Children's home run by Active Ark Limited in Cumberland

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:

 Staff are ambitious for the young people in their care and support them to make very good progress across all aspects of their lives.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Young people enjoy positive relationships with members of staff who know them well and understand their needs.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff ensure young people’s healthcare needs are addressed. They work positively with young people, supporting them to maintain heathy lifestyles.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff encourage young people to achieve. The young people’s educational attainment and independence skills are strongly supported.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 A good understanding of the risks to the safety and well-being of young people help staff to support them in a safe and effective manner.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding practice and are able to identify and respond effectively to any safeguarding concerns.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Young people are supported to reduce high-risk behaviours and to gain skills in keeping themselves safe.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The home benefits from consistent management and staff feel well supported in their day-to-day work.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

To continue to improve the home needs to:

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Ensure that young people’s behaviour support plans include more detailed individualised guidance, which would assist staff in achieving a more consistent approach.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Ensure that the needs of young people are carefully considered and that impact risk assessments are used in an effective way, when considering the admission of young people to the home.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Provide staffing levels that are consistent with young people’s assessed needs and the information in their risk assessments.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Provide Ofsted with monthly independent visit reports to demonstrate that effective monitoring of the quality and safety of the service takes place on an ongoing basis.

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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

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 – 13(2)(d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child 06/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure children –

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Requirement Due date

(1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and (b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure – (a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; (b) that arrangements are in place to – (i) ensure the effective induction of each child into the home 06/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

( 7) The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to – (a) HMCI; (b) upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located; (c) the placing authorities of children; (d) the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered 06/02/2017 manager; and (e) the responsible individual (if one is nominated).

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31 to 33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 Any use of restraint carries risks. These include causing physical injury, psychological trauma or emotional disturbance. When considering whether restraint is warranted, staff in children’s homes need to take into account: –the age and understanding of the child; –the size of the child; –the relevance of any disability, health problem or medication to the behaviour in question and the action that might be taken as a result; –the relative risks of not intervening; –the child’s previously sought views on strategies that they considered might de- escalate or calm a situation, if appropriate; –the method of restraint which would be appropriate in the specific circumstances; and –the impact of the restraint on the carer’s future relationship with the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.55)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community, specifically that any consequences are proportionate, reasonable and relevant to the behaviour presenting a concern (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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Recommendations

 In addition to the requirements of this standard, the registered person has specific responsibilities under regulation 34 to prepare and implement policies setting out: arrangements for the safeguarding of children from abuse or neglect; clear procedures for referring child protection concerns to the placing authority or local authority where the home is situated if appropriate; and specific procedures to prevent children going missing and take action if they do. The policy on protection of children from abuse and neglect should include arrangements in relation to dealing with allegations involving staff in the home and e-safety, and to counter risks of self-harm and suicide. All policies should be reviewed regularly and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to accommodate up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/01/2016 Full Good 12/11/2014 Full Adequate

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Good

The quality of individualised care provided to young people who live in this home supports them in making very good progress across all aspects of their lives. A social worker involved in the care of one young person commented, ‘I have been very impressed with the work they have done with X. I am amazed at his progress.’

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Good

Young people are cared for by a small, stable staff whose members know them well and understand their needs. This means that young people are able to develop secure and trusting relationships with staff members. A young person spoke extremely highly of their support staff. They commented, ‘They are nice men and ladies. They don’t ever try to get one over on you. They just want to help you.’

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Good

Staff support young people to share their feelings and express their views about their care. During the inspection, a young person was being supported by their keyworker to prepare for a meeting with external professionals. The staff member encouraged the young person to write down their thoughts and feelings as well as any questions they wanted to ask, before the meeting. The young person was accompanied during the meeting by staff members of their choice, including their keyworker. Supporting young people to express their views and wishes helps to ensure that they have a voice and that they are listened to.

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Good

The registered manager ensures that young people have access to external advocacy. Arrangements had been put in place to enable one young person to raise concerns with their placing authority, with assistance from an external advocate. This demonstrates that young people’s views are acted upon.

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Good

Records demonstrate that good quality direct work is carried out with young people on a frequent basis. The records show that the young people are encouraged to express their thoughts and views and engage in discussions with staff about the things that are important to them.

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Good

The needs of young people who are placed long distances from their families are fully considered. For example, one young person receives staff support to visit their home town on a regular basis. Highly detailed agreements between the young person and supporting staff are in place to establish arrangements for the young person’s independence time during these visits. The measures to be taken to maintain their safety and well-being, such as phone contact with staff at agreed times, are also clearly recorded. This has helped the young person to maintain important relationships and build independence within the area to which they will soon return. The young person likes this arrangement and commented, ‘I always stick to the agreements. I show I can do it. It’s gone really well every time.’

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Good

Staff support young people to lead healthy lifestyles and ensure that they receive health care support when required. For one young person, this has resulted in a remarkable physical transition since the point of their admission. They experienced a significant and much needed weight gain following their admission to the home due to the regular wholesome meals they received. They are now working on maintaining their healthy weight through sensible eating. This young person spoke of their new experience of many foods that they had never tried before. They commented that they were enjoying learning to cook as part of their independence programme. A social worker told us that the young person was unrecognisable in appearance from the point of their admission.

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Good

Staff have supported one young person to undergo much needed dental treatment. The young person had felt unable to have the treatment in the past due to a fear of needles. The staff worked closely with the young person about their fears and involved community health care professionals. This resulted in the young person eventually managing to successfully undergo the treatment.

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Good

Staff support young people’s educational attainment. One young person now engages in education for the first time in several years and has achieved a number of awards. The registered manager has ensured that the provision which is in place for the young person can be continued following their impending return to their home town. The young person said he was glad about this.

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Good

The registered manager and staff are aware of the importance of preparing young people for moves to more independent living. One young person has a clear pathway plan in place, designed to assist them in developing skills to succeed independently. Part of the planning includes positive risk taking, such as increased free time and independent travel. The young person felt this programme was going well and was helping him to prepare for the future.

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Good

Staff are ambitious for the young people in their care and proud of their achievements. One young person has completed a piece of artwork demonstrating all their achievements since they came to live at the home. They were clearly very proud of this and commented, ‘Can you believe I have achieved all this in a year? If you knew me a year ago you would never believe it.’

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Good

Staff are committed to promoting young people’s safety and well-being. They are aware of the risks to young people and the measures required to protect them. A variety of risk assessments are in place, and staff regularly review them to ensure that they reflect the young people’s current circumstances. This helps to ensure that young people receive care that promotes their safety and well-being.

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Good

A young person spoke at length about how the care he had received at the home had helped him to adopt a safer lifestyle. He said, ‘Where would I be now if it wasn’t for these lot [staff]? They’ve showed me a different way of doing things and I’ve turned my life around in a year.’ A social worker commented on the young person’s care, stating, ‘They are like a different young person from when they first came here. Even physically you can see how much their lifestyle has improved.’

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Good

An assessment of the local area, and any potential hazards that it presents, is in place and regularly reviewed. This work takes place in partnership with other agencies, including the local police. Having good knowledge of local risks to young people means that staff can be vigilant about the risks and work with young people to raise their awareness.

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Good

The registered manager and staff understand that positive risk taking is an important element of young people’s independence planning. This is reflected in young people’s care planning, for example within free-time agreements, which are updated on a daily basis. This helps young people to learn skills that will assist them to keep safe as they move to more independent living.

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Good

Incidents of young people being missing from this home are rare. There are individualised risk assessments and protocols for each young person, which provide staff with clear guidance if this situation does occur. This helps to ensure a robust and well-coordinated response takes place to help safeguard young people who are missing from home.

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Good

A procedure is in place which sets out the action to be taken by staff to help ensure that young people are protected against risks associated with internet use. This guidance could be clearer in terms of the support required by individual young people. However, it was under review at the time of the inspection. This will help young people to develop the skills to keep themselves safe when using the internet.

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Good

All members of staff have a good understanding of safeguarding practice. They are fully aware of their responsibility to protect young people from abuse and they are able to confidently describe reporting procedures. Staff are fully aware of the roles of external agencies and report confidence in their organisation’s whistle blowing policy. This helps to ensure that any safeguarding concerns are reported and dealt with in a prompt manner.

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Good

Staff support young people to manage their behaviour in a positive way. Incidents requiring physical intervention are extremely rare, with no such incidents reported since before the last inspection of the home.

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Good

Young people are supported to maintain positive behaviour through the use of clear boundaries and consequences. Records of consequences issued by staff show that their approach is, at times, inconsistent. In addition, some sanctions that had been issued were found to be irrelevant to the behaviour being addressed. Behaviour support plans that were more detailed and tailored to each individual young person would help to support a consistent approach.

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Good

Young people are provided with a safe, comfortable environment. The home is furnished and maintained to a good standard. The registered manager carries out regular checks to ensure that all areas of the home and equipment, such as fire safety equipment, are fit for purpose. This helps to maintain young people’s safety.

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Good

The registered manager ensures that all members of staff employed at the home are carefully recruited. All prospective members of staff are required to undergo a variety of background checks before they are offered employment. Such checks include a full employment history and a criminal records check. This helps to protect young people from contact with people of unsuitable character in their home.

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Requires improvement

The home is effectively managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. The registered manager demonstrates commitment to prioritising young people’s needs, which are central to the running of the home.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has recently reviewed the statement of purpose to ensure that it reflects the home’s aims and objectives and provides up to date and current information about the service provided. Staff show a good understanding of the aims of the service and their role within it.

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Requires improvement

Most young people who live in this home make continual good progress. The young person who currently lives in the home has made remarkable progress in all areas of their life. A social worker said, ‘They provide an excellent level of care. The service is very child centred and nurturing.’

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Requires improvement

Community professionals express satisfaction with the service and the manner in which the registered manager and staff work with them. A member of the local police force who has worked with the service for several years described the registered manager’s proactive approach to safeguarding young people as ‘excellent’.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager champions young people’s rights and challenges external services if there are concerns about the quality of support a young person is receiving. This helps to ensure that young people are not disadvantaged by their circumstances and feel supported in raising concerns.

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Requires improvement

Evidence was found that the needs of all young people have not always been fully considered when agreeing new admissions to the home. A young person was recently admitted without a robust assessment of the effect that this would have on another young person already living there. The match was not a good one and it was acknowledged by the registered manager and staff that it resulted in a negative effect on one of the young people’s behaviour. A requirement has been raised in relation to this issue. Required staffing levels are assessed in accordance with the needs of young people who live in the home. However, rotas from some periods show that staffing levels have not always been in line with the assessed needs of young people or in accordance with their risk assessments. This means that the safety and effectiveness of the service could have been compromised due to a failure to provide the correct resources. A requirement has been raised in relation to this

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Requires improvement

Staff describe a supportive environment within which they feel able to raise concerns and express their views and ideas. Formal supervision is provided on a regular basis, providing staff with the opportunity to discuss matters such as training needs, work performance and any concerns that they may have.

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Requires improvement

Staff work shift patterns, which include sleep-in duties. The shifts and sleep-in duties can result in them being at the home for several days at a time. While all staff expressed satisfaction with this arrangement, it is recommended that the registered manager monitors individual staff members’ working patterns and ensures that they are discussed duringsupervision. This will help the registered manager to identify whether any staff member’s performance is being affected by the shift patterns.

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Requires improvement

There is a comprehensive training programme in place, which includes a range of mandatory courses designed to enhance care workers’ skills. These include courses in areas such as safeguarding and positive behaviour management. Staff are also encouraged to obtain nationally recognised qualifications in caring for children and young people. Currently one staff member is in the process of obtaining their qualification and the rest of the team have successfully completed theirs. This positive approach to training helps to ensure that staff supporting young people have the knowledge and skills to do so in a safe manner. A range of quality assurance systems enables the registered manager to monitor safety and quality across the service. These include a variety of regular checks and audits within the home that help to identify areas for development. Requirements made at the last inspection in relation to records and the home’s statement of

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Requires improvement

purpose have been addressed in a satisfactory manner.

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Requires improvement

A professional who is independent of the home carries out a monthly visit to assess standards across all aspects of the service. Following these visits, a report is provided to the registered manager. The registered manager is able to demonstrate action taken to address recommendations made within the reports. However, provision of these reports to Ofsted has been inconsistent, resulting in a failure to demonstrate effective monitoring of the service. A requirement has been raised in relation to this matter.

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Requires improvement

Adverse incidents such as complaints or accidents are recorded and addressed in an appropriate manner. However, records of investigations and action taken are not always available in the home, as they are sometimes forwarded to the head office of the organisation. Records of such incidents and action taken are an important tool to enable the registered manager to monitor the service and identify areas for development. As such, a recommendation is made that they are maintained within the home in addition to the head office.

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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 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

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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