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Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff work hard to improve the overall experiences of young people living in the home. As a result, young people are making progress in areas of their lives including health, education and behaviour.  The registered manager and staff team provide nurturing, trusting and supportive relationships, which enable young people to feel safe, listened to and valued. Therefore, relationships between the young people and staff are positive.  The therapeutic support in place for young people and staff is good and this contributes to the good key working that takes place. Sessions take place regularly with young people and cover relevant issues relating to the individual young person. Staff use research-based practice to support these sessions.  The registered manager has been proactive in accessing appropriate advice and guidance in relation to managing a specific health need of a young person who has moved into the home. In addition, health professionals have

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The children’s home provision is good because:

contributed to the young person’s healthcare plan and risk assessment.  There was a good response in returned questionnaires to Ofsted from young people and staff. This gave the inspectors a good overview of the home. All questionnaires were positive on the care and support young people receive.  Staff have a good knowledge of the individual risks to young people. However, written risk assessments do not accurately reflect the current risks to all young people.  Professionals speak about the good levels of communication between the home and themselves. However, records do not demonstrate this good level of communication.  Behaviour management in the home needs to be strengthened to ensure that staff understand what strategies they have used. These need to be recorded in line with the recording systems in the home.  Recording in the home is not robust and needs to improve.

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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

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(1) (a) that staff – (i) Assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (vi) Take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. 03/01/2017

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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:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(h) Use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 03/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‘the behaviour management policy’) which sets out how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(2)). 03/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)) 03/01/2017 In particular, maintain an accurate record of all staff working in the home 36: Children’s case records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child, which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child: are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 03/01/2017

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff know, for every child in their care, what level of decision making has been delegated to them in relation to the child’s education. These delegations should be recorded in the child’s placement plan and it is the joint responsibility of the registered person and the placing authority to agree this at the time of placement. The Education Act 1996 defines ‘parent’ as including a person who has care of the child in question. Therefore, the residential care worker for a child looked after may be deemed a parent for the purposes of education law. This means they should be treated like a parent with respect to information provided by a school about the child’s progress; should be invited to meetings about the child; and should be able to give consent to decisions regarding school activities and trips unless there are good reasons not to delegate these decisions to them. For further information, see the statutory

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Recommendations

guidance on entrusting decision making to carers of looked-after children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.9)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff have an understanding of how schools function, including the processes for admission to schools, the role of the designated teachers for children looked after and the role of the virtual school head. If a child looked after from a different local authority area is placed in the home, the virtual school head of that local authority remains responsible for promoting the child’s educational achievement. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.10)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that for the children’s home to be a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of its children, it is a homely, domestic environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered for three children who are in the category of emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and there is one other home registered with Ofsted by this organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/01/2016 Full Outstanding 05/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

The young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. Young people feel able to talk to staff and know they will listen to them. A young person said, ‘Staff are good and listen and talk to us; they help us if we are upset or angry.’ The views, wishes and feelings of young people are sought in young people’s meetings and key-work sessions and from conversations with staff. However, records do not always reflect the actions taken by staff to respond to young people’s requests, wishes or feelings. This is a missed opportunity to demonstrate the good work of the staff team.

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Good

Staff and young people benefit from therapeutic support from the company psychologist. The psychologist works with key workers to complete a six-week assessment and action plan that identifies young people’s individual needs. Staff are also proactive and complete key-work sessions with young people on issues as they arise. For example, following some derogatory views from a young person in relation to women, his keyworker completed an excellent piece of research with the young people around strong women in society. This helped to broaden the young person’s knowledge base and understanding of women in today’s society by challenging stereotypical views. This demonstrates that young people receive therapeutic support that meets their individual needs while increasing their knowledge and understanding of various subjects, issues or situations. This helps their ongoing development.

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Good

Healthcare plans are detailed and this helps staff to meet young people’s individual health needs. Staff encourage young people to attend routine health check-ups and ensure that any health concerns are addressed promptly, for example by liaising closely with a specialist diabetic nurse practitioner. Effective collaborative working with health specialists is helping staff to understand and promote individual young people’s specific medical needs.

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Good

Young people’s engagement in education is variable. For young people who have been at the home for a long time, education outcomes are good. This is because staff encourage young people to engage with their learning and provide incentives for them to attend regularly. However, when new young people move into the home, education plans for them are not put into place swiftly. As a result, some young people are without any education provision, which significantly affects their learning and development. Furthermore, the registered manager and staff do not have a clear understanding of the processes for admission to schools or of their or others’ roles and responsibilities in securing appropriate school placements. For example, neither the registered manager nor staff had understood the role of the virtual school head, nor had they liaised effectively with other relevant professionals. Consequently, young people’s educational needs and achievement is

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Good

Young people are supported well to have a voice in developing their care plans. When young people disagree with areas of their statutory plan, staff members support them to challenge this and, when necessary, provide young people with independent advocates. This demonstrates that the home is not afraid to challenge placing authorities when they do not feel that the care plan is in the best interest of the young person.

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Good

The home is a stable environment for young people due to the consistent staff team. It is a nurturing, supportive place for young people to live and they enjoy living there. A young person said, ‘I like living here. I think it’s ‘mint’ (a good home).’ The home’s décor is generally very good. However, the carpet in the games room and on the stairs needs replacing as it is threadbare in places. During discussions with the responsible individual, he recognised that this needed replacing.

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Good

Young people feel safe and protected in the home and staff demonstrate a good understanding of young people’s needs and vulnerabilities. However, the home’s risk assessments do not reflect this good practice. This was largely due to individual risk assessments not being updated to reflect changes in young people’s needs and behaviours. As a result, young people’s progress is not being accurately reviewed or monitored effectively.

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Good

Young people’s risk-taking behaviour reduces from the point of them moving in to the home. For example, incidents of missing from care, substance misuse and offending have significantly decreased. This is because staff support them in these areas by undertaking direct work sessions to raise young people’s awareness about the risks associated with these behaviours and to teach them how to keep safe.

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Good

Behaviour management plans are regularly updated and set out clearly the progress that young people have made since moving into the home. Additionally, the behaviour management strategies used within the home are effective and well understood by staff and young people. Young people benefit from clear, consistent boundaries and respond well to the measures put in place to deter negative behaviours. Young people said that staff spent time with them discussing the consequences of their behaviours. One young person said, ’Sanctions are fair, my phone and television were taken from me and my money was stopped for a day. This was because I stayed up all night messing about; although I was not happy it was fair really.’

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Good

Improvements can be made in the recording and monitoring of all physical interventions that take place in the home. When records are completed, they are detailed and show what action staff have taken to safeguard young people. However, not all physical interventions are recorded. On one occasion, a young person was restrained and staff did not record this because they did not recognise that it was a physical intervention. Furthermore, when young people sustain an injury during restraint, accident forms are not completed. This makes it difficult for the registered manager to scrutinise staff practices and ensure that appropriate action has always been taken. Therefore, the home does not always follow the procedures for the use of physical intervention. This undermines how safeguarding practices are monitored within the home.

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Good

The home has clear safeguarding policies and procedures in place that include how to respond to allegations about staff. Following a recent incident, staff took immediate action to raise concerns about safeguarding practices with all relevant professionals. While immediate and appropriate action was taken, the staff’s recording of this specific incident was not in line with the home’s own policies and procedures. This is a recording oversight and does not directly affect young people’s safety and welfare.

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Good

Safer recruitment procedures in the home enhance young people’s safety and welfare. Prior to any person working in the home, all relevant suitability checks are undertaken. All staff benefit from a full induction programme that provides them with an opportunity to work alongside more experienced members of the team.

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Good

The registered manager has completed a location risk assessment that identifies some potential risks in the local area, for example at local train stations and parks. In addition, she has worked alongside other children’s homes in the local vicinity to highlight potential areas of risk and to develop strategies for the homes to work together to minimise these. However, she did not record the good work completed as part of this assessment. This is a recording issue and does not reflect the good practice taken by the registered manager to keep young people safe in the community. Judgement grade

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Good

The registered manager of the home is suitably qualified and experienced. She has managed the home for two years and is supported by a deputy manager. The registered manager, deputy manager and staff are enthusiastic, committed and motivated. The manager supports the staff team and they receive regular supervision that reflects on their practice and the needs of young people. Records of supervision include details of the areas covered, such as young people, training, key-work sessions, and activities. A staff member said, ‘I receive regular supervision which I find helpful. The manager and deputy are fantastic and really supportive.’

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Good

Staff working at the home have, or are working towards obtaining, the relevant qualification in residential childcare. They receive a wide range of training to develop their knowledge and skills in order to improve practice. They also work together well to share knowledge and skills to ensure a consistent approach. For example, at a recent team meeting, they were all given a quality standard for children’s homes to consider and outline how the home meets this particular standard. This enabled staff to share experiences, reflect on their practice and to consider other methods and interventions that may have more success. The level of training and development in place for staff means they are well qualified, trained and supported to meet the needs of young people they care for.

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Good

Professional relationships between the home, social workers, independent reviewing officers, the police, health professionals, independent advocates and the local authority designated officer are good. Staff share relevant information about young people with professionals on a regular basis to ensure that the appropriate support is in place. This results in a consistent approach to supporting young people in all areas of their development. A social worker said, ’The communication from the home is excellent. I regularly receive updates on the young person via e mail and the home contacts me for information and advice when necessary.’

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Good

The home has a statement of purpose that sets out clearly the home’s mission statement. During the inspection, it was evident that the home is working in line with the statement of purpose and staff are fully aware of the ethos and vision for the home.

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Good

The home has internal and external monitoring and review systems in place that review the quality of care provided to young people regularly. However, systems in place do not always identify shortfalls in the quality of recording in the home. A number of records lack relevant detail and evaluation and are not signed and dated by the author. This means that records do not provide a true and accurate account of the young person’s journey.

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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 looked after children 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 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 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 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, work- based 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: 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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