Children's home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

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 . This home has continued to demonstrate good care practice in the three months since the last inspection. There has been a change in manager, but succession arrangements were good and allowed for a handover between the outgoing and incoming managers. The newly appointed, qualified manager has been in post only two weeks. She also has responsibility for another home nearby. She is preparing to register with Ofsted. The registered person has taken action to rectify three of the four regulatory shortfalls identified previously. The young person now has advocacy support to make decisions about her next home and college placement. The statement of purpose and children’s guide now accurately reflect what young people, parents and placing authorities can expect, including the organisation of the staff team,

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

arrangements for bedroom door alarms and the current legislation. Alarms on bedroom doors are not used and the new manager plans to discuss this as a specific issue when any new young person arrives. Staff are no longer using any homely remedy that is not named in the home’s medication policy. The registered person has made arrangements to make the fuel storage tank safe, by cutting back surrounding shrubs, but is waiting for a contractor to carry this out. The registered person has updated the risk assessment to reflect the current situation about the boiler flue and has confirmed with an accredited engineer that it is safe. The positive changes made by the young person continue. She is making steady moves towards her next stage in life. Health, education and family contact are all moving forward. Work to sustain educational motivation is a priority, as is teaching the independence skills the young person will need for her next step in her life.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff keep her in regular touch with all the important people in her family and life, regardless of distance. Staff are mindful to maintain the young person’s motivation towards GCSE exams later this year, in the light of an unconditional offer from a city college, some distance away, to study music. There have been no incidents of going missing. Children are overwhelmingly safer than they were on admission. The registered person consults and acts on the local safeguarding designated officer’s advice when there are concerns about staff practice or allegations. Behaviour is generally well managed through negotiation and cooperation. However, recent inconsistencies in staff application of agreed boundaries, or deescalating tactics, led to two unfortunate situations, one in which restraint was used for the first time in eight months. The other led to a complaint by the young person. This is now concluded and the registered person recognises that the

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

situation in question could have been avoided. A rare recent physical intervention by the registered manager was required after a challenge that resulted from relief staff applying agreed boundaries differently for use of smart phones. Staff work alone and say this makes it harder for them to see the practice of others to reinforce consistency. The staffing shortages that led to the use of staff from other homes are now resolved and so the manager is confident that inconsistencies will also reduce. Records of measures of control, incidents and physical interventions are unclear. They are very wordy but lack crucial detail needed to give a clear picture. The whole picture can only be seen by reading four separate reports. Staff do not always have a debrief after the event. There was no independent or senior manager review of the whole event when the registered manager was involved in a physical intervention. It is not clear how any

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

lessons learned from the complaint, or the physical intervention, have been identified and acted on by senior managers in the absence of a registered manager, such as to ensure follow-up in staff supervision. The home lacks a welcoming feel on the approach that belies the cosy, homely interior. The house has no ordinary identifying signpost or plaque with a number or a name. This hinders placing authorities and other visitors from finding the address. It is identifiable as a place of work, rather than a home, by the cigarette butt receptacles attached prominently to the house. Plans for repainting peeling paint have been delayed, but are scheduled for the spring. Staff like working at the home and get a great deal of satisfaction from their direct work with children and seeing the changes in their lives. The registered manager’s review of the quality of care contains good feedback from children and placing

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

authorities and gives a real sense of the young person’s positive experience. Partnership working with others, including family and friends, to support and improve the experiences of young people is good. The placing authority has been very positive about the service. The young person said, ‘It’s fine.’

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

11/03/2015 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that, within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’) has spoken to the user about the measure, and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35(3)(b)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to the safety of the premises, the registered person must ensure that: (2)(d) the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 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):

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. This is specifically in relation to complaints and significant incidents. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 10.24)  Ensure that the home maintains a domestic rather than an ‘institutional’ impression. Specifically, that the home has a clear, non-institutional welcoming sign, or house name, to direct visitors, rather than them having to disturb neighbours, and that cigarette butt trashcans are discretely sited. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph

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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

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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