Children's Home run by Care Focus Limited in Essex

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:

 The home is well run and organised.  Children make progress from their respective starting points. Children attend education and some achieve GCSEs.  Children known to go missing from other settings do not go missing from this home.  Children can access individual therapeutic support.  Children feel safe, and speak positively of the help, protection and support that they receive.  Placing authorities describe effective and professional working relationships.  Parents are kept up to date with their child‟s progress and feel included in their placement plan.  To good effect, the staff work proactively and creatively to address the children‟s behavioural issues.  The registered and senior managers address any concerns raised by the children.  The regulatory shortfalls raised relate to one aspect of the recruitment process and the consistency of staff appraisal. Shortfalls in quality standards relate to consistency in updates to children‟s risk assessments and the

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The children's home provision is good because:

arrangements for children who choose to smoke.

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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

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety with specific reference to risk assessments. (Regulation 32 (1)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 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 recommendation(s):  Ensure that staff consistently, continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5). This is with reference to updating all written risk assessments.  Expectations of standards of behaviour should be consistently high for all staff and children („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.11). This is with specific reference to arrangements for children smoking, and the potential impact for younger children who do not smoke.

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Information about this children's home

This home is one of a small group, run by an independent provider. Staff offer individualised care and support for up to four females. Teachers provide education within the setting. The children can access therapeutic intervention, which is delivered through the provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 19/07/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/01/2016 Full Good 02/09/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/03/2015 Full Good

p.5

Good

The children have good experiences in this home. The staff work with vigour and purpose to ensure that each child engages in some way with the day-to-day routine and structure. This means that there are clear expectations that each child takes part in, for example, education, the running of the home and the agreed goals in the highly individualised placement plans.

p.6

Good

Parents‟ comments include:  „Anything we have asked for has been done.‟  „My daughter‟s safety has been their priority.‟  „The staff have been a great help to her in every way: educationally, emotionally and socially.‟

p.6

Good

Feedback from placing authorities includes:  „We are kept well informed and they definitely flag issues.‟  „I have been particularly impressed with how they have helped our child to manage the transition from her last placement.‟  „The staff seem to be able to help her to calm down and to express herself.‟

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Good

Some children struggle with the expectation that they participate in the implementation of their placement plan. All the children do come to see that their lives are changed for the better as a result of their experiences at the home. One child whose placement is coming to an end because she could not maintain the necessary level of engagement continues to receive valuable emotional and practical support as she prepares to move to another service. She said, „I may not have shown it, but they have made a difference. This is the longest place I have been in. I know that I have been listened to here and that the group of people that work here all care so much.‟

p.6

Good

The staff and the children routinely share meals together at the table in the kitchen. This helps to promote a homely and family atmosphere. It also encourages the children to experiment with different food groups, and therefore promotes a healthy diet. To contribute to pathway planning, the older children are encouraged to take active responsibility for organising and preparing their own meals. This helps to strengthen fundamental life skills.

p.6

Good

Care during the night is provided by waking night staff. Day-to-day care is provided on a one-to-one basis, which enables the staff to spend dedicated time with each child, talking to them and supporting them – for example, with the impact of family contact and confusing feelings. Alongside, and away from the home, each child has the opportunity to attend individual play or talking therapy. This helps the children to process complex emotions in their own time, and in another safe environment.

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Good

All the children attend education, which is provided in a dedicated room within the home. Should any individual show reluctance or behave in ways that suggest disengagement from learning, the staff are proactive in supporting the child to engage. The staff work with the teaching staff to turn resistance into achievement. This helps to promote self-confidence, and helps the children to realise their potential and to develop their knowledge. For the child who is getting ready to leave, this approach has resulted in her achieving GCSE maths and English.

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Good

Each child‟s bedroom is highly personalised. The children receive encouragement and practical support to decorate and individualise their personal space. As a result, the children say that they like their rooms and the house very much. The interior of the home offers generous communal space for the children to relax. The current group are less keen to be involved in physical activity in the community but, nonetheless, the staff are persevering to help each child to identify and progress their hobbies and interests. Some of the older children continue to smoke. The staff do talk to the children about the health implications of smoking to try to discourage this behaviour. However, the staff do not respond effectivity and consistently to children when they smoke. This does not ensure that expectations of the children remain consistently high, and to ensure that a culture of acceptance of smoking does not prevail and so indirectly impact upon one younger child.

p.7

Good

The addition of a pool table purchased at the children‟s request and located in the „boot room‟ demonstrates that their views and wishes are attended to. The staff are actively involved with the children. For example, they bake, dance and play games together. One member of staff said, „We like to have a lot of fun with the children; in fact, our motto is respect, positivity and fun.‟

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Good

The children know how to raise a complaint, and they have access to an independent visitor. Records show, and the children say, that the registered manager and senior managers are responsive when the children raise issues.

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Good

Children say with confidence that they feel safe living in this home. More than one child said that the staff want to help them to keep safe.

p.7

Good

The records show that some of the written risk assessments need to be kept up to date more consistently and provide more detail, to enable all staff to see where potential areas of concern are emerging. This shortfall could result in the staff being inconsistent in their approach, particularly when children are developing new challenging behaviours. However, the staff do manage challenging behaviour competently, and they are good at employing a range of strategies to de-escalate potentially inflammatory incidents. For example, in group and one-to-one meetings, they regularly talk to the children about bullying and the impact of their behaviour on other people. This approach helps the children to begin to take responsibility for what they are saying and doing. For some children, their behaviour is improving and the number of incidents that they become involved in is reducing because of the help they receive from staff to manage their anger.

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Good

In situations when a child may be at risk of causing significant damage or harm, staff will intervene to reduce the risks. Some of the children bite and spit at the staff, yet the staff persevere to calm the children and help them to develop the skills needed to successfully self-regulate. One child said, „When I look back at my placement and I think about how I have behaved, I can see that even when I was being difficult the staff would do little things just to let me know that they cared about me. Even when they needed to restrain me. I did not show it, but I knew they cared about me.‟

p.8

Good

The children who have significant histories of being at risk of exploitation and of their whereabouts being unknown, do not go missing from this home. One child said, „I remember a time when I was so angry I just needed to go. So I said “I am going and you can‟t stop me.” So the member of staff said, “OK let‟s go”, and she started to walk with me and stayed with me until I had calmed down, and we just walked and talked until I was ready to get back in the car. That‟s how I know that they care and that if I was to go, they would be with me.‟ This shows that staff are prepared to go above and beyond to ensure the safety of the children they care for. One member of staff said, „I could tell that she was getting ready to abscond, so I talked to the team about what to do. I stood in front of the door and said to her, “You are not leaving here.” In the end, she could see that I was serious and we just got through it and were able to get on with the rest of our day.‟

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Good

The registered manager continues in the role, which means that he has been in post for more than a year. This offers continuity for the service and placing authorities who re-refer to this provider. He has completed the required level 5 leadership and management qualification. The staff describe him as approachable, supportive and dependable. External monitoring and organised management information systems help the registered manager to have a good day-to-day overview of what is happening. Routine discussion and involvement with the senior managers also help him to maintain an effective oversight of trends and patterns in relation to incidents of physical intervention and self-injurious behaviours. Feedback from the placing authorities, the children and their families helps to enhance the required review of the quality of the care. This efficient approach enables him to keep stakeholders up to date and to take decisive action when necessary to galvanise other agencies and

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Good

support services when placement issues arise.

p.9

Good

Some new staff have joined the team, but the changes have caused minimal disruption for the current group of children. This is because staff changes are explained clearly to the children. This enables the children to understand why staff have left – for example, to pursue further education. Those staff expected to have the required level 3 diploma for residential childcare do so, while newer staff have enrolled or are waiting to enrol on the course.

p.9

Good

The staff recruitment procedure shows that a clear process is followed on each occasion to obtain pre-employment checks. Nonetheless, when data is shown on a disclosure and barring certificate, the arrangements to risk-assess the significance of the information are not sufficiently robust. This failure to meet regulation has the potential to compromise children‟s safety.

p.9

Good

The provider ensures that staff receive regular training in areas such as fire safety and managing contact. Staff receive regular supervision, and also have the opportunity to meet with the senior managers to discuss current issues, which encourages reflection and helps to strengthen practice. There is a system for appraisal. However, this has not been implemented consistently for all staff, which means that regulation is not met in this area on this occasion. This shortfall has minimal impact on children because, through team meetings, supervision and informal discussion, there are a range of opportunities for staff to develop their skills.

p.9

Good

When concerns about staff conduct come to light, either directly from the children or from staff sharing concern, the senior managers are quick to act. They take effective steps to ensure that issues are addressed, and if necessary shared with the local authority delegated officer. This demonstrates that the children and staff feel confident in the senior managers, and helps to ensure that children‟s placement goals remain at the centre of practice.

p.9

Good

The statement of purpose and the children‟s guide provide accurate information about the systems and approach used in this home. One member of staff said, „We are working in the parental role, and sometimes that means that we are trying to teach the children about the right way to get things done. It‟s the little steps that we see in them that make the difference.‟

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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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