Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Westmorland and Furness

inspection

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

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inspection

The young person who lived at this home during the last inspection has moved to a new address but is still supported by the organisation. This has been a positive move, as the young person‟s new address is much closer to their college and has resulted in significantly less travelling for them on a daily basis.

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inspection

Their move was well planned and organised in a way that enabled the staff team that the young person was familiar with to move with them. This meant the young person‟s care remained consistent and the disruption to them was minimal.

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inspection

Prior to their move the young person continued to make outstanding progress in many areas of their life. They engaged in education for the first time and consistently received excellent reports from college staff about their attendance and attainment. The young person has also developed some positive friendships, which have been encouraged and supported by staff. They have significantly reduced high risk behaviours, which as a result has led to them being safer. Their progress has been recognised by their placing authority who recently awarded them an outstanding achievement award.

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inspection

The needs of the young person who recently moved into the home have also been carefully considered prior to the move being agreed. This young person‟s school is within a convenient distance of the home, whereas prior to the move, they were required to travel a significant distance to attend. As with the previous young person, some of the staff team have moved along with the new young person to minimise disruption to them.

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inspection

The young person commented that they liked their new home describing it as „really lovely.‟ They said they found living nearer to their school much better and commented „it is easier every day now.‟

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inspection

The young person is making excellent progress with their education. They consistently achieve 100% attendance and receive positive reports from education staff. Currently, they are working towards their GCSEs and staff have supported them to set up a revision schedule at home. Supporting young people‟s educational attainment helps them to reach their full potential and increases their life chances.

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inspection

The young person has only been supported by the organisation for a short period of time but is already making good progress from their starting point. They have obtained some daily living skills in relation to personal care and they are increasing in independence. Staff are working hard to encourage the young person to engage in a healthy lifestyle and are strongly supporting them to partake in a sensible diet and exercise. This promotes the young person‟s health and wellbeing and helps them to develop understanding of healthy lifestyle choices.

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inspection

Staff support the young person to maintain important relationships and facilitate contact with loved ones, in accordance with their care plan. The young person spoke very positively about this and explained that they had been able to have a close family member at their home for Christmas Day. They said this was „really great‟ and that they had enjoyed it very much.

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inspection

Staff promote positive behaviour and have recently introduced a reward system at the home. This involves the young person earning vouchers for positive behaviour and for keeping to agreed routines such as sensible bedtimes. The young person has engaged with this system and was involved in the design of the reward vouchers.

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inspection

There is clear information in place for staff about how best to support the young person‟s positive behaviour and de-escalate potentially challenging situations. The use of sanctions is not regularly required and there have been no incidents where staff have been required to physically intervene, neither with the current young person, nor the young person who recently moved out of the home.

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inspection

The young person engages in positive activities with staff. They enjoy visiting museums and castles and staff facilitate this on a regular basis. The young person commented that they got along well with staff and said „they want the best for me.‟ They did however, also comment that there seemed to be lots of different staff at times.

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inspection

Rotas showed that the young person was consistently supported by a member of their core team and a second staff member. There had been a large number of floating staff who had supported the young person in addition to the small core team, which did not support consistency. The manager has recognised this and was able to provide evidence that he is in the process of increasing the core team, so that the young person is supported in a more consistent manner.

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inspection

There have been some changes to the management of the home. The previous registered manager moved along with the previous young person to another registered home within the organisation. The new manager was previously registered in respect of another service. Ofsted have been notified of these changes but have not yet received the relevant application. This should be submitted as a matter of priority. There are systems in place to enable the manager to monitor safety and quality across the service. These include monthly visits from an external professional during which various standards are assessed. Evidence was available to demonstrate that these visits had been taking place on a monthly basis. However, reports of the visits have not been received by Ofsted for several months. A requirement is raised in relation to this matter.

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inspection

At the point the previous registered manager moved to a different home, a six monthly review of the service was due to be completed and provided to Ofsted. Ofsted have not received the report and there was no evidence during the inspection that the report had been completed. A failure to carry out adequate monitoring can lead to a decline in quality and means that opportunities for improvements are missed. A requirement is raised in relation to this matter.

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inspection

At the last inspection, it was found that the home‟s statement of purpose was out of date and did not reflect practice within the service. A requirement was raised at that time. Ofsted have not received an updated statement of purpose since then and the statement of purpose viewed during this inspection was still in need of review. Therefore this requirement is repeated.

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inspection

Recommendations made at the last inspection in relation to the effective monitoring of sanctions and the improvement of risk assessments for young people being missing from home were confirmed as being addressed. However, the outstanding requirement and two new requirements raised demonstrate that since the last inspection, the internal monitoring of the service has not been fully effective. It is acknowledged that this has not had a negative impact on the progress of young people so far. However, the safety and quality of the service is at risk of being compromised if it is not monitored effectively.

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Information about this children's home

This children‟s home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child or young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 04/10/2016 Full Good 17/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/07/2015 Full Good 26/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

16: Statement of purpose (1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (2) The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to— (a)a person who works at the home; (b)a child, or a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered; (c)a parent of a child, or a parent of a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered; (d)a child‟s placing authority; and (e)in the case of a qualifying school, the Secretary of State. (3) The registered person must— (a)keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and (b)notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (5) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure

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Requirement Due date

that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. 17/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports (1) The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month. (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 manager; and (e)the responsible individual (if one is nominated). 28/02/2017 45: Review of quality of care (1) The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. (2) In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— (a)the quality of care provided for children; (b)the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s

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Requirement Due date

home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and (c)any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (3) After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (4) The registered person must— (a)supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and (b)make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (5) The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their

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Requirement Due date

parents, placing authorities and staff. 28/02/2017

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 Sufficient staff means a home having enough suitably trained staff (including someone in a management role) on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home, and that those staff are able to respond to emergency placements, where accepted. The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children's attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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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 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 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

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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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