Children's home run by Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 The registered person does not consistently promote young people’s safety and welfare. For example, the registered person does not support staff to help young people understand risk-taking behaviours, such as child sexual exploitation.  Physical intervention documents do not provide enough information to explain or evidence why young people are restrained on the floor in prone and supine holds.  Young people do not have enough opportunity to talk about their feelings regarding specific physical interventions.  The registered person does not review the effectiveness of restraints, such as prone and supine holds.  Safeguarding protocol was not explicitly followed when a young person made an allegation that a staff member harmed them. Statements were gathered from staff and the young person prior to referring the matter to the Designated Officer.  Staff do not help young people to have positive peer relationships with one

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because:

another. On occasions, after young people have been involved in conflict with one another, staff do not provide them with strategies to minimise future such occurrences and help them mend their relationship.  Young people’s individual crisis management plans lack personalisation. They do not provide enough guidance to staff so as staff can provide safe and nurturing care to young people.  There is a lack of learning from safeguarding incidents and young people’s complaints. On occasion a young person did not have feedback from the issues or complaints they raised.  Management oversight lacks objectivity and is not rigorous. The manager does not promote a culture of learning from important issues such as restraints, young people’s complaints or young people’s allegations.

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The children's home strengths

 Young people attend school and make educational progress from their starting points.  Some young people engage in lots of different activities and clubs such as performing arts clubs, athletics, cadets and football.  On the whole, young people’s risk-taking behaviours have decreased from their starting points.  Young people’s home environment is well-maintained and it is personalised, with lots of photographs of young people on the walls.  Staff are safely recruited and the organisation has good recruitment procedures.  Staff have had training in areas such as child sexual exploitation.  Young people’s relationships with their families have greatly improved.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered person/s meet/s 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered person must ensure that staff

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Requirement Due date

(2) (b) (iv) provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background. 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that staff

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Requirement Due date

(2) (a) (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.

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Requirement Due date

(ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

(iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must

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Requirement Due date

(1) (b) enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that promotes their welfare; 28/02/2017 (2) (f) 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

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Requirement Due date

(g) (ii) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that restraint in relation to a child is necessary and proportionate (Regulation 20 (2)). 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure (Regulation 35 (3) (a) (v)). 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person") has spoken to the user about the measure (Regulation 35 (3) (b) (i)). 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure (Regulation 35 (3) (c)). 28/02/2017

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned children’s home registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/08/2015 Full Good 18/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/09/2014 Full Good

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Requires improvement

Young people do not receive personalised and planned care. Young people’s plans do not provide individualised guidance to staff about effective de-escalation strategies for individual young people. The guidance around behaviour management strategies is generic for all young people’s plans and does not outline how staff are able to meet the individual needs of young people.

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Requires improvement

Young people are not involved within their plans. For example, Staff write behaviour management ‘contracts’ around such issues as free time or mobile phone use, and staff write ‘compliments’ for young people when they have achieved something. However, young people do not have copies of either of these documents and instead they are placed in young people’s files. Therefore, the benefits of these behaviour management strategies are not fully maximised. However, for some young people the ‘contracts’ have helped them to understand the expectations around free time and mobile phone use, and for one young person their free time has significantly increased.

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Requires improvement

Recent changes in the staff team means that young people are unsure about what their relationships are like with the staff team. A young person says, ‘It is ‘traumatic as you build relationships with people and then they leave’. Some young people say that they are unable to identify a trusted adult within their home to talk to, although this is not a consistent feeling shared by all young people. The registered person does not promote young people’s relationships in the home. After incidents where young people have physically assaulted one another, there is no follow up work completed with them. Young people do not have enough support or help to be able to manage their feelings for one another safely.

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Requires improvement

Young people say that they do not feel listened to. When young people raise a complaint or an issue, they do not always have feedback about the outcome. This has resulted in young people saying that they did not feel staff believed them when they made an allegation. There is a lack of learning after incidents. Key working sessions are not always planned and purposeful, and they do not always support the aims and objectives of the local authority placement plan. For example, there is a lack of planned key working sessions regarding young people’s current and historical risk-taking behaviours, such as child sexual exploitation, substance misuse or self-harm. This does not support young people’s progress. Young people have access to a therapist who addresses historical and current risk-taking behaviours with them. Young people engage with the therapist which benefits their emotional well-being. Young people make educational progress from their starting points. Their

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Requires improvement

attendance increases and they are achieving. Staff support young people to have new experiences. One young person is heavily involved in clubs such as athletics and performing arts, having recently performed in a show at a theatre. Staff encourage young people to engage in activities in the community and to make friends in the local area. This is positive for young people’s self-esteem.

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Requires improvement

Supporting family contact is a strength of the home. Staff have worked hard with placing authorities and young people’s parents to enable young people to have positive and safe family contact. Staff have established positive relationships with young people’s families and this has helped young people to settle in their placements. For some young people, their family contact has increased and is no longer supervised.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s safety and well-being is not consistently promoted in this home. The registered person uses a method of restraint which includes staff restraining young people on the floor in prone and supine holds. Young people’s risk assessments do not always provide guidance to staff as to what method of restraint they should use for individual young people. Documents of young people’s restraints do not provide enough information to describe the reasons for staff having used such significant restraints. Staff do not always detail the methods of de-escalation used and they do not try less restrictive restraints prior to using floor holds. Staff do not document how they make sure that the restraints are safe and that they are promoting young people’s safety. For example, they do not document whether someone checks young people’s well-being during restraints. Staff do not make sure that they document debriefs with one another or the manager after a

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Requires improvement

physical intervention. Young people do not have opportunity to provide feedback regarding the specific restraint itself, and their feelings regarding the restraint. However, the manager does spend time with young people discussing the behaviours and triggers which led to the restraint itself. On occasions when young people have raised issues with a restraint, the registered person has not referred to the Designated Officer straight away and in line with their own safeguarding policy. For example, the manager has gathered statements and investigated the matter prior to referring it to safeguarding. This potentially compromises the safety of young people during restraints.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s risk-management plans lack personalised information regarding managing young people’s risk-taking behaviours. It is not always evident what strategies staff have used to help young people make effective and sustainable progress. Staff do not always make sure that they effectively risk assess and address situations. For example, staff do not take preventative measures to ensure that young people use social media safely. Although some young people have engaged in a few sessions regarding child sexual exploitation, there is a lack of planned and ongoing work with them. Staff do not always make sure that they learn from safeguarding incidents and that they implement new ways of working with young people which increases their safety for the future.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s risk-taking behaviours, such as substance misuse, running away and child sexual exploitation, reduce from their starting points. When young people have gone missing, staff have searched for them. The registered person has worked with other agencies such as the police and placing authorities to increase young people’s safety and well-being. A dedicated therapist is assigned to the organisation and provides therapeutic strategies to young people. She liaises with the staff to help them implement new ways of working with young people. For some young people, there has been good progress and placing authorities say that they are pleased with how much the young person’s risk-taking behaviours have reduced; ‘We have gone from position of disruptive attachments, traumatic upbringing and what they have done is through therapeutic intervention and consistent boundaries, they have effectively turned him around. He is doing

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Requires improvement

positive things such as acting school, athletics and sports.’ The staff communicate and liaise with placing authorities when there are safeguarding concerns.

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Requires improvement

There is a manager in post who is currently going through the registration process with Ofsted. He is qualified up to NVQ level 3 in children and young people. He is in the process of gaining his NVQ level 5 in leadership and management. Out of the ten members of staff, five are qualified up to NVQ level 3 in children and young people.

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Requires improvement

Management oversight is not rigorous enough. The manager has failed to thoroughly review important documents, such as physical interventions. For example, when young people have complained of being hurt during physical interventions, he has not reviewed the restraint technique in order to reduce the risk of young people being hurt in future physical interventions. There is a lack of evaluation of the effectiveness of the floor holds. The registered person does not consult with physical intervention trainers to evaluate the suitability of specific holds for some young people. For example, when young people have vomited during floor holds, the registered person has not consulted restraint specialists to review the safety of floor holds. There is a lack of learning from incidents in the home in order to fully promote young people’s well-being and consequently the statement of purpose is not being implemented.

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Requires improvement

The manager does not fully understand the areas for development within the home. There is a lack of scrutiny of young people’s plans or their progress. When the manager has identified possible situations which cause young people distress, such as family contacts, he has not effectively acted on this. The manager has not put into place effective strategies to support staff in managing young people’s emotions and feelings. This potentially impacts on some young people’s progress.

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Requires improvement

There is a relatively new staff team in place. The lack of rigorous plans for young people means that new staff do not know how to de-escalate young people’s behaviours. While supervisions for staff are frequent, they do not offer staff enough guidance around managing young people’s complex needs. Partnership working with the therapist and some placing authorities is positive. The manager has promoted young people’s activities and he has enabled them to have some positive experiences and increase their self-esteem around socialising. He has worked with placing authorities and activity organisers so that some young people can go away for weekend with cadets and athletics. Young people say they enjoy these experiences.

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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 looked after children 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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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