Children's Home run by Tulip Care One Limited t/as TulipCare in Kent

Good

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

p.2

The children’s home provision is good because:

 The registered manager and staff are firmly focused on keeping young people safe and helping them to make progress.  Young people feel secure and are able to form positive attachments to the staff who care for them.  Young people make progress in accessing their education, and get better at controlling their behaviour and making good decisions.  Young people are helped to feel valued and respected by the high standard of decor, furnishings and maintenance of the home.  The needs and vulnerabilities of the young people are understood by staff, who seek to provide them with the best therapeutic care.  Staff are effectively supported by managers, and this helps them to be consistent and resilient in their care and support of the young people.  The home is in a new stage of development, and some processes and practices of care are not yet fully embedded. The overall training needs of the staff team require prompt attention to ensure that all staff are suitably

p.3

The children’s home provision is good because:

trained to meet the needs of the young people.

p.3

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, the 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.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ individuals in a care role who have attained the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. (Regulation 32(4)) 24/02/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it, in particular to ensure that it is consistent with regulations. (Regulation 16(3)(a)) 24/02/2017

p.4

Recommendations

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

p.4

Recommendations

 That the registered manager reviews the content of care plans to ensure that all staff are able to understand the specific needs of young people and how these can best be met. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.15)

p.4

Recommendations

 That the registered manager develops a clear workforce plan to monitor and develop staff capacity and competencies to deliver care as set out in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

p.4

Recommendations

 That the registered manager has clear systems in place to ensure that full and proper information is made available by placing authorities before a decision is made to accept a placement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)

p.4

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides therapeutic residential care and support for up to five children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. A separately registered school, on the same site, can be accessed by those living in the home. The home’s statement of purpose has been revised to offer services to girls only. Following a period of refurbishment, the home has reopened with a new manager, new staff and new name.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

18/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.5

Recent inspection history

21/11/2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Good

Staff display high levels of commitment towards and interest in the young people. As a consequence, young people feel valued and develop positive attachments to staff. One young person said, ‘I feel safe here. I have made progress in going to school and not running away. I love the staff; there is nothing that I would change here.’ Consistent routines, clear boundaries and staff continuity enable young people to develop a sense of security and belonging. They express their thoughts and feelings, and test boundaries. The resilient staff group is patient and able to absorb the negative effects of unwanted behaviours. This provides young people with opportunities to reflect on their actions and decisions and to learn better ways to deal with impulses and anxieties. Young people are helped to engage appropriately with plans for their futures and are supported in coming to terms with necessary delays in and restrictions on their

p.6

Good

activities. When they complain, they are taken seriously, and appropriate action is taken to address possible shortcomings. This helps them to feel valued and to learn life lessons. Specialist therapy services in the home are integrated into the weekly programme. Young people engage positively with these services. This helps them to gain perspective on their circumstances and to develop insight into the behaviours that undermine their progress and well-being. The therapeutic and care staff work closely together, and this helps the young people to build on the progress that they make in their day-to-day living as well as in therapy sessions. Young people who have withdrawn themselves from routine school attendance are helped by sensitive and patient staff to re-engage in mainstream education. This has required care staff to support one young person at school. This support is now reducing by mutual agreement. Young people’s learning is enhanced by the good

p.6

Good

communication and cooperation between their carers and their teachers. Young people contribute to the running of the home. They participate in weekly young people’s meetings and help to plan meals and activities. They help with cooking and domestic chores. This participation contributes to their investment in the home and their sense of belonging, builds confidence, increases a sense of competence and helps to prepare them for independence. The fully refurbished home, with good-quality furnishings and decor, offers young people a home in which they feel valued and respected. They like coming home and one said, ‘We like it here; it’s a really nice home.’ The location of the staff office in a purpose-built structure at the rear of the large garden reinforces the idea of the main building being a family home. Young people who have diverse backgrounds and belief systems are treated sensitively as individuals, and the development of their cultural identities is actively

p.6

Good

supported through observing food choices and sharing celebration days. This helps young people to feel appreciated as individuals and to sustain their family connections. The home works closely with placing authorities to arrange and facilitate young people’s contact with their families. This is done carefully to promote and nurture relationships that are helpful for the young people. This strengthens their support networks for independent living.

p.7

Good

The safeguarding needs of young people are meaningfully addressed through a combination of short- and long-term strategies. These include direct action when the young people place themselves at immediate risk, for example, by engaging in self-harming behaviour, running away or behaving erratically near busy roads. Longer-term strategies seek to identify and understand the underlying reasons for risk-taking behaviours, and how these can be effectively reduced. Information in this regard is obtained from referral information, key-working, therapeutic interventions and incident records.

p.7

Good

Staff increase pull factors to help young people to reduce their impulses to run away. This is achieved through developing young people’s engagement and sense of belonging in the home and by showing consistent interest in the details of their lives. Records show that the incidence of going missing reduces significantly after young people move in. When young people go missing, managers and staff respond with urgency in a controlled and coordinated manner and in accordance with individual missing protocols. The immediate and sustained efforts by staff to locate missing young people help to reduce the risk to which they expose themselves. Staff know and apply the prescribed return-home procedures as a further means to understand and reduce tendencies to run away. One young person said, ‘I used to be a road girl. They have really helped me to change here. Things will be different when I go home.’ Detailed and current risk assessments assist staff to understand the risks for each

p.7

Good

young person and how these risks can best be managed. Staff understand the need to allow young people to take risks that are appropriate to their stages of development. They are proactive in assessing the young people’s levels of maturity and responsibility for safe internet use. Individualised levels of supervision, access and coaching in online safety help to protect the young people from external threats. This is helped by a system of logins for which levels of access and filters can be customised. These profiles are regularly reviewed with young people and their placing authorities, and adjustments are made when necessary. Young people are helped to keep safe from child sexual exploitation and extremism by staff who are alert and informed about these threats through training, experience and regular practice discussions. Restraint practice by staff is in accordance with regulation and helps to reduce the

p.8

Good

risk of harm to people and property. Staff understand and are tolerant towards unwanted behaviours that are rooted in emotional trauma. This means that frustrated and angry young people are treated with insight and understanding and are not inappropriately criminalised.

p.8

Good

Managers and staff maintain close links with key safeguarding officers in the local area, with whom they readily consult when necessary. Any allegation against a member of staff is taken seriously, and procedures are strictly followed. Interviewed staff displayed high levels of sensitivity and clarity of thinking regarding staff conduct towards young people. Staff are clear about prioritising young people’s needs and safety and about the following of whistleblowing procedures. Staff recruitment and selection are conducted with care, and the principles of safe recruitment are understood and applied by managers. Proper vetting procedures are followed, together with a stringent induction programme and a probation period. This helps to prevent the young people from being exposed to unsuitable adults and to identify the most appropriate staff.

p.8

Good

A new staff team is confidently led by an experienced and qualified manager who is in the process of registration with Ofsted. Young people benefit from a motivated staff team, which is ambitious to provide high-quality therapeutic care in the re- branded home. Staff performance is enhanced by the cohesive team ethic that has developed from staff completing their induction and mandatory training together, before the first young person moved in. Leaders and managers are learning fast from placement experiences, and staff’s views and opinions are regularly sought by the manager to inform practice. Individual staff strengths are identified and employed to best advantage in the running and development of the home. Staff input and innovation are actively encouraged and supported. There is, however, no clear system in place to ensure that all relevant information has been obtained to enable proper consideration of

p.9

Good

matching young people and assessing capacity to meet needs when deciding on referrals made to the home. Staff are attuned to the moods and needs of the young people. They listen to what young people are saying and respond appropriately. Staff understand the plans for young people and work together to achieve these. Care plans, however, are not sufficiently specific about how target areas for change are to be achieved and how this will be measured.

p.9

Good

The needs and best interests of the young people are championed by a manager who is assertive and skilled in liaising with other agencies to achieve the best outcomes for young people. She is able to do this in an effective and positive manner when proposed actions by external agencies may be ill considered or performance inadequate.

p.9

Good

Leaders and managers have a clear vision for the development of the service. Safety and continuity of stable care for young people are currently prioritised, and the further development of the staff team is underway. Although there is a strong therapeutic element in the support provided to young people, this is not adequately integrated into their care and behaviour management plans. Young people profit from a staff team which is well equipped through relevant training and high-quality support to consistently deliver resilient and attentive care. Individual supervision is regular and valued by staff. Fortnightly group reflective practice sessions for all staff are facilitated by an external therapist. Staff place high value on this regular opportunity to reflect on their practice with each young person. They report deriving great benefit from sharing their experiences of young people’s behaviour and progress and are able to build on their understanding of

p.9

Good

Training is appropriately sequenced to prioritise key areas of safeguarding and essential aspects of proper care. There is, however, no clear workforce development plan in place to ensure that each member of staff is properly equipped to deliver therapeutic care, as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. Some staff have not met the timescale for achieving the required level 3 diploma, and this requirement is not described in line with regulations in the statement of purpose. Leaders and managers are clear about the procedures to follow when concerns arise about the protection and welfare of young people, particularly when these relate to the actions of a member of staff. Young people benefit from being taken seriously and seeing that full and proper action is taken when they express concerns. Leaders and managers understand the strengths of the service and are aware of the areas that require further development to ensure that the standard and quality

p.9

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors 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.11

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, 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 ensure that their welfare is 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.11

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.11

Information about this inspection

Inspectors 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 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.12

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.12

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.13

Information about this inspection

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

p.13

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.13

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.13