Children's home run by Happy Group (UK) Limited

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:

Young people are happy and make significant progress with regards to their emotional health, risk-taking behaviours, education, confidence and self-esteem.  Staff build warm and nurturing relationships with young people. This is key to the progress they make.  Staff help young people to build strong family relationships. Friendships are also encouraged.  The safety of young people is paramount, but does not hinder their growth and development. Young people feel safe. Young people rarely go missing from this home. Creative and supportive strategies are utilised to help young people feel safe and secure so they do not feel the need to hurt themselves.  Young people benefit from a family-style home where they can relax and feel safe.  Staff are child focussed in everything they do, which helps young people to make good progress. They enjoy their work and feel very well supported by their peers and the management team.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The registered manager is a strong advocate for young people. He is qualified and experienced. He has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses, and has plans to address identified shortfalls and develop the home further.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation up to three children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a small private provider and was registered last year. This is the home’s first inspection.

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Good

Young people are very happy living at this home. A young person felt passionately that the home should be rated outstanding as ‘it’s just so nice’. A family member said: ‘This is the best place she has ever been to. I can’t praise the place enough.’ Young people enjoy the company of staff and build strong attachments with them. Staff have warm and nurturing relationships with young people. A mental health worker said that the young person had said she really appreciated that staff gave her a really good Christmas. They made her feel cared for and important.’ Young people make significant progress in a short space of time with regards to their emotional health, risk-taking behaviours, education, resilience and confidence. Furthermore, they have a good understanding of the progress they’ve made and the impact this has on the decisions they make. For example, they understand the risks posed to them in their home town, which affects their decision making about

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Good

whether to return. A family member said: ‘She has made big time progress.’ Young people are consulted about their care and the day to day running of the home. For example, they look through their records and add comments. They choose the décor in their bedrooms, what activities they take part in and meals they eat. They are actively listened to by staff, who ensure that their views are considered when decisions are made about their care, such as decisions around contact arrangements with family and friends. Young people have good access to healthcare. They are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians. They are encouraged to attend healthcare appointments. They also have direct access to a mental health worker who regularly visits the home. Furthermore, young people have access to a children and adolescent mental health group called the protected behaviours group. Young people who attend this group positively engage. They also access specialists in dealing with sexual

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Good

exploitation, who work closely with staff and the home’s mental health worker. The combination of external professionals and the nurturing relationships staff have with young people has had a significant impact on young people’s emotional well- being and risk-taking behaviours. For example, instances of self-harm, substance misuse and going missing have considerably reduced for young people. The registered manager has been a strong advocate to ensure that young people get an education placement that is right for each individual. Education placements have taken a long time to source due to delays within the local authority, and a reluctance from a mainstream school to put young people on their roll. Nevertheless, during this time, young people were able to settle into the home and get to know the staff and routines. A range of activities were sourced such as horse riding, the gym and youth clubs. Young people also enjoy cooking with staff. The

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Good

planning of activities, especially during education time, is something the registered manager is reviewing to ensure that this is more structured and, therefore, young people are supported to sustain, or regain, their confidence in education. Young people enjoy a good level of contact with family and friends. Staff facilitate this contact as they understand the importance of maintaining a good network of family and friends. For example, staff will transport family to and from the home. Family members are invited for regular Sunday lunches. When one young person wanted to see her sister on Christmas day, staff transported the sister to ensure that they could spend this important family time together. Young people benefit from a well-furnished modern home that is warm and welcoming. They have individual bedrooms that are highly personalised. One young person was very proud of her leopard-print wallpaper. This has given them a sense

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Outstanding

Young people feel safe living at this home. Staff have warm and supportive relationships with them which helps them to feel safe and secure. Consequently, they rarely go missing from this home. A young person who went missing regularly prior to moving to this home has not been missing at all. Staff implement good procedures when young people do go missing. Staff have a good understanding of the home’s child protection procedures and effectively implement these where there is a child protection concern. Creative and innovative practice helps young people to keep themselves safe. For example, children and young people who self-harm are encouraged to use a mobile phone application that helps to distract and change thoughts when they are feeling anxious and feel they may hurt themselves. Positive behaviour is very well promoted through the strength of the relationships staff and young people have with each other. Staff are trained in physical

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Outstanding

intervention, but to date have not used this. Furthermore, staff have not used sanctions when behaviour has been challenging. They prefer to talk to the young person. They know the young people well and are highly skilled at de-escalating young people who are anxious or angry. They build up a level of trust with young people, gradually giving them back what they have lost through the looked after system. For example, a young person who was at high risk of sexual exploitation now has a smartphone. This was achieved gradually and checks are in place to ensure that the phone is used appropriately, but the young person is delighted with this. Risks are managed well. Young people are allowed to take age-appropriate risks to help with their growth and development. Furthermore, risk management does not hinder the progress that young people make. For example, a young person who was at high risk of sexual exploitation was moved out of their home county. As

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Outstanding

their risk-taking behaviour has drastically reduced, short trips back to their home county have been agreed and taken place safely. This is something the young person wanted and, therefore, is another example of staff listening to them and making something happen rather than having a feeling of being let down, as is their previous experience.

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Good

The home is newly registered. The registered manager is qualified to national vocational qualification level 4 in Health and Social Care (Children and Young People). This is the first time the manager has been registered. However, he has previously been a very experienced deputy manager. He is supported by a very well-qualified and experienced responsible individual. Together, they make a strong team that provides good support and guidance to staff. The management team has good monitoring systems in place that help it to understand patterns and trends of behaviour and identify shortfalls. The development plan addresses shortfalls and how the team intends to further develop the home. Staff are passionate about providing a good service for young people, one that resembles a family home. Their aim is to provide a home that is between fostering and a residential home. The management team calls this ‘Rostering’. Staff are child

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Good

focussed in everything they do, which helps young people to make good progress. They enjoy their work and feel very well supported by their peers and the management team. Staff are developing their practice and working well as a team. They are consistent in their approach to young people. They see nurturing relationships as key to improving outcomes for young people. They have a pedagogical approach, but currently lack the understanding of the theory behind their practice. They have access to good training opportunities, and further training is organised for staff to gain a better insight into the pedagogy approach they use. Staff foster strong relationships with external professionals. The registered manager is a strong advocate for young people and ensures that professionals who are not working in the child’s best interests are held accountable. For example, contact with family for one young person was going to be cut down by the placing

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Good

authority. The registered manager put forward strong arguments why this should not happen and, now, the young person’s family has played a big part in their progress. Furthermore, the young person is having contact with family members who they haven’t seen for a number of years. Complaints are dealt with quickly and effectively. Outcomes from complaints are used to inform practice.

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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 the ‘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 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 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 at 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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