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

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff prioritise the welfare and safety of young people. They build trusting relationships with the young people, who develop the confidence to discuss sensitive issues.  Young people receive excellent support and guidance in relation to their personal development, building healthy relationships and staying safe on the internet.  Care planning is a strength of the home. Young people are set achievable targets, and their progress towards meeting these is effectively monitored.  The individual vulnerabilities of each young person are clearly identified. Effective strategies are implemented to reduce the potential for young people to come to harm.  Young people make good progress across many aspects of their lives. They generally do well in education, develop increased emotional resilience and acquire new skills.  Young people’s mental health and emotional well-being are prioritised. Young people have access to specialist therapeutic support.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Leaders and managers are proactive in seeking new ways to provide effective care for the young people.  The system for monitoring young people’s educational progress is particularly strong. Effective communication takes place between school and care staff, and this ensures continuity of care.  The organisation’s operations manager is particularly effective at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the home.  Some shortfalls in the standard of practice were identified. These mainly relate to the use of physical restraint, seeking medical attention for young people in a timely manner and the management of allegations against staff. Young people have not come to harm as a result of these shortfalls.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) 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

10: The health and well-being standard In order to meet the health and well-being standard, with particular reference to ensuring children receive timely medical attention following an accident, the registered person must ensure: 10(2)(c) that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. 21/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision (Regulation 16(3)(b)). Specifically, they must ensure that revised copies of the home’s statement of purpose are sent to HMCI within the required timescale. 21/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(2)) 21/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child, which include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child (Regulation 36(1)(a)). Specifically, they must ensure that details of any accident involving a child are recorded in the home’s accident logbook. 21/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation (Regulation 39(3)). Specifically, they must ensure that that, when a child makes a complaint or allegation against a member of staff, a report is made of the subsequent investigation. This report should state who is accountable for any decisions made when the investigation 21/04/2017 has been completed.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure children are able to take up issues or make a complaint with support (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 13.54.13). Specifically, when children state that they are unhappy with the actions of a member of staff, treat this as a complaint.  Ensure staff help looked-after children to understand the role of an independent advocate and how they can access one (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.17). Specifically, ensure that the home’s independent advocate visits the children to explain his role and the options for contacting him.  Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5). Specifically, ensure that children’s individual risk assessments are reviewed and amended accordingly, following a significant event such as the child going missing, or the child making an allegation against a member of staff.  Ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to meet their training needs (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11). Specifically, ensure that staff who are new to the home receive training relating to the needs of children who are on the autistic spectrum, in a timely manner.  Ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1). Specifically, ensure that references for new employees are verified, and that a

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Recommendations

record is kept of when and how this is done.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately operated children’s home, registered to provide care for up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Children have access to the organisation’s school and therapeutic services.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/05/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

14/07/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

The home provides the young people with a stable, nurturing environment, where they develop a sense of security and belonging. Staff consistently prioritise the welfare of the young people and, over time, build trusting relationships with them. They listen to the young people’s views and encourage them to develop their personal interests and hobbies. A daily house meeting provides the young people with the opportunity to raise any concerns, resolve differences with their peers and plan what activities they would like to pursue. Although there is a strong commitment to hearing the wishes and feelings of the young people, the organisation’s independent advocate has not been to the home to introduce himself, explain his role or ensure that the young people know what options they have for contacting him. There have been two incidents when a young person expressed dissatisfaction with the care that he was receiving, but these

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Good

were not recognised as complaints. As young people settle in the home, they develop the confidence to discuss sensitive issues with the staff. This has included young people disclosing traumatic events from their past. One young person said, ‘I like all the staff and could speak to any of them if I was worried about something.’ Young people receive excellent advice and guidance from the teaching staff at the organisation’s school on issues such as personal development and safe relationships. Young people maintain good attendance rates at school, and all are making steady progress. A social worker stated, ‘He is doing really well in school, and showing a lot of potential.’ Communication between the school and the care staff is good, and this ensures that young people receive a consistent message regarding expectations. Staff encourage the young people to do well in school and ensure that they are well prepared for lessons.

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Good

Staff actively promote a healthy lifestyle. They support the young people to manage their diet and ensure that they take regular exercise. This often involves young people engaging in a range of leisure activities, such as swimming and trampoline. This aspirational approach to caring for the young people has had positive results, and young people who have special needs arising from medical conditions have acquired more skills than originally anticipated. The mental health and emotional well-being of young people is given equal priority. Young people have access to therapeutic counselling provided by the organisation and, over time, most form beneficial relationships with their counsellor. A social worker for one young person stated, ‘He has made real progress in therapy; he is now able to communicate how he is feeling and regulate his emotions.’ Despite this overall proactive approach to ensuring that young people’s health

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Good

needs are met, a recent incident was not handled effectively. There was a long delay in seeking medical attention for a young person who had an accident in the home and received a head injury. Furthermore, the advice given by medical staff at the accident and emergency department was not written down, and the incident was not recorded in the home’s accident logbook. Ultimately, the young person did not come to any lasting harm as a result of these shortfalls, and the incident is not indicative of sustained failings in the quality of care. Young people’s care plans are highly personalised to meet their individual needs. They clearly state the targets that young people are working towards and ways in which these will be achieved. Young people’s progress is monitored and recorded, so that they recognise when they are achieving well and when they need to further develop. Many of the targets that young people work towards are aimed at

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Good

improving their independence and life skills. Care plans are reviewed every six weeks by a multi-disciplinary team. This ensures that care plans remain relevant and focused on the changing needs of the young people as they mature. Managers and staff have the skills to develop positive working relationships with parents and carers and resolve any disagreements. There is a strong commitment to ensuring that family contact visits are planned and meet the young person’s needs. Leaders and managers seek to actively engage the young person’s social worker in making these arrangements. As a result, contact visits generally become a more positive experience for all concerned. The home provides a comfortable environment for the young people, and there is ample space for group living. Young people take pride in their bedrooms and personalise these to reflect their interests and preferences. The home is decorated

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Good

There is a strong focus on keeping young people safe and protecting them from harm. Staff are familiar with the vulnerabilities of each young person and they provide high levels of supervision. This minimises the potential for young people to become exploited as a result of their vulnerabilities. Individual risk assessments identify how and why a young person could come to harm and the strategies in place to mitigate the risk. These are implemented in practice. Overall, the management of risk is good. However, individual risk assessments are not always reviewed and amended in a timely manner, following a significant event. Risk assessments had not been updated following one young person going missing from the home for a short period, and, similarly, the lone-working risk assessment for a young person who made a recent allegation against a member of staff had not been reviewed and amended. Young people report that they feel safe in the home, and all can identify trusted

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Good

members of staff that they would speak to if they had any concerns. One young person has made substantial progress in being able to trust adults. Overall, young people feel that they are listened to and that staff have their welfare and best interests at heart. Staff prioritise speaking to the young people about keeping themselves safe and managing personal relationships. This has been particularly effective in ensuring that young people are aware of the dangers that they face when accessing the internet. One young person gave a clear explanation to the inspector of how he could become exploited when communicating with unknown individuals via the internet. Young people do not generally go missing from the home or leave without permission. This is partly attributable to the high levels of supervision that they receive and the fact that staff speak to them about the dangers associated with going missing. Since the interim inspection in May 2016, there has been one

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Good

occasion when a young person went missing. Staff followed agreed procedures and the young person was soon located. This demonstrates that staff have the knowledge and skills to respond appropriately and ensure a young person’s safe return at the earliest opportunity. Clear behaviour management strategies are implemented in practice. These reflect the organisation’s recently developed model of intervention known as PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy). This approach emphasises helping the young people to gain a greater insight into how their behaviour affects them and those around them, and it consistently promotes positive behaviour. Young people’s individual behaviour management plans are detailed and provide excellent guidance to the staff on how to identify when a young person is becoming anxious and likely to present challenging behaviour. They also provide clear strategies for de-escalating potentially confrontational situations.

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Good

Despite there being a focus on de-escalation techniques, staff have occasionally resorted to the use of physical restraint before all de-escalation strategies have been exhausted. Two of the restraint reports sampled during this inspection did not indicate whether, at the point when physical restraint was initiated, the young person was about to inflict injury on himself or others, or was causing serious damage to property. One young person said, ‘Restraint should be a last resort, but is sometimes the first resort.’ A social worker also expressed the view that, ‘Restraint has been used to stop something that may happen.’ Staff are skilled at promoting positive peer relationships. They use restorative approaches to resolve any disagreements that emerge within the group. Staff recognise any signs that a young person is being victimised and intervene appropriately. As a result, the young people become more tolerant of each other,

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Good

and express confidence in the ability of the staff to prevent bullying cultures taking hold in the home. Effective communication with external safeguarding agencies is fully embedded in practice. Child protection concerns are promptly reported, and the staff ensure that young people receive the support needed to manage their feelings after making a disclosure. The designated officer in the local authority is consulted whenever an allegation is made against a member of staff or when the professional conduct of staff has given cause for concern. The designated person confirmed that he has confidence in the leadership and management team to act on any advice that is given. The recruitment and selection of staff are focused on preventing unsuitable adults from gaining access to vulnerable young people. Generally, safe recruitment procedures are adopted. However, the inspector identified two cases where there

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Good

was no record of the applicant’s referees being asked to verify the reference given. It was explained that this was a recording error, rather than a failure to contact the referee. Potential new staff go through a vigorous interview process, enabling leaders and managers to assess the applicant’s ability to form trusting and supportive relationships with the young people. All statutory checks are completed for new staff, and there is a robust induction and probation process for those joining the organisation. The home is well maintained and provides a safe environment for the young people. Health and safety checks are routinely completed, ensuring that young people are not at risk from unnecessary hazards. Fire safety equipment is serviced at regular intervals, and all staff and young people take part in fire drills, ensuring that they know how to evacuate the building in an emergency.

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Good

The home has an experienced registered manager who holds the level 4 diploma in leadership and management for health and social care. He is currently studying for the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. There has been a high turnover of staff at the home since the last full inspection in December 2015. This is mainly due to staff transferring to other homes within the organisation. Currently, only one of the twelve staff members has a suitable qualification for the role, although nine are currently undertaking a relevant training course. The organisation has a large group of bank staff and does not resort to using staff from external agencies. This ensures continuity of care for the young people, as all staff working in the home are familiar with the organisation’s policies and procedures for caring for the young people. There are well-established systems for monitoring the quality of care being

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Good

provided. The system for auditing young people’s progress at the organisation’s school is particularly effective. It clearly identifies the young people’s progress and academic achievement. It also provides care staff with daily information relating to any significant events that have taken place during school hours. This ensures that staff are able to support young people with any difficulties that they are having in the school environment when they return to the home. External professionals are consulted and asked to give feedback on the home’s performance. An independent visitor undertakes monthly visits to the home and provides comprehensive reports on the standards of care being achieved. The registered manager monitors and reports on the overall quality of care every six months. He is currently focusing on how he can make these reports more analytical and evaluative of the service. Although monitoring processes are well embedded,

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Good

they have not identified some of the shortfalls seen during this inspection. The registered manager is supported well by the organisation’s operations manager. He has been able to assist the registered manager to identify weaknesses in the practice of some staff and to focus on the priority areas for development. The operations manager provides the registered manager with regular, high-quality supervision, focused on the needs of young people, and on the registered manager’s professional development. Leaders and managers build positive working relationships with external agencies and professionals. The social workers and an independent reviewing officer who were contacted during this inspection were unanimous in their view that information is shared in a timely manner and that they are kept informed of young people’s progress. Leaders and managers are strong advocates for the young people in the home and make robust representations when they feel that other

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Good

agencies may not be providing a young person with a good-quality service. The registered manager has high aspirations for the young people at the home, and this is mirrored by staff delivering the day-to-day care. Significant events pertaining to the welfare and safety of young people are reported to the appropriate authorities. When allegations are made against a member of staff, leaders and managers ensure that all relevant information and evidence are obtained. However, this information is not collated into an investigation report. Therefore, it is not always possible to identify the rationale behind decisions taken at the end of the investigation and who is accountable for these. Neither is it possible to identify any learning and recommendations that have resulted from the investigatory process. Staff are provided with a range of opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify their professional development needs. These can occur in individual

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Good

supervision, group supervision and team meetings. Team meetings have a strong focus on any emerging safeguarding issues, and the effectiveness of the strategies in place to support the young people. Staff access a comprehensive range of training courses. Over the last year, there has been a focus on assisting staff to gain the skills and knowledge required to implement the organisation’s PACE approach to caring for young people. Not all of the current staff team members have undertaken training on meeting the needs of young people diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum, and, at the time of this inspection, no new training was planned. This could result in some young people’s needs not being fully met by staff. The registered manager has a thorough understanding of the placing authority’s plans for each young person. These are reflected in the home’s high-quality care plans, which clearly identify the targets and progress made. An excellent standard

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Good

of care planning and progress monitoring has been introduced for a young person who does not have local authority child looked after status. The home’s development plan is constantly updated to reflect areas of practice that could be further developed. This demonstrates the registered manager’s commitment to ensuring continuous improvement. The statement of purpose is a comprehensive document, which provides a detailed and accurate account of the services being provided. This document is often updated, but leaders and managers have not consistently ensured that revised copies are sent to the regulator.

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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 whom 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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