Children's home run by Island Choices Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 1 Registered provider: Island Choices Ltd

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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 owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This home was registered on 30 November 2016. Prior to this, it was registered as part of the organisation’s sister home approximately one mile away.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people enjoy individualised care based on their needs. The staff form strong bonds with young people and are aspirational in their approach. Young people respond to staff and identify those they would go to if they were anxious or upset. Young people are respected as individuals and given space and opportunity to explore who they are and where they feel they fit in.  Young people who have moved on from the home after long placements talk fondly of their experiences and remain in contact with staff, who continue to support them. Young people are prepared for adult life by learning skills and tasks and by the role modelling of staff.  Young people’s vulnerabilities are well understood by all staff. They work proactively with partner agencies to form strategies to keep young people safe, while key working sessions and general discussions provide young people with opportunities to understand what risks they may face and how to reduce the

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Key findings from this inspection

likelihood of being in a risky situation.  The managers in the home have extremely strong links with partner agencies, ensuring a holistic approach to care. The registered manager regularly meets with a multi-disciplinary team from the local authority, police and partner organisations to look at risk reduction and securing positive outcomes for 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

 The manager must ensure that a risk assessment is in place for staff working alone with young people in the house. This is necessary, as currently there is often only one member of staff working with the one child currently in the home.  The management team needs to evaluate the impact of emergency and short- term placements on children and young people already living in the home.  The home is homely and well maintained in most areas. However, some areas are dated and dusty. The external stairs to the cellar were littered with cigarette ends.  The child protection policy currently does not comment on the procedure to follow should one child abuse another. It, additionally, does not comment on how young people will be protected in this instance. Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 3

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Recent inspection history

This is the home’s first inspection since registration. Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(i) In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.

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Requirement Due date

This relates to implementing lone-working risk assessments to protect children and staff. 31/05/2017

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This relates specifically to ensuring that the home is well maintained and decorated and cleaned regularly in all areas.  The home’s policies and procedures in relation to the protection of children should reflect any requirements of other relevant legislation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.22) The policy should include how to respond to peer-on-peer abuse and how to

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 5 protect those involved.  Homes set up for emergency placements as indicated and detailed in their statement of purpose will require sufficient staff trained and skilled in the admission and care of children, where their full background may not be known. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.6) This relates to considering and minimising the impact that an emergency placement may have on those already settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have some very strong relationships with staff, which often develop and flourish over time. Staff endeavour to get to know young people and are interested in their views, spending time with them and getting to know their likes and dislikes and, once the young people have settled in the home, enquiring how their day has been at school or while out in the community. Young people often have the opportunity to develop a sense of permanence. There has been a continued issue with young people being told by placing social workers that their placement is temporary or an emergency, which has inhibited some from seeing this as their home. Some placements have been agreed as only short term, and the impact on those already placed and the limited benefits of so short a placement need to be carefully considered before the home accepts these admissions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people know how to make complaints, although there have not been any during this inspection period. Young people’s views are sought informally on a continuous basis. Key work sessions allow young people to share their views on those issues that impact on them more, such as where they would like to live and their contact arrangements, and for exploring why they may have been missing from home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education for those under 16 and who have additional needs is an issue in the local area. During the inspection, one tutor arrived an hour late, and the tutor for the following day was cancelled. The home tries to engage young people in education, but staff know that they are not education professionals themselves and young people struggle with education being in the house. Other young people who have moved on from the home have had mixed success in education. One has been successful in gaining qualifications and attending college, but others struggle to find an education placement where they fit in. Staff work closely with the local education team and virtual headteacher to identify alternative provisions and encourage young people into education. Managers noted that some young people are not emotionally ready for school, and this is often their main barrier to learning. Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 6

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have a range of socially and emotionally stimulating activities to take part in. They are offered a wide range of activities, but do not always wish to join in these, preferring to spend time with peers in the community. The home welcomes young people’s friends and often includes them in activities to ensure that young people know it is their home and to enable them to form links with those they associate with. Activities currently undertaken include cooking, playing board games, going to local cafes and going to car boot sales.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people who are new to the home are made welcome and have the opportunity to choose soft furnishings for their bedroom and decide on how it should be decorated. Pre-placement risk assessments identify the known needs for the young person and how they will blend with the group. The management team reflects on information made available by the placing the authority to produce as accurate an assessment as possible. However, information in the most recent referral records was not up to date, causing some initial issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people who have moved onto independence benefited from staff support and guidance on how to live by themselves. This included how to budget, prepare meals and how to pay bills and manage time alone. A young person who has recently moved on after a long period living in the home remains in regular contact with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported to understand their behaviour and what might be driving it. Reward programmes are clear and achievable, and young people know what is expected of them. Examples of rewards include small gifts for being home on time for a specific period and verbal praise for remaining in contact while out on independent time. Sanctions are rarely used, as staff prefer using transgressions as learning points, rather than something that should be punished.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A great deal of work is undertaken to support young people to understand what is a safe situation or safe relationship. This is tailored to individual needs and understanding, and staff accept that young people may or may not want to hear or digest this information. Links with specialist workers for child sexual exploitation and public protection police officers further strengthen the work in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to follow healthy lifestyles and to understand what this means for them. Fresh foods are available, and young people are offered foods that they may not have tried before to vary their pallet. Smoking is discouraged, and young people have access to the children looked after nurse, who is extremely knowledgeable about the young person living in the home. Medication is stored safely and, when able, young people may self-administer it; there is a safety protocol and risk assessment in place to support this. Young people have access to specialist medical professionals as required, including child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and sexual health and substance misuse workers. Those who are declining to attend appointments are encouraged by staff, who explain the benefits to them. Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 7

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

Young people said that they feel safe in the home and, despite the fact that they said that staff ‘lecture’ them, they know that this arises from concern for their welfare. They identified staff they will go to if they are worried or upset. Staff have an excellent understanding of young people’s vulnerabilities and act swiftly if they are worried or concerned for their well-being. The home has close liaison with statutory agencies and reports any concerns as required. There has been no need to report any issues to the local authority designated officer, although he, too, has good links with the home. All staff have had relevant training, including in preventing child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. They are able to transpose their learning into practice, and refresher training is due to be undertaken via the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

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

The young person goes missing from the home, primarily because they were already displaying this behaviour on arrival. Staff responses are robust and include looking for the young person in any locations they are known to frequent. Individual protocols are followed, specific to the young person’s age and vulnerability. The staff work closely with specialist police officers, who regularly visit to meet with young people. Joint working is effective in this area, and all professionals involved with young people are aware of the risks and share intelligence with the home and police. Staff welcome young people home warmly and seek to identify where they have been, and what led to their being missing. When friends visit the home, staff spend time talking to them and make them welcome, to reduce the possibility of missing episodes and to gather information on where young people may go and who they may be with. Independent return interviews are sporadic.

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

The local authority is currently reviewing the arrangements in place. Staff use key work sessions and general discussion to highlight the risk that individual young people may face when their location is not known, including the dangers of accessing abandoned buildings, which has been a pattern recently.

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

Young people are encouraged to take age-appropriate risk. Risk assessments are thorough and consider how to mitigate the risk and how to best support young people. However, a lone-working risk assessment has not been completed, although there is currently only one young person in the home and this practice is frequent. The risks to the young person or staff have, therefore, not been properly assessed.

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

Staff have a good knowledge of e-safety and risks that the internet and mobile communications may cause. The home’s wi-fi is set up so each young person has access, dependant on age and vulnerability. Staff are aware that young people may still access the internet via mobile devices, and they monitor behaviour and reactions while young people are using them.

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

Young people are protected from avoidable hazards and risks through regular checks of the building and safety equipment. Staff recruitment follows safer recruitment practice, Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 8 and a range of checks and verifications are undertaken prior to staff taking up post. This includes fresh checks on those who have taken sabbaticals or extended leave from the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well run and managed by an experienced registered manager who is also registered for the sister home approximately one mile away. The deputy manager is extremely effective and has relished the opportunity to take on the challenge of being in day–to-day charge of the home. Staffing in the home is becoming increasingly consistent, and measures have been taken to reduce inconsistency in approach, by having a core staff team in the home, rather than all staff working across both homes. Recruitment is ongoing, although the home is fully staffed. Staff said that they feel supported and they can approach managers outside of their formal supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the home and actively seek to learn from challenges to improve the quality of care provided for young people. For example, recent short-term and emergency placements have impacted on those already living in the home, resulting in an evaluation of how this will be managed in the future. The independent visitor produces detailed reports in relation to regulation 44, and the management team responds effectively to any recommendations made. Additionally, managers are monitoring practice in the home in preparation for completing the first evaluation in line with regulation 45 since the home was registered. The development plan is regularly updated, and currently the managers are considering how best to improve the physical environment. Policies and procedures have recently been reviewed and amended as necessary. However, the child protection policy does not contain any

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

contingencies or guidance should a young person abuse another.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s plans are regularly reviewed as needs change and in preparation for their statutory reviews. Managers recognise when they may not be able to meet a young person’s needs and request placement reviews if necessary. They work closely with the placing authority, education, police and other relevant agencies in order to provide the best-quality care for young people. Factors out of their control often impact on the effectiveness and longevity of placements. When necessary, the home effectively challenges services that it does not feel are acting in the young person’s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s records are well maintained. They are young person focused and, when possible, young people are involved in what is included. They are non-stigmatising and reflective of the culture of high aspirations for young people living in the home.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 9 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.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 67 Argyll Street, Ryde PO33 3BY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: William Stanbridge

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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