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Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 1 SC480705 Registered provider: ARC HD Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and mental disorders. It is privately owned by a small company that also owns one other home. The home is located in a rural location, but it is within easy reach of local services and facilities. The aim of the home is to offer a therapeutic environment which is safe, nurturing, encouraging and supportive.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 18 October 2016

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people’s lives are enhanced by residing at the home. They make outstanding progress, developing positive skills which enhance their life opportunities.  Staff have very good relationships with each young person, enabling the young people to gain support, advice, guidance and reassurance from staff.  Young people are making outstanding progress, and develop independence, life and social skills. They are learning positive ways to manage and self-regulate their emotional well-being.  Staff provide consistent, coordinated care which enables young people to feel safe and secure.  Young people are fully involved in all decision made about the home, their care and their living arrangements.  Staff work effectively and collaboratively with others, and have a positive impact on plans of approach for young people.  Motivational, dedicated, enthusiastic and proactive staff provide good role models to young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 To ensure that risk management plans detail all positive safety factors.  To ensure that staff act swiftly, referring safeguarding concerns to senior managers as per the home’s safeguarding policy and procedures.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2016 Full Good 27/06/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/03/2016 Full Good 04/11/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 9.5 page 42) Specifically, to ensure that positives are reflected in risk management assessments and plans.  Children must be listened to and enabled to report any allegations at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegations of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy specifically for staff to report concerns to senior managers. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, paragraph 9.17 page 44)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people experience outstanding care while living at the home. Their opportunities and life chances have been enhanced by living at the home. They have made outstanding progress, developing essential skills which are building their resilience and ability to cope with the challenges that they experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Skilled staff are nurturing and caring in their approach to young people. The quality of relationships between staff and young people is a strength at this home. Staff focus on developing the young people’s trust. Young people swiftly develop positive relationships with staff after moving to live at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

One young person has made significant progress and development in their personal and independence skills while living at the home, including travelling safely on public transport.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people feel safe and secure while living at the home. Staff listen to young people, who share their thoughts, concerns, worries, achievements, celebrations and aspirations with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are fully involved in all decisions made at the home. They attend reviews and meetings in which decisions are made about their care. Young people are supported to contribute and have a positive impact on the decision-making process. Young people Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 4 are involved in redecorating, and choosing soft furnishings for their living spaces and bedrooms. They plan and shop for their menus, and are fully involved in planning and choosing their activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff follow detailed care plans that provide practical information and guidance. Staff complete regular reviews of need through the monthly review system.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support young people to address their health needs by advising, guiding and encouraging young people to seek support. Staff work closely with medical professionals, providing a very high standard of collaborative care to support those with chronic and complex healthcare needs. This has had an outstanding impact on young people, who have been able to have their healthcare needs met by community provision when previously they would have required hospital admission. Staff encourage young people to lead healthy lifestyles by eating a balanced healthy diet and taking part in regular physical activity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are either in full-time education or participate in a programme of meaningful activities. Staff work closely with education providers to support young people to sustain their engagement in education. They provide structure and routine to those who have previously struggled to engage in education-based activities. Young people are making academic progress to their individual capabilities. Staff encourage young people to explore further education opportunities and choices. Young people have positive experiences in education which are having a positive impact on their confidence, self-esteem and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Proactive staff support young people to prepare for, and seek, work experience opportunities and part-time work. Young people enjoy their experiences, which have included CVs and developing their interview skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people engage in a wide variety of activities of their choosing. They are all encouraged to care for the home’s chickens, ducks and goldfish. Staff and young people have garden projects. Young people help with planting and growing the home’s vegetables and flowers They are increasing their physical activity levels and are planning a bigger physical challenge for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Good arrangements are in place to welcome new young people to the home. Staff meet and begin to develop relationships with the young people before they arrive at the home. Staff involve, prepare and talk with the young people already living at the home to support them in preparing for the new arrival.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are given good support when they move on from the home. Thorough, detailed plans prepare young people for moving to semi-independent accommodation. Staff have worked extensively with others to ensure that plans meet the needs of young people. They have sourced additional services to support a young person’s transition and needs into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Good arrangements are in place to support young people to maintain relationships with Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 5 family and friends. Staff work collaboratively to make decisions and arrangements for contact, which they then facilitate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people’s achievements, however small, are celebrated with certificates, rewards and verbal praise. Birthdays, anniversaries and key events are marked for each young person, and staff ‘go the extra mile’ to show the young people that they are cared about.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people report feeling safe and secure at the home. The safety and well-being of young people are high on the agenda of the home. The home is well maintained and safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Detailed risk assessments describe all known risk factors and concerns for young people, with one exception that did not reflect the known protective and safety factors for a young person. A young person has greatly reduced their engagement with risk-taking behaviours, but this is not evident in risk management plans. However, it is evident in other documentation.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff educate young people on how to manage risk, and support them to take age- appropriate risks. Consequently, young people are developing decision-making skills and making good progress in keeping themselves safe in the community, which previously they were unable to do.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Detailed pre-admission risk assessments consider all of the known risks that a young person may present. Managers explore in detail the impact of admitting new young people on those already living at the home. Young people are prepared, supported and involved in welcoming new arrivals to the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding policies and procedures are well understood by staff. Concerns are clearly recorded, and referrals are made to the relevant agencies when needed. Staff follow robust effective systems to report, refer and act on concerns. Managers have thorough systems for monitoring and reviewing concerns, ensuring that matters are acted on swiftly, with outcomes recorded and acted on. One concern was not referred to a manager, as required. The manager quickly identified this and took the necessary action. Staff have had refresher training following this incident to ensure that they all have a clear understanding of the home’s safeguarding policy and procedures. The manager also plans to improve the detail recorded in the home’s safeguarding logs to ensure that a clear trail of actions and outcomes is recorded.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been no allegations made since the last inspection. Staff have a good understanding of the whistleblowing policy.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff work well with the young people to try to prevent them from going missing. If they do go missing, thorough plans and protocols are in place to guide staff. Staff are rigorous in following these, and take an active and coordinated approach to finding young people. Young people are welcomed back and given the opportunity to talk about Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 6 why they went missing. Detailed records are kept of the incidents, and referrals are made to other agencies if needed.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Incidents of self-harm are well managed by calm staff who follow clear individual protocols for each young person. These have been formulated with the support of professionals from outside the home. Staff are trained and skilled in responding to these types of incidents. They have good knowledge and insight into each young person’s needs and the stimuli for episodes of anxiety and concern. Plans and intervention strategies are regularly reviewed and updated as required.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained in the home’s preferred method of behaviour management. Staff are proactive and utilise a wide variety of de-escalation strategies and techniques effectively. Staff complete detailed records of incidents that have occurred. There has been no physical intervention used at the home since the last inspection. Managers monitor and review incidents thoroughly. Young people are learning positive ways to manage and self-regulate their feelings and emotions. They are talking to staff about their worries and concerns, and choosing to use learned strategies, such as going for a walk, to help them to contain and manage their feelings and emotions.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Sanctions for poor behaviour are rarely needed and, if used, they are directly linked to the behaviour and are restorative in nature. Young people have written letters to apologise to others if their behaviour has directly hurt or caused distress, and have replaced items from the home if they have damaged them.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager has reviewed and updated the home’s location risk assessment. She plans to review this again in response to new information about the local area. There have been no complaints made since the last inspection. Staff have a clear understanding of the policy and procedure to follow when a complaint is received.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Leaders and managers made amendments to the recruitment systems and process following the last inspection. To date, no new staff have been recruited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An experienced, qualified registered manager manages the home effectively. The home is settled, with an established, experienced staff team. Staff have high aspirations for young people. They support young people to aspire and achieve their objectives by learning skills to become resilient and independent young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a very good knowledge and understanding of each young person, and has developed very positive relationships with them all. She supports and encourages young people to make positive decisions, which are having a significant impact on their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are caring and child focused, and treat all young people with dignity and respect. They provide good role models to young people through structure, routine and Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 7 boundaries. They motivate and encourage young people to achieve the best that they can by being alongside them, working towards achieving their objectives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have clarity about their strengths and weaknesses. They are motivated, aspirational and positive, and want to achieve the best that they can. The manager and senior staff use a variety of systems and processes to ensure that they regularly review and evaluate the quality of care provided. They swiftly act on issues identified in the regular independent visits to the home. The detailed home development plan is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the targets that the manager and staff wish to achieve. Staff have made positive improvements to the environment. Staff fully engage young people in all of these changes, from instigation through to implementation. They regular seek feedback from young people, professionals and parents about the quality of care and progress made by the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has responded and acted on issues identified at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff access a wide variety of good-quality training that is specific to their role. Staff are enrolled on the required level 3 qualification or already possess it. The home’s development plan details the training planned for the coming months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel well supported and have regular opportunities to reflect and be debriefed following complex and challenging incidents. This allows space to review the effectiveness and impact of the interventions with young people and the personal impact on staff. Supervision is regular and effective, and has a positive impact on staff practice. Staff practice is appraised at least annually, and those staff on probation receive regular reviews to ensure that their practice is developing to the required standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have developed very good, effective and collaborative working relationships with those outside the home. They work very closely with professionals to the benefit of young people’s plans. They have a clear, joint approach which has promoted the consistency and responses given to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Young people are well supported by staff to use community facilities. Staff have formed very positive relationships with community and voluntary groups which have enabled young people to be well supported in their community.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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. Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 8 Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well

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Information about this inspection

it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: ARC HD Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wessex House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh, Hampshire SO50 9FD

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Inspector(s)

Amanda Maxwell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC480705 10 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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