Children's Home run by Bay View Child Care Limited in Lancashire

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:

 Young people receive a very high standard of care that meets their individual needs and enhances their day-to-day lives. Young people, parents and external professionals are highly satisfied with the service.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people develop warm and nurturing relationships with staff. They trust staff and feel safe in their care.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Staff strongly support young people’s education. Young people are making good progress, with high levels of attendance and positive achievements.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people enjoy a wide variety of activities. Their talents are recognised and encouraged.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Staff listen to young people and learn about what is important to them. They support young people to express their views and act upon their wishes when they do.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Staff have a clear understanding of risks to young people’s safety and well- being. Risks are carefully managed to help ensure that young people are safe and protected from harm.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Staff support young people’s behaviour in a positive manner. Staff understand the young people and are able to de-escalate potentially challenging situations quickly and effectively.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 From their starting points, young people have reduced their engagement in risky behaviours such as going missing from home, which means they are safer on a day-to-day basis.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 The home is well led by a committed and registered manager. The registered manager leads the home in a way that promotes high ambition and good outcomes for young people.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 The registered manager supports a positive culture in which people feel able to express their views or raise concerns.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 The registered manager works positively with external professionals involved in the care of the young people. This helps to ensure that young people receive well-planned, coordinated care.  The registered manager effectively monitors safety and quality across the service. A reflective approach means that any potential learning is identified and applied following adverse incidents such as complaints or safeguarding concerns.

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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

 Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of two homes owned and managed by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Outstanding 16/10/2014 Full Good

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Outstanding

Feedback received from external professionals, parents and young people themselves about the quality of care provided at the home is consistently outstanding. All the young people who live at the home expressed contentment and spoke highly of the registered manager and the staff. One young person said, ‘This is always a nice place to be. The staff are all great.’

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Outstanding

Several social workers commented on what they felt was a very nurturing environment and said the registered manager and staff were focused on promoting young people’s emotional well-being. This was reflected in the care records of young people. Several examples were available to demonstrate that staff are able to quickly identify when a young person is feeling low or anxious and take appropriate and prompt action to support them.

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Outstanding

Young people described positive relationships with staff and described staff in ways such as ‘great’, ‘caring’ and ‘fun’. A social worker commented on the positive relationships shared between young people and staff and said they felt staff were very positive role models. A parent said, ‘X likes all the staff. They are just great with him.’

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Outstanding

Young people are encouraged to express their views and staff respond positively to them. Examples of action taken in response to young people’s day-to-day requests are abundant. A social worker described how staff had taken time to obtain legal advice for one young person who had some questions about his personal circumstances. It was noted that the registered manager had strongly encouraged another young person to engage with an advocate. Staff help young people to express their views and listen when they do, which supports their autonomy and lets them know they are valued.

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Outstanding

A social worker commented that the registered manager and staff were highly supportive of the young people’s needs in relation to contact arrangements. They described how they felt staff went ‘above and beyond’ at times, to ensure that young people got the most from contact with their loved ones. Supporting young people to maintain important relationships promotes their emotional well-being.

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Outstanding

The registered manager and staff proactively support young people’s education. Most young people attend school on a full-time basis and education professionals report a good level of communication from staff at the home. One young person attends school on a reduced-hours basis. The registered manager has actively sought out additional learning opportunities for him, which include work experience in an area he has a particular interest in. The young person said he was very pleased with this opportunity and was enjoying the experience, which he felt would be valuable to him in the future. Supporting young people’s educational and vocational attainment helps them to achieve and increases their future life chances.

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Outstanding

The young people who live in the home benefit from the opportunity to engage in a wide range of fulfilling and enjoyable activities. They described activities such as regular music lessons, fell-walking, army cadets and cinema trips. Staff recognise and encourage young people’s skills and talents and support them to develop new ones.

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Outstanding

The young people are strongly encouraged to take part in charity and voluntary work. They talked of a number of activities they had taken part in to assist local organisations. These included one young person completing the ‘Three Peaks Challenge’ to raise funds for a local animal sanctuary. He said it was very challenging and he was very proud of his achievement. The registered manager commented that these activities had assisted the young people in developing their social awareness and self-worth.

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Outstanding

Young people enjoyed giving guided tours to the inspectors and showing the many photographs of them engaging in activities with staff and the certificates of achievements posted about the home. One young person had recently created a family tree on which he had put the registered manager, the staff and the other young people as his family. It is evident that young people have a genuine sense of belonging and pride in their home.

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Outstanding

Young people feel safe in this home and have confidence in the staff. One young person said, ‘I can always talk to the staff. They listen when things go wrong at school.’ A social worker described how one young person always chose to have his contact at the home as this was his ‘safe place’. Parents also have good confidence in the home. One parent commented. ‘I know X will always be safe while he is living there.’

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Outstanding

Staff have a clear understanding of risks to individual young people’s safety and well-being. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are based on current, up-to-date information. Where risks are identified, there is clear guidance for staff on how to support young people in a safe way. The registered manager works closely with external professionals to help ensure that there is clear planning in place to protect young people who may be at risk of harm. Several social workers commented on what they described as a proactive safeguarding approach. However, it was identified that clearer recording when sharing information with external professionals would be of benefit. A recommendation has been made to that effect.

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Outstanding

The registered manager ensures that all staff are fully aware of their responsibilities to safeguard young people in their care. Training is provided to all staff at the start of their employment and is regularly updated. Clear procedures mean that staff are able to report any safeguarding concerns quickly and efficiently. A recent example of staff quickly identifying a safeguarding concern and taking prompt action resulted in the authorities having the opportunity to safeguard many young people in the community. The actions of staff were commended by the local police. This positive approach to safeguarding helps to promote young people’s safety and well-being.

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Outstanding

From their starting points, all the young people who live in this home have made outstanding progress in terms of reducing, or in some cases ceasing, risky behaviours. Incidents of young people going missing from home are rare, as are incidents of young people engaging in concerning activities such as offending.

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Outstanding

Staff support young people to manage their behaviours in an extremely positive manner. Staff understand young people and how they might express feelings of anxiety or distress. They are able to de-escalate situations very quickly and in most of these situations they are able to do this before circumstances reach crisis point. As a result, the number of incidents where staff are required to physically intervene is very low.

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Outstanding

In some circumstances, young people may be requested to undergo some reparation or a consequence as part of the home’s behaviour support procedures. Some inconsistencies were noted in terms of the types of reparation imposed by staff. In some cases the consequences were not clear or did not fully relate to the behaviour that had occurred. As a result, a recommendation is raised.

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Outstanding

There are measures in place to help ensure that young people are provided with safe, secure accommodation. Regular environmental safety audits are conducted and action is promptly taken to ensure that any areas requiring attention are addressed. Facilities and equipment, such as fire safety equipment, are regularly serviced and checked by external contractors. This helps to safeguard young people from harm.

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Outstanding

Robust recruitment procedures require all prospective employees to undergo a range of background checks prior to an offer of employment being made. The checks include full employment histories and police records, and help to ensure that young people receive their care from people of suitable character. Judgement grade

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Good

The home benefits from a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager who demonstrates in-depth understanding of young people’s needs. The registered manager leads the home in a way that supports high-quality care and positive outcomes for young people.

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Good

The registered manager ensures that young people’s well-being is central to the running of the home. For example, processes for considering new admissions to the home are very carefully managed. A thorough matching process is conducted and the impact that a new young person may have on the existing group is carefully considered.

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Good

The registered manager works positively with external agencies. Feedback from community professionals, including social workers and education staff, is consistently positive. A social worker commented, ‘The partnership working really stands out for me.’ And an education professional described ‘excellent and regular communication’. This positive joint working helps to ensure that young people receive well-planned, holistic care.

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Good

The registered manager advocates for young people and is able to challenge external services when young people are not receiving the support they need. This helps to ensure that young people’s best interests are consistently promoted.

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Good

Staff are positive about the home and demonstrate a commitment to providing high-quality care. They show a good understanding of their roles and the needs of the young people they support. Staff describe a supportive environment within which they feel comfortable in expressing their views and opinions.

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Good

There has been some turnover of staff since the last inspection. However, discussions with parents and external professionals demonstrated that this has been very well managed and the impact on young people has been minimal. Young people commented that they liked the new staff team and felt staff had been positively involved in the recruitment process.

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Good

Staff expressed satisfaction with the training and support provided at the home. One newly recruited staff member was highly complimentary about his induction and described a thorough process during which he felt well supported at each stage. He said he found regular meetings with the registered manager particularly helpful.

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Good

The registered manager has processes in place to monitor each staff member’s training. All staff benefit from a variety of training courses and are encouraged and supported to complete their diplomas in caring for children and young people. The registered manager has recently conducted a review of the training provided and has made some improvements to the programme. This positive approach to training helps to ensure that young people receive their care from skilled and competent staff.

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Good

The registered manager effectively monitors quality and safety across the service. Regular monitoring helps to ensure that any areas for development are quickly identified. Some records in the home could be maintained in a more effective way to enable more productive auditing. A recommendation has been raised in relation to this. Outcomes for young people are central to the monitoring process; this demonstrates that their views and experiences are central to the home’s management.

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Good

A recommendation was made at the last inspection of the home in relation to the registered manager’s six-monthly monitoring report. It was confirmed during this inspection that the recommendation has been addressed and the report now contains a good amount of both evaluation of and information on future developments.

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Good

The registered manager ensures that there are robust and prompt responses to any concerns raised. Formal management investigations take place in response to any adverse incidents, such as safeguarding concerns. The registered manager demonstrates a reflective approach and speaks openly about identified areas for improvement. This helps to ensure that the service learns from adverse incidents, which minimises the chance of them happening again.

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Good

External complaints are thoroughly investigated and there is a transparent approach taken. For example, the provider recently requested the home’s independent visitor to oversee a complaint investigation. This demonstrates a transparent and open approach, which helps to safeguard young people.

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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 that 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 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, workbased 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

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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