Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Buckinghamshire

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:

 A motivated, dedicated and stable staff team cares for the children. The staff are knowledgeable about individual children’s needs and can clearly identify the progress they have made.  All of the children consider that the relationships they have with the managers and staff are the home’s main strength. They all said they feel safe in the home, and can talk to any of the staff if they have a concern or worry.  The manager implements clear strategies that are effective to keep children safe. He manages care and safety well, and ensures that their practice is not oppressive.  The manager and staff have a clear understanding of the home’s ethos. They work together consistently and provide clear and consistent boundaries to meet the needs of the children.  All children make good progress from their starting points in relation to their education, health, and physical and emotional well-being. A social worker

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The children’s home provision is good because:

supported this and reported, ‘He has made lots of progress since living at the home.’  The staff work well with the children’s families. The children have enjoyable contact with their families, friends and significant others.  The managers and staff work well with professionals, both internally and with external agencies, to support the children and keep them safe.  The management has a good awareness of the home’s strengths and of the areas that require improvement. This drives improvement to the service that children receive.  There are some shortfalls in practice, which relate to a lack of consistent daily routines to encourage school attendance; a lack of up-to-date records, such as accounts of key-work sessions; and a lack of memorabilia that relates to children’s lives at the home.  Internal monitoring reports do not provide for consultation with parents and placing authorities. Not all allegations have been notified to the senior

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The children’s home provision is good because:

management in line with the home’s safeguarding policy.

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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 with the given timescales. )

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Requirement Due date

2. In order to meet the education standard, the registered person must ensure: (a) that staff (viii) help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible.

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to ensuring that the daily routine of the home encourages children to attend their educational provisions. 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the records are kept up to date. This is with particular regard to key-work sessions and complaints records. (Regulation 37(2)(b)) 03/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(5)) 31/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that staff report any allegations of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)  Ensure staff keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for four children, irrespective of gender, aged between 12 and 18 years, who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 27/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/05/2015 Full Good 10/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/07/2014 Full Good

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Good

The children benefit from warm and positive relationships with the staff. The staff’s knowledge of the children’s vulnerabilities and needs is comprehensive, and they can identify the progress that the children make. Examples of the progress made by children include improvements in social skills; a reduction in aggressive and challenging behaviour; a reduction in offending and missing-from-care incidents; improvements in sleep patterns; and increased engagement with services offered to them. Therefore, children develop self-esteem and confidence; make positive plans for their futures; and develop positive attachments with the adults who care for them and with their families. A family member said, ‘They really are very good at supporting him. I couldn’t wish for better people to look after my son.’

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Good

The children live in a warm, welcoming and well-furnished home. They influence the running of the home in various ways, such as through day-to-day discussions regarding changes to rules of the home, chairing children’s meetings, and giving their views after incidents. This supports the children to feel valued, to grow in self- confidence and to develop a positive sense of identity and emotional resilience. They are listened to and treated with respect, and are relaxed in the company of staff.

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Good

The children are encouraged to attend education. One child has excellent school attendance, and has made significant progress while at the home. With regard to children who have finished school and are looking for courses, a social worker said that although one child is not currently engaging in education the staff have, ‘tried all they can. They have worked tirelessly and are looking around for training for him.’ For other children, while their educational attendance has improved from their starting points, more recently their attendance has decreased. Also, some children do not have an effective structure for the day. This means that children may get up late for the school day or refuse to complete work. Therefore, the daily routine does not consistently encourage children to attend school.

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Good

Comprehensive care planning, risk management procedures and behaviour management plans are in place. They provide clarity with regard to how staff should support children and they reflect the positive staff practice of the home. The assessment and review of plans is effective, and all professionals and parents are involved in this key process.

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Good

The children make progress with regard to their health. The staff work closely with the organisation’s psychotherapist and, where required, child and adolescent mental health services. The psychotherapist attends the home weekly, and engages with the children to maintain and build relationships. This enables children to have specialist professionals who they can talk to and who help them to manage their feelings in a different way, and provides staff with strategies for supporting the children. This multi- and inter-agency working ensures that children’s emotional and psychological health needs are met. As a result, there are fewer incidents of self-harm, missing-from-home and challenging behaviour.

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Good

When children move in to the home, staff promptly register them with the local health professionals. When a child is reluctant to attend health appointments, the manager consults with the child to identify individual incentives to help them attend. The children eat healthy, nutritious, home-cooked food, and staff and children sit together at meal times, helping to build on children’s social skills. Some children smoke cigarettes and cannabis, but staff actively discourage this. They support children to complete relevant workbooks that are produced by the organisation. Staff also bring in external agencies to educate children regarding the risks and dangers of cigarettes and cannabis. This provides children with knowledge that is appropriate to their age and understanding with regard to keeping safe and making informed lifestyle choices.

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Good

The staff support the children to take part in a range of purposeful activities, such as go-karting, sports, and attending the gym. The staff promote children’s interests and natural talents. Recently, the staff and children held an exhibition of the children’s artwork in the local community. They seek new possibilities and activities that will broaden children’s horizons and consequently enhance their social and personal development.

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Good

The staff support children’s contact with their families, friends and significant people in their lives. They help them to develop and maintain relationships with people who are important to them. This is achieved through keeping the children’s families updated on the progress they are making and arranging transport for contact. One family member said, ‘They are 100% brilliant, honestly. They have saved us as a family.’

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Good

The children make progress in learning skills such as budgeting, cooking, self-care and social skills. As part of a moving on package, some children are completing a programme that guides and informs them through different elements of independence. These are skills that the children can carry into adulthood and that will provide them with an increased level of independence. Where possible, the staff make sure that children have planned moves and that they understand why they are moving and have an opportunity to visit their new home.

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Good

The children say they feel safe living in the home. This is because the staff are committed to their responsibility to keep the children safe. Placing authorities and family members who were spoken to during the inspection supported this. The staff are knowledgeable about the home’s policies and procedures, and implement them confidently. As a result, children feel safe and secure in the home.

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Good

The home has a clear safeguarding policy and in general staff know the action they need to take if a concern is raised or allegation is made. However, during the inspection it was noted that a member of staff had completed the wrong form following a recent allegation and therefore this action had failed to alert senior management. The management addressed this immediately, and the local authority designated officer confirmed that the incident did not meet the threshold for further action. While there has been a limited impact on the child, due to the short timescale within which management took action, the staff failed to ensure that senior managers were aware of an allegation that had been made.

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Good

The staff spend good-quality time with the children and strong relationships have developed. The children say they can talk to any of the staff if they have concerns. The staff work positively with the children. They are nurturing; they know the children very well; and they understand why the children behave in the way that they do. The organisation’s psychotherapist visits weekly and chairs monthly child- focused meetings with staff. This enables staff to understand the children’s needs in more depth and to agree on the strategies that they consistently implement to support the children.

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Good

The children do not identify bullying as a concern. This is because staff implement the home’s written policy for the prevention of bullying. On occasions when bullying was historically a concern, the service acted swiftly. For example, discussions with children took place in key-work sessions and bullying panels were held. This approach provides the children with a clear message that bullying is not acceptable.

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Good

Some children go missing. On these occasions, staff are proactive in following children, contacting the children if they lose sight of them and working with the local police to locate children and return them to the home. As a result of the warm relationships that the children have with the staff, along with effective risk assessments and clear expectations, children have significantly reduced their missing-from-care incidents in relation to their starting points at the home. This is a positive demonstration that the children are comfortable and feel safe living at the home.

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Good

The staff ensure that each child is aware of all their positive achievements, such as being kind to someone, tidying their bedroom, or staying calm during an incident. They verbally praise and reward through incentives, such as going out for a milkshake, giving the child a voucher or bringing forward a paid activity. The children respond well to the praise and rewards they receive for positive behaviour and know that the staff are proud of their achievements. The children are clear on the behaviour management system within the home, and staff implement this well. Some children have reached the highest level and others strive to attain this. This has resulted in a decrease in both the number and severity of challenging incidents within the home. When physical intervention is used, it is as a last resort and takes place for the minimum amount of time. The children receive clear and consistent messages from staff that they are cared for and that their well-being is promoted.

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Good

Staff are carefully selected and are vetted as being suitable to work with and care for the children. This ensures that all efforts are made by the organisation to verify that all staff are assessed as suitable to work with children.

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Good

The manager, in conjunction with external agencies, has developed a detailed location risk assessment which identifies areas that may present risks to the children. The local community police officer, who visits the manager, staff and children and has a good working relationship with them, reported, ‘I try to attend the care home every other week for a social call, just to sit down and talk with residents and staff about any issues or concerns they may have. This approach has led to a dramatic reduction in the number of incidents reported to the police.’

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Good

The registered manager has been in post since March 2016, and registered with Ofsted in December 2016. He has over 11 years of experience in working with children, and has attained the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The manager provides the home with strong and effective leadership. A senior staff member reported, ‘ W e are clear with the team and the young people on our expectations and routine, and it is now a solid team with good guidance as well.’ The manager works positively with other agencies and professionals to enable children to have a holistic care package, in line with their individual plans. A social worker said that the organisation has ‘A good working relationship with me, and keeps me in the loop’.

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Good

The service does well in providing the children with a safe and stimulating environment that provides good levels of care and support. The members of the team are passionate about their work with the children and feel supported by the management and other staff within the home and the organisation. A staff member reported, ‘I feel that the manager cares. He takes time out to check the staff are alright. The staff also receive a lot of praise, not only from the managers but also other staff.’

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Good

The staffing levels at the home are good and provide children with competent adults to care for them and fulfil a positive parenting role. The staff team is stable, experienced and diverse; staff members have a range of life experiences through which they can broaden children’s horizons. All staff receive good-quality, reflective supervision. They have personal development plans with objectives for them to reach, and management seek children’s views as part of each staff member’s development. This helps to improve staff practice. The management provide staff with training to support their work with children. This covers not only mandatory areas, but also areas such as trauma and its impact in terms of the brain, adolescent behaviour, attachment issues and solvent abuse. Some staff have attained their level 3 diploma for residential childcare, and other staff are currently completing theirs. This ensures that the children are cared for by skilled and

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Good

The manager has met the five requirements and two recommendations made at the last inspection. The manager speaks to children following the use of a measure of control in order to seek their views. The independent visitor now visits the home on a monthly basis, and provides a copy of the report to Ofsted and the organisation in a timely manner. The manager implements the organisation’s system to make sure that all significant events are notified to Ofsted and placing authorities. This ensures that all relevant agencies are aware of the incident and the action taken to reduce a reoccurrence. Since the last inspection the organisation has appointed a new manager. There is now a clear system in place that can be implemented if the manager is away for an amount of time that requires Ofsted to be notified. The manager has updated the home’s statement of purpose, and this provides information about the home for interested parties. The

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Good

manager has reviewed all children who move in and out of the home. As a result, when possible, children will be admitted in a planned way. This gives children time to ask any potential questions, visit the home and start to build relationships with staff and other children. Therefore, only children who the manager assesses as suitable will be admitted to the home.

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Good

The management conducts effective monitoring activities and external monthly visits are carried out. These highlight shortfalls and act as a mechanism for identifying action that will improve the service in the interests of the children. Managers have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. As a result, managers are able to demonstrate the impact that living in the home is having on the children, while continually driving forward improvements. However, the manager has failed to incorporate into the home’s internal monitoring report the consultation that has occurred with placing authorities and parents. While this has a minimal impact on the service, it means that there is a failure to demonstrate how their views have impacted on the development of the home. The statement of purpose outlines the aims and objectives of the service. The home is operating in line with this statement and the principles are understood by

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Good

interested parties. Staff fully embrace the ethos of the home, and view this as central to their work to provide children with a child-centred approach. A child has recently changed the children’s guide, making it more child-friendly and easier to refer to. This demonstrates that the children are involved in developing the home through the implementation of their views and ideas.

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Good

There are close working relationships between staff, other professionals, social workers and families. The manager’s communication processes are strong and effective. A social worker said, ‘They keep me up to date, and I always receive monthly reports. These are quite detailed and tell me about the day-to-day running of the placement, so I get a picture of what is going on.’ Another professional supported this: ‘Communication, especially with the manager, deputy and the organisation’s psychotherapist, is really good.’ These successful working relationships support children and contribute to their good outcomes.

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Good

The manager has worked hard to develop good working relationships with the local community. This has been achieved through holding community meetings; establishing a dedicated complaint line through which members of the local community can raise concerns; responding to concerns that have been raised; and working with external professionals and neighbours within the community to ease any anxiety. As a result, while there are still a number of complaints regarding the home, these have significantly reduced both in number and in the degree of concern expressed.

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Good

The manager efficiently implements the organisation’s system for notifying relevant agencies of information that relates to significant events. This ensures that concerns about children’s safety are shared by the home in order to protect the children.

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Good

The children’s records are stored securely. However, not all records are up to date, such as those that relate to children’s therapeutic key-work sessions. In addition, there is a lack of memorabilia associated with the time that children spend living at the home. While this has a limited impact on the children, it does mean that there are no records that capture their lives and the significant events that take place while they live at 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 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

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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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