Children's home run by Crossways Care Ltd in Tewkesbury

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has returned from a period of extended leave. She has demonstrated determination and commitment to improve the quality of care provided to the young people. As a result, two requirements and one of the three recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. The recommendations made in respect of care plans and staff adhering to the home’s policies on record keeping are repeated to ensure further improvement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A young person who was living in the home at the time of the last inspection has successfully moved into supported living. Staff supported her move and have maintained contact with her, providing the support and reassurance she needed to settle into living in a new home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

More recently, two more young people have come to live at the home. They have formed a positive relationship with each other. The registered manager carefully considered the young people’s needs before they moved in, and ensured that they both benefited from good plans, which helped them to settle into the home. Both young people have a dedicated staff team that knows their needs well and whose members share the manager’s ethos to provide consistency and resilience. This care has been critical to help young people who have experienced high levels of previous placement breakdown.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the previous inspection, the registered manager was required to improve the quality of her monitoring. She has taken significant steps to meet this requirement. The records reviewed evidence that she has identified omissions and errors in the records and challenged the appropriateness of some sanctions. The registered manager now reviews the records of control and restraint effectively. Any concerns that she identifies are shared and discussed with the staff team during one-to-one meetings and team meetings.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Following a review, the organisation has introduced new records and reporting systems, including care plans and behaviour risk plans. Despite these measures, these plans continue to be generic documents that do not inform the staff of all of the current needs, behaviours and risks presented by the young people. Nor do the plans provide information on how to respond to and meet the young people’s daily needs; targets are not focused on supporting the young people to maximise their potential. In addition, they are not child-friendly documents.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Following incidents during which staff have used physical intervention, the young person’s key worker has ensured that the young person has received one-to-one support. Detailed discussions take place following incidents that help the young people to reflect on their behaviour and consider strategies to prevent similar incidents from happening again. One young person’s behaviour support plan includes a full chronology of incidents, which helps the staff to identify patterns and trends. However, despite this, the young person’s personal targets and incentives are not focused on guiding and encouraging the young person to reduce the high- risk behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home was set up by a small private company, which is now part of a large national provider. The home’s statement of purpose confirms that the home can accommodate children irrespective of gender up to the age of 18 years.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 09/06/2016 Full Good 09/09/2015 Full Good 26/05/2015 Full Inadequate 24/03/2015 Full Requires improvement

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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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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. In particular, ensure that care plans and personal journals detail the current needs and behaviours of the young person. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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Information about this inspection

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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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