Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Senad Group Limited in Derbyshire

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

Since the full inspection, the home has seen a change of registered manager. The new manager’s appointment has been very positive and despite some changes in staffing, the home continues to provide a good service to children and young people. Young people make measurable progress, particularly in relation to their personal, social and emotional development. One parent told the inspector that his son had made fantastic progress, and he also praised the ‘amazing staff’.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff provide high quality, individualised care to young people who have complex needs. Young people make a strong contribution to their care plans, and engage in direct work with staff. This enables young people to get involved, and increases the investment in their own plans. Staff demonstrate very good awareness of a range of communication styles and support young people to express themselves as fully as possible. Staff recognise small but significant progress and celebrate young people’s achievements. Extra-curricular activities are encouraged, and provide further opportunities for young people to develop social skills, keep active and improve their physical and emotional well-being. Staff consider young people’s sense of identity; the design and decoration of individual homes and bedrooms fully reflect this. Young people are encouraged to develop a sense of responsibility and make sensible choices through goal setting and high levels of praise from staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Three young people have been admitted to the home since the full inspection and four young people have moved on. Staff work with local authorities to ensure that young people are matched appropriately prior to their admission. The manager and staff are able to identify where young people are not making progress, or when the home is not meeting a young person’s needs. In these instances, swift liaison with local authorities ensures that a young person’s needs are considered and next steps can be agreed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The majority of staff are appropriately experienced and skilled. They have an exceptionally good understanding of young people’s individual needs. In recent months, a number of new staff have joined the home and are still in their probationary period. This has put pressure on more experienced staff in the interim. The management team has recognised this issue and is providing additional support.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff manage challenging behaviour well. Managers are working together to develop consistent approaches to behaviour management. Notably, managers ensure that all staff are aware of incidents, known triggers for negative behaviour and young people’s individual needs around de-escalation. For some young people, physical intervention is necessary at times to ensure their own safety or that of others. Both the young people and the staff are provided with the opportunity to debrief after incidents. Managers acknowledge that the system of debriefing is robust for core staff, but may not fully meet the needs of temporary staff. Staff record incidents of restraint clearly. Managers fully analyse the information provided to review individual behaviour management plans, and look for any patterns or trends in how behaviour is being managed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All young people attend the on-site school. Alternative education packages, such as work experience or attending the local college, are available. Communication between the care and education settings is effective.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The residential accommodation is well maintained. Any repairs are quickly undertaken to ensure that the site remains safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The requirement made at the full inspection related to safeguarding procedures for staff. This requirement is met. Two recommendations were also made at the full inspection. One related to the temperature of the room where medication is stored. This recommendation is met. The second related to staff signing and dating records. While this has improved, a further recommendation has been made at this inspection, specifically relating to the need for up-to-date healthcare plans to be on each child’s file.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The new manager is developing strategies to reduce duplication and to streamline young people’s plans. This remains a work-in-progress at this stage. Monitoring and quality assurance systems continue to be effective, and reflect the desire to continually improve the service.

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Information about this children’s home

This service is part of a privately owned residential school for children and young people who have learning difficulties. This service is registered to accommodate up to 55 children and young people.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26/07/2016 Full Good 25/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/09/2015 Full Good 03/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  The registered person must ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to: respond to the health needs of children; administer basic first aid and minor illness treatment; help children to manage long- term conditions; and, where necessary, meet specific individual health needs arising from a disability, chronic condition or other complex needs. This is in reference to ensuring that staff have access to an up-to-date healthcare plan on the child’s file. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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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: 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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