Children's Home run by Clouds Children’s Care Ltd in Derbyshire

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 In a short space of time leaders and managers have greatly improved the home. There is now an extremely high quality of care which significantly and positively influences young people’s progress.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The registered manager and responsible individual are exceedingly committed to young people. They ensure that they are involved with the delivery of care, model good practice, and are available to young people if they need advice, help or support.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The staff are of a high calibre, and are highly creative and resourceful in their approach to young people. They are extremely motivated by young people’s progress and enjoy their work.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Comments from parents and professionals are extremely positive and reflect an outstanding home.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people make excellent progress in a number of areas. In particular, they develop positive relationships with their family and are able to develop their interests and talents fully.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Very high staff ratios enable quality time to be spent with young people. This ensures that young people feel more able to manage their anxiety and emotions. This has a very positive impact on their behaviour overall.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people develop a sense of safety very quickly after admission. Where they have struggled with aspects of their safety before, their risks significantly decrease.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Transition into the home is particularly well managed. Young people who have a tendency to feel highly anxious have been extremely well-supported. Every effort is made to ensure that admission to the home is a positive experience for young people.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people have a voice. They are encouraged at every opportunity to have their say, helping them to develop their self-esteem, confidence and readiness for adulthood.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The two shortfalls found do not detract from the outstanding nature of care to young people. Staff training should be improved to ensure that staff are provided with formal training to underpin their understanding of child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. Records should also be improved to ensure that they fully capture work taking place with young people around the risks of being missing in the community.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must: (2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. This is in particular relation to staff training on child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. 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:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff skills for safeguarding support young people in strategies to manage and reduce any risks. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and provides care and accommodation to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 16/06/2016 Interim Not judged 02/03/2016 Full Requires improvement 12/01/2016 Full Inadequate 16/11/2015 Full Inadequate

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Outstanding

Young people receive an excellent quality of care. Staff take every opportunity to support them and help them to progress and develop. Care is highly individualised and the quality of relationships between staff and young people is excellent. Every aspect of the young person’s development is extremely well considered. One young person said: ‘I like everything.’ Staffing ratios are exceptionally high. Young people feel readily able to discuss their worries, concerns and success with staff and managers. They feel able to speak honestly and frankly. Because staff know how young people feel, they can support them very effectively with their issues. Emotional well-being has a particularly high profile. Staff are creative and innovative in developing resources, such as worksheets and reflective tools, for young people to explore their emotions and to make sense of their past.

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Outstanding

Young people’s views are seen as very important. They have a say in the operational running of the home, as well as in their own lives. For example, young people have assisted in the staff selection process and have helped to develop a new young people’s guide. In addition, bespoke paperwork and excellent quality assurance processes ensure that young people have opportunities to express their views about every aspect of their lives. Young people are helped to feel empowered, building their confidence in readiness for adulthood.

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Outstanding

Young people’s experience of their admission to the home is extremely positive. Transition into the home is managed exceptionally well. The focus is on young people’s own views and understanding of their situation. Some young people, who might find transition particularly difficult, for example those who have an autistic spectrum disorder, are helped to manage their stress and anxiety very well. Every effort is made to ease their transition including visiting the young person, speaking to them on the telephone and providing pictures and profiles of staff before their admission. Because young people are helped to understand their situation and to feel more in control, they settle in to the home extremely quickly. No young people have left the home since last inspection, reflecting an extremely settled period.

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Outstanding

When young people live a long way away from home, staff ‘go the extra mile’ to ensure that contact with people who are important to them is facilitated. One parent discussed this with the inspector saying: ‘Contact visits are very good. I have built up relationships with the staff, and staff are there for me and [my child].’ Despite living a long way away from home, one young person’s contact with their family has significantly improved. One social worker particularly praised the home for their work, saying: ‘They are really good with contacts. This has been very positive, they have bent over backwards.’ It is also acknowledged that when young people are new to the area they need to make new friends, and staff facilitate this by helping them to join clubs and arranging activities in the community. Staff understand the importance of friendships and encourage these as much as they can.

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Outstanding

Young people try new activities. For example, one young person has learned to swim since their admission and now enjoys swimming. One young person also told the inspector that they were looking forward to their first holiday. Talents are nurtured and, where young people have a particular interest or skill, every opportunity is created to make sure that they can develop this as much as possible. For example, a young person who has a talent for and a love of music has joined a music production club. Staff celebrate every success, however small, with young people. When a young person recently appeared on stage for a performance, even staff who were off duty went to see the young person perform. This demonstrates that young people are extremely valued and cherished.

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Outstanding

Education is individually targeted towards young people’s needs. One young person spoke to the inspector and said: ‘School is going well and the best thing is that I now have acquaintances.’ There has been a delay in a young person being able to attend school in the community. Leaders and managers have spoken out for this young person. The manager has been tenacious in his approach with regard to this issue. He has taken his concerns to the highest level at the earliest available opportunity. Parents, local authorities and staff are all in agreement that the manager has done an excellent job in challenging other professionals and securing a school placement.

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Good

Young people who have presented with very high levels of risk-taking behaviour in the past become safer because such behaviours reduce significantly. Their sense of safety emerges quickly because of the high quality one-to-one support. Staff try to understand the root of the unsafe behaviour. They then develop high quality tools to help young people explore their situation, such as art-themed activities. They understand the impact that emotional welfare and anxiety have on behaviour. Because staff get to the root of the problem, young people learn how to reduce their own anxiety and better self-regulate their behaviour. Young people learn how to talk to staff about their difficulties and accept support.

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Good

After each incident of risk taking behaviour, staff help the young person to reflect. This works extremely well so that young people learn how to be safer. Staff know that their own reflection after such incidents is also of great importance. Self- reflection on individual performance and team performance is instrumental because further development points are fully considered. The already well-developed strategies to reduce risk, are continuously improving because of this highly reflective approach. One young person was pleased with their progress and told the inspector: ‘Staff are helping me.’

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Good

Young people experience consistent boundaries from staff who have a thoughtful and clear approach towards their behaviour. There are regular opportunities for staff to discuss their approach to young people and high-quality guidance from management. There have been no restraints since the last inspection because staff have developed a more positive approach based on de-escalation, calmness and talking. One newer member of staff reported that: ‘Behaviour management is very impressive.’ Young people know what is expected of them and they develop a sense of well-being and security. Parents are very happy with behaviour management, with one reporting: ‘He has grown, his behaviour is better and he listens more.’

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Good

Despite the obvious progress made by young people, the approach to teaching them about risks in the community and in society could be improved, for example by ensuring that young people are fully aware of the risks of child sexual exploitation, radicalisation and how they could be groomed. The extremely high staff ratio protects young people well at this time but as they move toward adulthood, young people may not be fully equipped with the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe if this is not put right.

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Good

Young people’s safety is well considered by relevant professionals because information is discussed with them regularly, promptly and thoroughly. This allows for important decisions about young people’s safety to be made at the earliest opportunity. Where young people report concerns about their past, these are consistently passed on to the correct professional in line with local area procedures. Young people are supported extremely well by staff to cope with their feelings and emotions during difficult periods in their lives.

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Good

The new staff team have been carefully vetted to ensure that they are suitable to work with vulnerable young people. Checks include basic references, a disclosure and barring service check, analysis of previous work history, and identification checks. Judgement grade

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Good

This home opened in 2015 and went through a very unsettled period during which it was graded as inadequate. The organisation undertook a root and branch restructure, and did not admit young people during this process. This time has proved to be very useful. Since the last inspection, there has been a new responsible individual, registered manager and staff team. Time and resources have been invested to ensure that there is a high calibre staff team across all roles. New young people have been in placement since August 2016 and significant, positive changes have been embedded exceptionally quickly.

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Good

The new responsible individual has thought carefully about systems, policies and approaches to care so that he could set up significant improvements prior to young people being admitted. He has been effective in ensuring that the care delivered is now of the highest quality.

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Good

The registered manager brings considerable experience to his role and is suitably qualified. His focus is always on young people. Staff, local authorities and parents all praise the progress and developments since he has been in post. Comments include: ‘Mark is brilliant, he has bought the unit on’, ‘He’s been on the case week- in week-out’ and ‘He is on the ball’. The tremendous improvement in such a short space of time is testament to the dedication and hard work of the registered manager, responsible individual and staff team. Staff are exceptionally clear about their role and about what they need to do to ensure that young people’s needs are well met. They are well supported and inducted. They are motivated by their love of the work and young people’s progress. They spoke about how the staff team has developed and one said: ‘We have really gelled as a team and that is a bonus for young people.’

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Good

A range of mandatory staff training ensures that staff develop their knowledge and skills to protect young people, support them well and encourage progress. The training schedule could be further developed to include specific training on child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. The impact of this shortfall is minimal because of the high staff ratios. However, if staff are not kept up to date with the relevant information, there is the potential for this to impact on young people’s safety in the future.

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Good

Joint working with other professionals is viewed as an absolute priority. There is regular communication between the home and schools, which helps to break down barriers to learning. An education professional was particularly impressed with this and said: ‘Not a week goes by without communication with Mark or the home.’ Joint working with local authorities also ensures that other professionals such as social workers have high quality information at the earliest opportunity, in order to make informed decisions. One social worker reported: ‘The quality of reports is the best I have ever seen.’ They went on to say: ‘I always know what’s going on.’

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Good

The statement of purpose informs local authorities, parents and young people about what the home sets out to do and what they can expect. There is an emphasis on ensuring that young people know exactly what to expect. The young person’s guide has recently been produced in a rap music style. Time, thought and resources have been invested, ensuring that this has been produced professionally. This will prove very useful in the future. This is because it engages the listener to learn about the home in a way which is interesting, fun and suited to the age and interests of young people.

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Good

Other professionals are actively challenged where young people do not get the service they deserve. The level of challenge is professional, well-organised and effective. This is likely to influence other professionals in the future to provide a better service to young people.

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Good

Strengths and weaknesses of the home are well understood and, despite the considerable progress since the last full inspection, this home continues to develop. The registered manager monitors the home thoroughly and uses evaluation well to think about the impact of the service on young people. The organisation also has arranged for an independent visitor to visit the home once a month. These visits are thorough. Where issues are identified, these are put right quickly, demonstrating a positive approach to improvement.

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Good

The two recommendations and one requirement from the last inspection have been met. Improvements include the better provision of education for young people and staff understanding about young people’s educational journey. In addition, there have not been any restraints in the home so the recommendation about restraint records from the previous inspection has been removed.

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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 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 whom 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 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

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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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