part of their process of settling into the home and continue to be involved in their own care-planning processes. They participate in the production of a personalised guide to the home and are informed of the process to make a complaint. A young person stated, ‘We’ve got a grumbles book, too.’ Young people make choices about the decor of their personal space and menus for meals. They can decide the activities that they participate in and are rewarded for engaging with professionals and attending meetings about their lives. One young person recently chaired her own review meeting, which demonstrates increased confidence and self-esteem. Young people have access to formal advocacy services.

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Outstanding

All young people are making outstanding educational progress from their starting points. One young person has been able to move successfully from specialist provision to mainstream education, which is exceptional progress given the complexity of his needs. A social worker said of another young person: ‘He was on the verge of exclusion from school, but they went the extra mile for him, they worked with school to support him and maintain his education, and communicated really well.’ One young person who was recently placed at the home had 50% attendance prior to admission. This has now improved significantly to 96%. There is significant evidence that education is highly valued and promoted. An educational professional stated that a young person was supported with additional work, such as ‘times tables, and following strategies that school had implemented to support good time-keeping and promote positive well-being.’ One young person

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Outstanding

has aspirations to attend an elite university to study maths. She engages in considerable extra-curricular and sporting activity at school, which are both encouraged and supported. Staff share young people’s aspirations and, as a result, they are able to thrive. Staff and managers at the home are enthusiastic about helping young people to explore their interests, develop hobbies, and access activities and social opportunities. This is a core strength of this service. Staff understand the importance of helping young people to develop social skills, form appropriate relationships and build self-esteem. Young people have recently enjoyed a trampoline activity, swimming, trips to the cinema and local gym. One young person usually opts for a sedentary lifestyle and her social worker remarked upon the fact that staff had managed successfully to engage her in more active pursuits. Staff are seeking a gymnastics club for one of the residents. A young person

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Outstanding

recently had a friend to stay over at the home and the invitation has been reciprocated. Staff recognise the need to help young people to invest in sustaining good friendships and, for this young person, this has increased her sense of belonging, in line with her identified care planning goals.

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Outstanding

The home meets all of its obligations to ensure that young people access good- quality healthcare. They also promote positive health and well-being. A young person has reduced to a healthier weight since coming to the home in October this year. Her social worker complimented the service and the staff’s efforts to engage her in healthy eating and exercise. She stated, ‘She already looks brighter, happier, has lost weight and looks healthier for it.’ The home works closely alongside healthcare professionals when needed and significant work has been undertaken with one young person to address portion control and nutrition, as well as encouraging a more active lifestyle. The home worked with the parents of this young person to adopt similar routines when on contact, which resulted in him achieving a demonstrably healthier body mass index.

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Outstanding

Staff access research-led training which assists them to understand how best to meet young people’s needs in areas such as attachment, autism and mental health. Staff were able to cite a range of examples when research-based training had informed their practice with young people in the home. One young person had difficulties in articulating his feelings and the home implemented a system of ‘feelings cards’ that he could display on his bedroom door to allow him to communicate effectively in a manner that he was comfortable with. This means that staff were able to instigate discussions if he was experiencing negative feelings, which resulted in fewer incidents of negative behaviour. One young person struggles significantly with praise, and staff cite this as part of his attachment disorder. They adopted more subtle ways of acknowledging his achievements using non-verbal cues, which they believe he found much more

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Outstanding

palatable. Another young person was supported swiftly to access mental health services after an acute incident of self-harm. It was deemed that this incident was largely about control of his circumstances, as opposed to emotional distress. Staff worked tirelessly with this young person to adapt his environment at the home and when on contact with family to address his behaviours, which were believed to be part of a conduct disorder. This young person was able to return home successfully. A young person who has just arrived at the home has a programme of therapy to which the manager has committed a consistent staff member for support. They will ensure that any strategies to aid the young person’s emotional growth will be adopted in the home environment.

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Outstanding

The home offers a particularly nurturing environment for young people with the security of good evening routines and structured mealtimes. The atmosphere is warm, friendly and inviting. Young people are encouraged to relax in the home and there is sufficient space for them to enjoy privacy or socialise with other young people and staff. There is a range of age-appropriate resources, toys and entertainment available. Young people are supported to learn skills for independence. When appropriate, they learn how to budget, complete household tasks and prepare meals. Individual sessions enhance personal hygiene and self- care routines, and young people embark on a programme of progressively increasing free time, which is balanced carefully with identified risks.

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Outstanding

Staff at the home recognise the importance of building strong relationships with families and carers. They promote and prioritise regular contact for young people in order to foster a solid sense of identity and contribute to a positive self-image. The home facilitated a progressive plan for two separate young people to increase contact over a sustained period of time. They were able to work successfully with resistant families to ensure consistency of care and overcome any difficulties resulting in well-managed and positive transitions for young people to return home permanently. A social worker said: ‘Staff put every effort in always taking him to visit family, they did their absolute best in difficult circumstances.’

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Outstanding

The home is comfortable, spacious and well equipped for the young people who live there. The environment is safe and homely, but the decor is dated. Young people feel that it would benefit from a programme of modernisation. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Good

Young people report that they feel safe at this home and their social workers all agree that staff take appropriate action to protect young people from harm and reduce any risks posed to them. Both young people were able to identify a trusted adult within the home whom they would feel comfortable to approach with any worries or concerns.

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Good

There have been no incidents of physical intervention or young people going missing. The staff are all trained in appropriate use of physical restraint and there is evidence of good behaviour management practice in de-escalating situations before the need to intervene arises. Staff have also benefited from training encompassing risk management when young people are missing from home and at risk of sexual exploitation or radicalisation. There are appropriate risk assessments and plans in place to safeguard young people in those circumstances, should the need arise in the future. There has been no police involvement at the home for a sustained period of time and, while in placement at this home, one young person has been supported to complete a referral order successfully, following a violent offence, and has not reoffended. This is an excellent outcome, given her complex history.

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Good

Individual risk assessments are completed to a high standard. They are clear, detailed and reviewed on a regular basis. Personalised behaviour management plans are in place and staff are aware of the needs and risks associated with the young people whom they care for. Positive behaviour is encouraged and rewarded, and sanctions are appropriate and proportionate. The manager provides a meaningful evaluation of behaviour management and the impact on young people. This is evident within the stringent record-keeping practices at the home. There was one minor shortfall in assessment of risk when the home failed to follow the organisation’s lone-working procedure. It did not complete a checklist designed to ensure that all risks had been considered. Although it is not felt that this had a direct impact on the welfare of staff and young people because comprehensive personalised risk assessments are in place, it has the potential to in the future, so a

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Good

recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Good

Young people engage in regular key-work sessions to address specific conflict that has occurred in or outside of the home. This helps young people to reflect on their behaviour and agree strategies to consider different choices in similar situations. A social worker described key working as ‘excellent’. Staff encourage young people to accept responsibility for their behaviour, and reparation is both fair and effective. Room searches are carried out with clear justification and with positive regard to the rights of young people, while balancing risks to their safety.

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Good

Recruitment procedures are robust, and ensure thorough scrutiny of applicants prior to beginning employment at the home. Allegations and complaints received are notified to the appropriate agencies and acted upon in a timely manner. Record-keeping practices are very good, and suitable support is offered to both staff and young people. Staff have completed safeguarding training and there are visual prompts in the office displaying child protection and whistleblowing procedures.

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Good

The registered manager has been in post since April 2016. He is suitably experienced, having worked in residential childcare for several years before joining this organisation in February 2012 as a senior residential care worker, progressing to deputy manager. He has the required qualifications for this responsible role, having recently completed a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare.

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Good

There are no requirements or recommendations from the last inspection on 29 March 2016. The statement of purpose has been recently revised and accurately reflects the aims and objectives of the service. The manager works closely with the deputy to maintain a thorough oversight of care practices. They both have an excellent understanding of the needs and risks associated with the young people who live at the home. Care-planning and record-keeping practices are maintained to a high standard and monitored carefully to ensure that they accurately reflect the needs of young people.

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Good

The staff confirm that they are well supported on a daily basis and through formal supervision, team meetings and handover structures. Staff report that both the manager and wider team are supportive. Staff in the home work well together. They have a consistent approach to young people as a result of the manager’s evaluation of practice and dissemination across the team within meetings and supervision.

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Good

Recent significant changes were made to the staffing team in line with the needs of young people and the strengths of the team members. The manager has a robust resourcing plan to ensure that the staffing team is consistent and offers as much stability as possible for young people. All staff at the home hold a relevant level 3 qualification and have access to a broad range of training opportunities to enhance their skills, above the mandatory training requirements. Training tailored to the needs of young people in the home is accessed frequently. This means that the team has the qualifications and skills to provide high-quality care. There is an annual programme of development for leaders and staff.

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Good

Leaders actively seek feedback from young people, families and professional partners, although it is not always forthcoming. The manager recognises that this is an area of development and has already taken steps to address this shortfall. The feedback received is positive and evidences that the setting works well with other agencies and is able to advocate on behalf of young people. The manager is aware of the setting’s strengths, citing an ‘open and reflective culture’ as an example. A key development area of practice is to increase recognition of positive behaviour.

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Good

Impact assessments are carried out to ensure that young people are carefully matched, and that their needs are considered and balanced with the potential risks to other young people already in placement. One social worker commented, ‘What was really good was that they consulted and reassured me about a recent placement, that they had considered the needs of the young person, and there have been no major issues’. All serious or significant events are reported to appropriate agencies and to Ofsted as legally required. However, one incident that occurred between a member of staff and a family member was not sufficiently recorded within any supervision record or incident-reporting mechanism. While this has had no impact on the care of young people, the situation may not stand up to scrutiny in the event of a complaint or further investigation being required. Therefore, a recommendation is made to address this matter.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection. An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children’s home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children’s home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements

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What the inspection judgements mean

are in place, however, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance, ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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