Children's Home, Residential special school run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness . Young people love their short breaks and continue to benefit enormously from the welcoming, comfortable and safe environment and time spent with the caring, dedicated staff. The decor is constantly being refreshed and the walls and doors display colourful artwork by young people and staff. Young people also benefit from the opportunity to spend time with their peers and to have fun with staff and each other. Communication between staff and young people is exceptional. Dedicated and highly skilled staff use a wide range of communication methods to enable young people to express their views, wishes and feelings and to make choices about their creatively themed rooms and activities. Staff send letters to young people, via their parents, prior to their short break, offering them the choice

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

of activities. These include art and craft, playing outside, listening to music, cooking, riding on bikes and using the climbing frame. Young people have access to a wide range of information on the bright notice boards in the corridor, including how to complain and photographs of their specific centre worker and social worker. Young people make exceptional progress in learning to manage their behaviour, communication, independence skills and social development. Child-focused staff encourage young people to be as independent as possible and to make a positive contribution to the centre. Young people are enabled to engage in activities, such as themed weekends, in keeping with their abilities. Staff worked hard to put on a world food weekend for young people, broadening their experiences of foods from around the world. Young people now contribute to the newsletter and continue to take turns to be on the young people’s council, all of which support their self-

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

confidence and self-esteem. Young people are looking forward to the forthcoming ‘sibling day’, when they can bring siblings or a friend to see the centre. Staff keep young people very safe. They work with parents to write detailed risk assessments, which the registered manager regularly reviews. The dynamics of each group is key to behaviour management, and careful consideration is given to which young people should be placed together to ensure that they are safe. The environment has an impact on young people’s emotional well-being and behaviour, and staff de-sensitise the centre to prevent overstimulation for some of the young people. Good staffing levels ensure that young people are closely supervised by highly trained staff who understand their care needs and thereby reduce risk. Parents are confident to leave their young people for short breaks. The fact that some of the young people are going on an exciting holiday abroad with staff and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

the registered manager is testament to the trust that parents place in the service. The registered manager has returned from a period of illness since the last inspection and, in her absence, the service continued to meet the needs of the young people to a very high standard. On her return, she responded positively to the requirement from the last inspection, resulting in all staff supervision now being fully up to date. She continues to demand high standards from her staff and to be relentless in her plans to drive up standards even further. Since the last inspection, she has ensured that young people have experienced a stable staff group that provides consistent care and that the service remains flexible in order to meet the changing needs of young people and families. The registered manager has instigated a day for staff and childcare professionals to meet and identify how they can work together more effectively to meet the needs of the children. She has

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

started work to improve the service offered to young people who are about to transition to adult care, by involving young people in contributing to a new transition document, which is now part of their reviews. The registered manager is highly effective in supporting her dedicated, confident and hardworking staff to meet the needs of the children and their families, and the centre continues to receive extremely positive feedback from parents and professionals.

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Information about this children’s home

This resource centre provides short-break care for up to six young people who have learning and/or physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments. A local authority manages the service.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 27/10/2016 Full Outstanding 23/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/11/2015 Full Outstanding 13/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 whom 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 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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