Children's home run by New Forest Care Limited in New Forest

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

Managers and staff work proactively with other professionals to promote young people’s well-being. If concerned that other agencies or professionals are not acting in the young people’s best interests, managers will advocate on their behalf and offer professional challenge when necessary. Managers and staff work together with other professionals to resolve any differences of professional judgement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff promote positive moves into the home through well-planned arrangements. Young people have opportunities to visit the home prior to admission to meet the staff and the other young people. Staff spend time with young people, developing relationships and supporting them to get to know routines, the home and the area, to promote a successful move.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have gone above and beyond in supporting one young person to prepare for leaving the home. The managers obtained permission and funding to convert the home’s unused garage into an independent annex with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living area. This has enabled the young person to develop his independence skills and confidence to assist him moving on to more independent living.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to make effective and sustained progress. All young people have engaged well in their education programmes. Those attending school and college have good attendance rates. Young people’s relationships with their families have significantly improved and this has led to increased visits home and overnight stays. For one young person this has resulted in agreement from his placing authority for him to return to his mother’s care until a placement can be found closer to his mother’s home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people learn to regulate their emotions, leading to improvements in their behaviour. Staff provide consistent expectations and boundaries, while encouraging young people to reflect on and understand the consequences of their actions. Staff have involved the police and internet safety experts to educate young people on the penalties of certain behaviours. As a result, there has been a significant reduction in young people’s violent outbursts as well as other risk-taking behaviours.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Practice in the implementation of sanctions has improved. The staff are ensuring that sanctions are restorative and focus on educating young people to prevent them repeating unwanted behaviours. However, the management oversight of records still needs improving. A minority of physical intervention records are poor and fail to demonstrate how a young person’s behaviour met the required threshold for a physical intervention to be used. Sanction records are not sufficiently evaluated for effectiveness. One sanction was not recorded as a method of discipline as required by regulation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff and managers take their responsibility to safeguard young people extremely seriously. Young people’s individual risks and the strategies necessary to minimise them are fully understood. Staff and managers report safeguarding concerns appropriately. However, records do not sufficiently demonstrate managers’ investigations or decision-making. A new form has been introduced which will prompt safeguarding leads to provide a full chronology of events and to comprehensively detail how they made their decision. However, this has yet to be tested in practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers did not assess and evaluate the impact of a new young person’s known risks and behaviours on the current existing young people prior to moving in. Nor did they evidence their consideration of strategies to reduce the likelihood of these behaviours subsequently affecting the other young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have not considered the home’s registration or statement of purpose when accepting new admissions to the home. The home’s registration is to primarily care for young people who have a learning disability. The home’s statement of purpose states that it specialises in the support of individuals who have autistic spectrum disorders and that the home is set up to accommodate four young people who have a learning disability. Managers have admitted a young person who does not have an autistic spectrum disorder or a learning disability. They have failed to sufficiently demonstrate that they considered all factors prior to admitting this young person, including whether their needs can be met and if the staff have the skills, experience and understanding to support them. The statement of purpose does not provide guidance under what circumstances, if any, young people can be admitted to the home who do not have an autistic spectrum disorder

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The fire safety of the annex is compromised because managers have failed to follow all the recommendations made in the fire risk assessment. This includes the installation of fire seals on the kitchen door and the installation of self-closures on all fire doors.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has taken action to address the requirement made at the previous inspection with regard to the recruitment of new staff. One new member of staff has been employed since the previous inspection. Their employment file demonstrates that all required checks were completed prior to her employment. The manager has addressed all four recommendations made at the previous inspection, including ensuring that poor practice is addressed in staff’s supervision and appraisal, and that supervision allows staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of young people in their care.

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Information about this children's home

The children’s home provides residential care and accommodation for up to four young people who have autistic spectrum disorders and/or a learning disability. The home offers an integrated service that includes therapy, education and care. The home is one of a number operated by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 12/10/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/10/2015 Full Good 24/03/2015 Interim Sustained 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

To meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure that – (2)(a) children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (2)(a)) 01/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)) 01/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home; (Regulation 25 (1)(a)) 13/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The registered persons must ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that managers record investigations of safeguarding concerns and evidence their decision-making.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  When considering new placements, the registered manager should fully consider the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children and evidence their judgement supporting compatibility with existing residents, the staff team, statement of purpose and the home. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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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