Children's Home run by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council in Blackburn with Darwen

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 improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home provides an outstanding quality short-break service for young people and their families and can demonstrate the positive impact and difference that it has made to their lives. The home maintains highly effective partnerships with social workers, schools, parents, carers and other professional agencies to ensure that young people benefit from the best possible help and all-round support. Young people benefit from exceptionally well planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively and contributes to significant change and improvement in their lives.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The safety of young people is consistently at the centre of staff practice, irrespective of the challenges that this presents. Staff demonstrate an excellent awareness of the specific needs and vulnerabilities of young people, and take appropriate action to address them. Young people become increasingly safer as a result of the actions that staff take to support and protect them. Young people are kept safe and develop a very strong sense of personal safety.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people benefit from effective support through individual and group work activities to address their needs, feelings, problems, insecurities and anxieties. The home provides outreach support for young people and their families to enable them to resolve and overcome any issues that they may have. Staff understand that strong feelings and emotions can influence young people’s behaviour. They explore the feelings of young people so that they can identify any underlying reasons for their specific behaviours. They help young people to understand the triggers for their behaviour so that they can learn to control their feelings and self- regulate their own behaviours safely. Staff demonstrate a positive work ethic and shared ethos, approach and philosophy in caring for young people. They adopt a caring, highly supportive, non-punitive and nurturing approach that clearly focuses on encouraging and developing young people’s positive behaviour.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been no significant incidents, sanctions, complaints, restraints or disclosures since the last inspection. Young people rarely go missing, and if they do, they benefit from an effective response to promote their quick and safe return. Staff maintain highly effective partnerships with the police and all other safeguarding agencies to promote the safety and well-being of young people. Young people are protected from abuse, bullying, exploitation and all other forms of significant harm. Careful thought and consideration are given to which young people are placed together to ensure group compatibility and the safety of young people at all times.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is effective scrutiny of the performance of the home. Each month, the home is visited by an independent person who scrutinises the home’s practice and consults with young people and other interested parties involved or associated with their care. This enables the independent person to form an impartial and professional opinion about the standard and quality of young people’s care and the arrangements made to safeguard them and promote their well-being. The manager makes good use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities and is consistently ambitious and energetic about sustaining the home’s improvement. The independent visitor reports, ‘It’s absolutely lovely. Crazy mad at times but it’s completely normal. Out of all the services I visit, this is an elite service.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people recently contributed to the home receiving an Investors in People award in recognition of the outstanding work and services that the home provides for young people and their families. The views of young people and other interested parties are ascertained to influence service delivery. As a result, the views of young people and those significant to them are central to all aspects of how the home operates and develops its practice. Consequently, young people feel valued, engaged, empowered, actively listened to and involved. There are no breaches in regulation. Consequently, there are no requirements or recommendations made as a result of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people under a short-break arrangement who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is run and managed by the local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 05/12/2016 Full Outstanding 15/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/11/2015 Full Outstanding 25/03/2015 Interim Improved 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 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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