Children's home run by Physis Quantum 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 .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

It is five months since the last inspection. Three young people continue to make very good progress towards their plans. Two new young people have also moved into the home. Young people had well-planned transitions into the home and were made very welcome by staff and young people alike. One young person chose to return to her home area after a few weeks. Staff and the manager respected that her age and legal status meant that she could make this choice. Despite the short time that she spent here, this young person keeps in touch with staff and says that they helped her. She now feels able to focus on work and a safer lifestyle.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff and the manager continue to make a significant difference to the lives and prospects of each young person. Young people’s lives are enriched through the therapy and education that they receive and the family-group living that they experience. Staff are well organised, insightful and consistently helpful. Young people feel secure and blossom. One young person said, ‘The adults and children are nice to each other.’ The home’s monthly visitor recently noted: ‘The interaction between staff and the young people is caring, appropriate and supportive. The young people have respect for the staff and benefit from the respect shown to them in return.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

For most young people, independent and/or adult living is not far off. The manager and staff ensure that their input enables young people to develop practical skills in independence, emotional regulation, social competence and personal safety. Young people are making good progress in all these areas. Some of them continue to represent young people at a national working group on child sexual exploitation. This aids their continuing recovery and self-confidence.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One young person is shortly moving to an adult social care provision. Staff and the manager have worked consistently and effectively with the placing authority and other professionals to ensure that her ongoing needs are met. After some years here, staff are supporting her well in the lead-up to moving on and coping with a new living environment. They are planning her move carefully and appropriately, using their thorough understanding of her needs. They are also planning a well- thought-out send-off that includes memorabilia of her time here. Staff and the manager are providing full information to the new home and are planning a gradual withdrawal of support once she is in her new placement. As part of this, the manager is sharing the young person’s detailed risk assessment and behaviour management plan. However, this plan is not user-friendly enough. It is very long and does not clearly set out the most significant risks and how to manage them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Overall, young people are managing their risky behaviour well because of staff support. They do not go missing. They rarely self-harm, bully, attack others or damage things. Staff, the manager and the therapist work tirelessly to help each young person overcome their emotional and behavioural problems. Any use of physical intervention is extremely rare.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff do not often make clear written records, plans and agreements available to help young people. This means that young people sometimes feel unsure about what they have to do and what is going to happen. For example, one young person said that she did not understand how and when she would get her mobile phone back. She said that she would like a written plan about this. Young people rarely have copies of plans or agreements about any work that they are doing with their key carer. They do not have written plans or agreements about ‘negative consequences’ that they incur. For example, one young person is paying back weekly for her large mobile phone bill. She does not know how much there is left to pay, when she will complete this, and if there is any scope for any of the bill to be written off. Staff and the manager are missing an opportunity to add to young people’s understanding and progress through user-friendly records.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the home has achieved full capacity for the first time in three years. The manager has ‘grown’ the staff team very effectively to support each of the four young people in placement. All staff are well supported by the manager, who leads in a reflective, well-organised and enabling style. Most staff are qualified and they all demonstrate skill, commitment and the ability to make unconditionally positive relationships with young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager’s reviews of the quality of care and its impact still lack analysis and ideas for improvement. The manager periodically checks that systems and documents are in place. However, she does not analyse staff practice or review the contents of plans and records with sufficient depth and skill. She signs off negative consequences records with no note of the fact that young people’s responses to the consequences are rarely recorded. This means that the manager has too little information to work out whether the consequences were effective. Similarly, the manager reviews risk assessments and behaviour management plans, but does not evaluate whether they are as effective and clear as they need to be. She has not kept the use of bedroom door alarms under continuous review to ensure that the measure is necessary and effective for safeguarding each young person, given their current stage of progress. The manager’s six-monthly reviews of care quality do

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

not focus on the practice of staff and the key issues of concern in the home during the period. This means that her reviews do not reveal shortfalls in practice or lead to good ideas for continuous improvement. Shortfalls in effective review were raised at the last inspection. However, they have not been prioritised by the manager in the period since then. Nevertheless, young people continue to experience good-quality care, and their progress is very good.

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned by a small limited company and provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Education is provided on site in the organisation’s separately registered school.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26 September 2016 Full Good 09 March 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01 June 2015 Full Good 26 February 2015 Full Good

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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 staff 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)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and that the principles as set out in paragraph 9.35 are respected. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that young people are encouraged by staff to see the home's records as 'living documents', supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person decides what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for, such as missing or exploitation. They will also consider what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for their analysis and conclusions. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the home against every part of the Quality Standards every six months – registered persons should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home's care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed.

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Recommendations

The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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 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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