Children's Home run by Appletree Treatment Centre Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Children have positive relationships, both with each other and with staff. This contributes to children feeling happy and settled in the home.  Children have positive experiences of education and have integrated into the company’s school, mixing well with the other children who attend, and therefore increasing their opportunities for social skills development.  Engagement in therapy helps children to progress in emotional development and begin to address traumatic issues from their past, helping them move forward towards future family or foster placements.  There are many opportunities for participation in activities within the home and in the community, which contribute towards children’s health, and social and educational development.  The home works proactively with external agencies to safeguard children. When safeguarding concerns have arisen, the home has put steps in place to minimise risks to children.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 From the point of placement, children’s risks significantly reduce, specifically in relation to challenging, destructive and disruptive behaviour.  There is a marked trend towards reduction in the use of restrictive physical intervention, which signifies that children feel safer and more able to regulate their emotions.  Changes within the home’s management are managed sensitively, with minimal disruption to children.  The staff team is generally stable, which provides the children with continuity of care. Staff work hard to deliver therapeutic parenting and have training to support this model.  Children make good progress across all areas in the home, but the recording of the progress made is an area identified for development.  Record-keeping is generally of an acceptable standard, but some areas for improvement were noted, particularly in regard to monitoring standards of recording.

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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 leadership and management standard, the registered manager must understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. Specifically, children’s records and managers’ monitoring should evidence progress that children make. (Regulation 13 (2)(f)) 14/02/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Regulations 35 to 39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is one of three owned by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional, social, behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 06/07/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/06/2015 Full Good 18/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.5

Good

The home has gone through a period of change since the last full inspection, with an entirely different group of children of a younger age being admitted, which brings the home more in line with the other two homes owned by the company. The changes have been largely positive, with the older cohort of children moving on to foster placements or alternative residential placements, and the new group being admitted gradually and usually with very good transition planning.

p.6

Good

The four children currently in the home are settled and are showing signs of progression in several areas. The home now has a very happy and relaxed feel, and the young people clearly have much more positive relationships with each other than the previously placed group did. Observations of, and discussion with, young people evidence that they are able to play with and alongside each other and treat each other politely and respectfully, which is good progress for this home. Furthermore, the young people have had the opportunity to develop positive relationships with their peers who attend the school run by the same company and have invited them to the home to play and share meals.

p.6

Good

Children also develop strong and trusting relationships with staff. They speak highly of the staff who care for them, and of the new manager in post. They are also enjoying spending more time with the former manager who has stepped down into a more ‘hands-on’ deputy role within the home. When any issues arise in respect of young people’s relationships with staff, these are dealt with effectively and children are supported to share their views.

p.6

Good

Children engage positively in therapy, which helps them to understand their emotions and learn ways to regulate themselves. Staff support therapy through their use of therapeutic parenting, for which they receive training. They are also supported to deliver therapeutic care through consultation sessions with the children’s therapists.

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Good

Each child is well understood and their care is planned around their individual needs. Children who have specific cultural needs are supported to understand and access their culture. When children express strong wishes not to follow their identified religion, this is handled sensitively and in consultation with the child’s placing authority.

p.6

Good

There is a nurse attached to the school, which is run by the same company which has oversight of the children’s health needs. As well as accessing therapy, children are making good progress with their physical health needs, for example by attending the dentist when they have previously been resistant to this. Specific health needs are also met, for example the provision of a weighted blanket for a young person with nocturnal anxiety issues has been successful.

p.6

Good

Contact with young people’s families is well understood, both for its significant importance to them and also for the emotional impact of the lead up to, and aftermath of, contact visits. Negative behaviour, triggered by issues around contact, are dealt with sensitively. For those children who do not have regular family contact, the home deal with this in an understanding and sympathetic way, supporting children through frustration and disappointment by reassuring them.

p.7

Good

There are numerous opportunities for children to play, both within the home and in the community. Children access activities such as swimming, football and majorettes, and they are encouraged to develop friendships outside of the home. They are also nurtured within the home with stories, games and a wide variety of other activities. Adult attention is important to them and staff make every effort to spend individual time with children, ensuring that their need for attention is met.

p.7

Good

There are no concerns about missing from home incidents, drug or alcohol misuse, self-harm or criminality in respect of the children in this home. To a large extent, their safeguarding needs are around helping them to manage their emotions, anxieties and behaviours, and their interactions with each other.

p.7

Good

Some children feel anxious around night time and being alone in their rooms in the dark at night. This is managed by having two waking night staff each night, allowing children to sleep with their doors slightly ajar and for one child the use of a weighted blanket. There have been two occasions when children have been in each other’s bedrooms without permission; these have been thoroughly investigated and the outcome of the investigations has resulted in changes to the way in which the home is staffed during the night time. Learning form these incidents has been embedded through regular discussion with staff about the importance of vigilance and following procedures to ensure that children remain in their own bedrooms at night and early in the morning.

p.7

Good

Allegations against staff are dealt with quickly and robustly. Any investigation undertaken has a clear outcome, which is communicated to the young person making the complaint. Children are not at risk in their use of the internet. They do not have any unsupervised access to the internet and can only access it under close supervision from staff and for the purposes of downloading music or games that have been checked for their suitability. Children have use of an Xbox, but cannot access Xbox Live which could potentially place them at risk.

p.7

Good

Young people have detailed risk assessments that clearly identify their specific areas of risk. Their behaviour management plans identify early intervention strategies to de-escalate behaviour which could potentially pose a risk, either to themselves or others. Young people contribute to plans and help identify which strategies are helpful to them.

p.8

Good

Incidents of bullying are infrequent. If any issues arise, these are dealt with through reflective work with children. This helps them to identify how they feel, how others may feel as a result of their behaviour and what they could do to make things right or what they could do differently next time. This is an age-appropriate way of encouraging children to be accountable for their behaviour, take responsibility for their actions and make reparations.

p.8

Good

Staff focus on rewarding positive behaviour and do not routinely impose sanctions for negative behaviours. Consequences are aimed at helping children to learn different and more positive ways of responding to situations and are never punitive. Children are supported to understand their emotions and reflect on their behaviour to learn to self-regulate. Some children are showing very good progress in this area.

p.8

Good

The use of restrictive physical intervention has significantly reduced from the point of placement for some children who had a high number initially. Other children have had none, or very few interventions. Recording of interventions is generally good, although some examples needed clearer descriptions of antecedents and more detail in the recording of why a particular intervention was necessary.

p.8

Good

The home provides a safe physical environment for children with regular fire checks and health and safety checks. Safe recruitment processes are in use to ensure that no unsuitable adults come into contact with children. A location risk assessment is in place and identifies local area risks to children. This assessment includes comments from children who report that having night staff helps them to feel safe. Judgement grade

p.8

Good

The home’s registered manager has stepped down from her post to take up a deputy post and be more involved in the children’s day-to-day care. A new manager has just started in post and is in the process of making an application for registration with the regulator. The change of managers has had minimal impact on the young people, who are happy to have the previous manager in a more ‘hands-on’ care role, and have started to develop positive relationships with the newly appointed manager. The new manager has had the opportunity of a lengthy handover from the previous manager and a thorough induction. Senior managers have informed the regulator as required about changes to the home’s management.

p.9

Good

The home is adequately staffed, although it uses agency and bank staff during the nights when there are two waking watches. These staff are regular and familiar to the children and therefore there is no detrimental impact on children due to their use. All of the day staff have been employed by the company, most in this home, for a considerable length of time and so provide consistency of care to the children.

p.9

Good

Staff report feeling well supported through the transition from the older to the younger age-range children, and feel that ongoing training, support and supervision is of a good level. All staff have had an annual appraisal. Staff have undertaken the Appletree diploma, which is an in-depth training course and internal qualification which they report helps them significantly in their role as carers, and contributes to their understanding of attachment and therapeutic parenting.

p.9

Good

Managers at the home undertake monthly monitoring checks and send reports as required to the regulator. Managers feel that the independent monitoring is helpful and assists them to maintain high standards, and also to identify any areas for development or improvement. Records are generally of an acceptable standard, but monitoring systems need to be more robust in ensuring that signatures and dates on documents are always checked and that sufficient detail is included in records. Although it is evident from discussion with managers that children make continuous progress, one area specifically noted for development is in ensuring that records for children clearly reflect the positive progress they are making during their time in the home.

p.9

Good

The home has developed strong and positive relationships with other agencies involved in the care of children, and advocate on their behalf when they believe a child’s views are not being adequately considered by their placing authority. Managers and staff are clear that children are central to all aspects of decision- making and care delivery. Their needs are very clearly prioritised and there is a high level of commitment and care evident in all areas.

p.9

Good

The home delivers care that is in line with its statement of purpose, which was updated, along with the children’s guide, at the time of the inspection to reflect the change in manager of the home.

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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 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 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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

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