Children's home run by Next Stage 4Life Limited in Bolton

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 enjoy living here. They like the staff and feel safe and secure.  Young people have made very good progress from their starting points. They are enjoying school and their attendance at school is 100%.  Young people participate in new activities and experiences and are growing in confidence.  Leadership and management arrangements are strong and effective, setting very high standards of care that are followed through by the staff.  There are good relationships between the staff and young people. They identify staff that they feel very comfortable with and would share their thoughts with.  Young people are learning to manage their behaviour and emotions due to the effective support from the staff. Consequently, physical interventions are reducing significantly.  Partner agencies and parents are highly complimentary of the care and support provided to young people.  The staff work hard with young people and their parents to develop

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The children's home provision is good because:

relationships. This has led to their seeing each other more frequently.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) the Care Standards Act 2000, 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

(3)(d) The registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of matters in Schedule 2. 20/02/2017

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Information about this children's home

The children's home is one of a number of homes operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young persons who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This is the first inspection following registration.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

N/A (first inspection following registration)

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Good

Young people are cared for by a committed staff team in a homely and nurturing environment akin to a family home. The staff place the well-being of each individual young person at the heart of their practice, irrespective of the very challenging behaviour presented. Young people like living here and feel that this is their home. A young person commented, ‘I would give this home nine out of 10. There is always room for improvement.’

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Good

Young people are making good progress in all aspects of their development. They have full attendance at school and are achieving their targets. They also receive awards from the school for their progress. The staff champion young people’s rights; as a result, one young person is due to start a new school placement. The staff welcome the young people back home following their day at school and chat about the things they have done. They also attend parents’ evenings and provide equipment, such as computers and books, to encourage learning and success.

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Good

Young people’s health needs are well met. They are registered with appropriate healthcare services and attend all appointments. The staff successfully encouraged one young person to have dental treatment for the first time ever, which was a huge achievement for this young person. Marked improvements are also seen in their appearance and self-care skills. This demonstrates young people’s growing confidence and trust in the staff.

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Good

Young people participate in a range of social and recreational activities, including army cadets, martial arts club, ice skating, football, swimming and basketball, and they visit their friends. One young person has won first prize in a writing competition, and is having her story published. These are all fine examples of young people having positive experiences and growing in confidence.

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Good

Young people new to the home have an effective introduction, and assessments are completed to manage the impact of group living. A young person’s guide is available to explain the running of the home. Since the last inspection, one young person has left the home. Despite the efforts of the staff, the placement ended unplanned. The managers have reviewed this to learn and improve further.

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Good

Staff fully support young people to stay in touch with their families and have a good understanding of their background histories and relationships. They work proactively with parents and partner agencies to ensure that contact is safe and enjoyable. Notably, staff have worked successfully with parents to increase contact in the best interests of young people. The staff work to the principles and ethos of the statement of purpose. They provide a warm, nurturing, calm, supportive and homely environment. In line with the aims of the home, all staff strive to ensure that young people’s views and opinions are central to the operation of the home.

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Good

The safety and protection of young people living here are at the heart of care practice. Young people said that they feel safe and protected by the staff. Moreover, effective planning with partner agencies helps to minimise risks and vulnerabilities of young people. For example, there are significantly reduced incidents of young people going missing from home, making them safer. A social worker commented: ‘I am very happy with the care and safety here. Staff are excellent.’

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Good

The staff have regular good-quality training in safeguarding and have a good understanding of how to protect young people. Organisational policies and procedures are in place to guide staff practice. These measures complement the culture of safety and protection in the home.

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Good

The staff have a good understanding of young people’s needs and have developed strategies to manage their individual behaviours successfully. As a result, physical interventions with young people are significantly reducing. These are fully reviewed by the registered manager for their appropriateness. The staff are also trained in a certified method of physical intervention to safely care for young people.

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Good

The staff work with young people to educate them in keeping themselves safe. For example, the young people have guidance from staff on using the internet and social media safely. The young people have individual key-working sessions to help them to make sense of their feelings and emotions. These sessions allow the young people meaningful time together away from the group to build resilience and confidence.

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Good

On the whole, the staff are recruited and selected through a process that takes account of safer recruitment practice to promote the safety of young people. This includes checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). However, on one occasion, an employee’s third reference from a previous employer was not secured by the manager or any risk assessment completed, to ensure that only the safest adults work with young people. Judgement grade

p.7

Good

This home is very well managed by an experienced and qualified registered manager. She is supported by a deputy manager and, together, they create a homely and child-centred culture that filters through to the staff team.

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Good

There are effective relationships between the manager, staff and partner agencies. All professionals spoken with report very high levels of satisfaction with the care and progress of young people and the professionalism of the staff. They comment: ‘I am very impressed with the home. The cooperation and dedication and continuity [have] been second to none’, and ‘I am very happy. Communication has been excellent. Staff are always available. The manager is excellent in relation to partnership working.’

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Good

Good-quality audit systems are in place and provide an overview of care practice. The registered manager has systems in place to monitor the care provided and is fully aware of the strengths and areas for development in the service. Robust independent monitoring also provides for scrutiny, and actions set are welcomed by the staff so that they can learn and improve further. Significant incidents are appropriately investigated by the registered manager and reported to the appropriate authorities to ensure that information is shared to protect young people.

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Good

Staff spoken to enjoy their work and are highly complimentary of the management team. They have guidance, policies and procedures to support their care practice. They also have regular training, supervisions, appraisals and team meetings, to further ensure their competence in delivering a high standard of care. The staff are suitably qualified or working towards this. There are sufficient numbers of staff members working here and they have the right skills to meet the needs of young people.

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Good

Records reflect the needs of young people and ways in which the staff are meeting them. There is a clear sense, from the records, about how young people are doing on a daily basis. Their progress and achievements are well monitored, and reports and summaries to the placing authorities are informative . This reflects the staff’s and manager’s commitment to promoting their success.

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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 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 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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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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