Swanwick Lodge

Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 1 SC038719 Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This secure children‟s home is managed by a local authority. It is approved by the Department for Education to restrict young people‟s liberty. As well as the living accommodation, there are dedicated facilities on site for education. The children‟s home can accommodate up to 16 young people, who are aged between 10 and 17 years. Young people are the subject of section 25 of the Children Act 1989 and placed by local authorities. Admission of any young person under section 25 of the Children Act 1989, who is under 13 years of age, requires the approval of the Secretary of State.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Requires improvement to be good

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Requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Requires improvement to be good

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Requires improvement to be good

Outcomes in education and related learning activities Requires improvement to be good

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Requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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Requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 8 November 2016

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Requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

This children‟s home requires improvement to be good because

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Key findings from this inspection

 A small number of young people whose behaviour could not be managed by the home have been admitted. The demands brought about by this group have meant that, at times, the care of the general cohort has been less than good. Some young people said that during this period they, at times, felt unsafe and frustrated that staff did not have time to spend with them.

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Key findings from this inspection

 A safe, secure and risk-free environment has not been consistently maintained. Five young people have successfully absconded from the centre, after exposing shortfalls in the secure environment.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Care and education managers have failed to address the majority of requirements and recommendations from previous inspections.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The recent change of manager and changes in the structure and systems for promoting improvement and increasing oversight and accountability, need time to be embedded.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Additional shortfalls have been identified. These relate to inconsistent sharing of information with young people; lack of robust internal monitoring, including the use of restraint; staff supervision and training; notifications; independent return interviews and escalation of challenge; management lines of accountability; and young people‟s progress in mathematics.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers have recognised the need for change and improvement. They have made a number of decisions that have already had a positive impact on the care of young people who confirm that they are much happier than previously.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers and staff demonstrate a strong, child-focused commitment to improving the quality of care for young people. They have shown good experiential learning and have a realistic understanding of the home‟s strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers have devised realistic and well-thought-out plans that provide the foundations for good improvement and development. These plans give the care, safety and security of young people the utmost priority. Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 3  Staff demonstrate resilience and are clearly committed to supporting the young people in their care. Despite the demands and pressures that they have been exposed to, their motivation has remained unquestionable.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/05/2016 Full Good 20/10/2015 Full Good 27/05/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 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

7: The children‟s views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In particular the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to -

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(iii) ensure that staff help each child to understand how the child‟s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the reasons for decisions in relation to the child.

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to providing children with written responses following any complaints and concerns raised by them. 07/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In particular the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to -

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Requirement Due date

2(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to managers ensuring that they maintain oversight of day-to-day practice through the effective use of existing monitoring processes. 07/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children‟s home. In particular the registered person must ensure that medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23(1)(2)(b)(c)) 07/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

If a home has a website, the registered person must ensure that 07/06/2017 Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 5 a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication would prejudice the welfare of children in the home. (Regulation 16(4))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”) has spoken to the user about the measure and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 07/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 07/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)(e)) 07/06/2017

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Recommendations

 Make better use of the procedures for challenging the placing authority or any other relevant person when they do not provide the input and services needed to meet a child‟s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home. This is with particular reference to ensuring that young people are provided with an independent return interview when a child returns after being missing from care or away from the home without permission. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline or restraint are subject to detailed scrutiny, which includes a review of the whole incident and not just the holds used. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.36) Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 6  Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically, managers should improve the progress and achievement rate that young people make in developing their mathematics skills. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically, managers should swiftly reinstate science in the core curriculum and continue developing the education and learning on offer to young people by offering vocational and information technology (IT) learning opportunities. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically, establish an effective management information system that allows leaders and managers to obtain accurate and up-to-date data with regards to the progress that young people make. Utilise this information to undertake robust and regular evaluation of the provision that leads to action planning that secures improvement. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically, further develop all teaching staff‟s ability to challenge poor and offensive language with the aim of developing further young people‟s personal and social skills. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically, establish clear lines of leadership that offer appropriate support and challenge to education managers in order to secure the continuous improvement of education and learning activities. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically reduce the number of young people‟s authorised and unauthorised absences from education so that they maximise their attendance at education and learning activities while in the home. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Inspection judgements

Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 7

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improvement to be good

The progress that young people make varies. There are some good examples of young people having settled and made good progress. However, for a short period, the home has accommodated some young people whose needs have escalated and could not be fully met. The need for staff to focus on managing the overtly aggressive and challenging behaviour of this group has meant that, at times, the proactive care of others has unavoidably suffered.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff have recognised the need to ensure that they can meet a young person‟s needs when considering admissions to the home. They are placing a particular emphasis on ensuring that any new admission does not have a negative impact on the current group. This, combined with the decision to limit the number of young people, has started to have a positive impact. The home currently is accommodating a well- matched group of young people who feel much safer as a result.

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improvement to be good

Systems are in place for young people to formally raise a concern or complaint. Young people confirm that they understand the procedures and the majority are confident that staff listen and take their views seriously. However, a small number of young people are not as confident. For example, one young person said, „There is no point in complaining because nothing changes.‟ Inspection of records confirmed that this is not the case and that, when young people have complained, managers have investigated their concerns thoroughly. However, the reliance on verbal feedback and the absence of any written response to young people about the outcome of their complaints means that they are not always kept informed of how their views have been considered.

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improvement to be good

Some improvements have been made to the way in which medication is managed in the home. This includes better ways of maintaining information about each young person‟s medication needs, the introduction of individual storage containers and improved auditing systems. Despite these improvements, there have been errors that have occurred since the last inspection, including one young person being given the wrong medication. When the young person reported this, managers quickly sought advice from medical professionals, ensuring that there was no direct or significant impact. Furthermore, action was taken to address staff not following the home‟s medication procedures. Some medication records were incomplete at the time of the inspection. This made it difficult to assess whether some young people had been given their medication in line with their prescription, and records did not accurately reflect the balance of medication stored in the home. Enquiries made by the nurse confirmed that

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improvement to be good

these discrepancies were recording shortfalls rather than further errors in the administration of medication.

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improvement to be good

Young people have access to a wide range of services and skilled professionals, including child and adolescent mental health, substance misuse and child sexual exploitation workers. This ensures that young people have access to the resources that they need and that health-related interventions can be delivered by specialist teams and Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 8 individuals. In general, levels of engagement are reasonably high, and young people take an increased interest in and responsibility for their health. This is because opportunities for engagement have been improved. For example, a qualified doctor now visits the home each week offering consultations. The in-house health and well-being team spends time on the units getting to know young people informally. This promotes positive relationships and goes some way towards breaking down the barriers that young people can face in relation to addressing their health needs.

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improvement to be good

Young people continue to raise concerns about the quality of the food on offer to them. Managers have made efforts to understand the nature of the concerns and have made a number of changes to the menu as a result. Not all young people said that they are happy with these changes, and managers continue to seek their views about how further improvements can be made, while maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet.

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improvement to be good

The young people confirmed that staff consult with them and that their views are sought regarding their care and the day-to-day running of the home. They participate in „have your say‟ surveys, individual key work sessions and young people‟s meetings, which are now occurring more frequently as a result of the home being much more settled. Young people‟s self-confidence and ability to express their views positively increase, as they engage with the opportunities that they have to make their voices heard.

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improvement to be good

There have been times when the choice of activities has been limited, due to the need for staff to focus their attention on the management of some individuals. A number of young people expressed frustration about this but recognised that improvements have been made over recent weeks. This is because staff are able to spend quality time with the young people, who are now provided with a range of purposeful and fun activities, such as board games, playing on games consoles, zorb football and pamper sessions.

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improvement to be good

On the whole, young people have developed strong relationships with the majority of staff. Throughout the inspection, staff demonstrated warmth and nurturing care for the young people, taking full advantage of the currently relaxed and positive atmosphere in the home. The staff know the young people well and spoke with pride about some of the progress and achievements that they have made since their admission. The young people could identify some staff that they can trust and feel secure with, confirming that currently they feel safe and well cared for. They were particularly complimentary about those staff who provide clear boundaries, spend good-quality time with them and help them to reflect on the reasons why they are at the home. Young people‟s identities are valued and any specific needs, whether cultural or religious, are known and met.

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improvement to be good

Case management and planning are effective. Care plans are devised in conjunction with other professionals, such as education staff and the health and well-being team, which includes the psychologist and other specialist workers. These plans provide staff with clear guidance on how to meet the needs of each young person. Every effort is made to involve young people in setting their own targets, such as attending scheduled appointments, taking their medication and achieving the highest status on the homes‟ reward and incentive system. This further empowers young people and, over time, they begin to take ownership of their lives. Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 9 Each young person is allocated a key worker on admission. Key workers play a major role in coordinating the care of their key child. They liaise with parents and professionals to ensure that they are kept informed and involved and that statutory and secure

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improvement to be good

accommodation reviews take place on time. In the majority of cases, reviews have been effective in ensuring that informed decisions can be made through a multi-agency approach. However, this has not consistently been the case. For example, in one secure accommodation review, a placing authority raised concerns about the lack of information and the absence of key people, making it difficult to make decisions. Inspectors are of the opinion that this is a reflection of the challenges that the home was facing at the time, and that managers have taken swift action to address the inherent issues, so that this does not occur in the future.

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improvement to be good

Care staff work effectively with the education team to make sure that communication and information sharing are effective. In the main, young people spoke positively about their increased levels of engagement, are recognising the value of education and are more confident in thinking about, and planning for, the future.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage young people to have contact with their families, offering good levels of support to ensure that purposeful visits take place. Managers are flexible and accommodate visits at the last minute, as observed during the inspection. Young people have access to a telephone, ensuring that they can keep in touch with family members and friends who are listed on their approved list of contacts. As a result, young people can maintain links with key people who often play a major part in supporting them when they return to the community.

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improvement to be good

Young people are supported to help to prepare them for leaving the home. For example, good use has been made of planned and approved mobility to enable them to spend structured and supported time in the community and, in a number of cases, to visit future placements. Managers make clear from the outset the need for placing social workers to be proactive in identifying the resources necessary to support young people‟s planned return to community living. Timescales for challenging placing authorities when resources are not expediently identified are now incorporated into policy. However, there remains a frustration that, despite escalating concerns to placing authorities, there continue to be too many occasions when resources, in particular accommodation, are not confirmed until very close to the date when a young person is due to leave the home. Staff try to reduce the impact of this, including, in some cases, by trying to source

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improvement to be good

placements on behalf of the placing authority. This has ensured that, in the large majority of cases, young people have made a well-planned transition from the home.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 10 The current group of young people confirmed that they feel safe in the home and have positive relationships with most of the staff team. They reported that there is always someone that they can talk to if they have a problem. All care staff have undertaken some level of safeguarding training, and those spoken to demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in this respect. They know what to do when concerns are raised by young people, and good systems are in place for investigating and managing concerns. However, on one occasion, staff failed in their duties to report the concerns, resulting in a delay of four days before the issue was shared with senior staff. This delay did not compromise the safety and well-being of the young person, and managers took swift action to ensure that this was an isolated incident.

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improvement to be good

Management meetings are held on a daily basis. These forums provide good opportunities for sharing information, ensuring that managers are kept informed about any known or emerging concerns. When necessary, managers have shared information with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and the designated officer in the local authority with whom they have open and transparent links. This has ensured that, when allegations and safeguarding concerns arise, they have been suitably managed through a multi-disciplinary approach that helps to keep young people safe.

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improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, five young people have absconded from the home, exposing a number of behaviour management and environmental shortfalls. In all cases, managers have been proactive in ensuring that appropriate steps have been taken to make the necessary improvements and reduce the opportunities for future incidents to occur. This includes improvements to the environment in consultation with specialist architects commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), managing admissions and restricting accommodation, as well as establishing an agreed protocol for police support for when staff are unable to safely manage acutely challenging and threatening behaviour.

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improvement to be good

There is a protocol in place if young people abscond from the home. This has been expediently initiated in relation to the five young people that have gone missing since the last full inspection. Managers and staff have worked collaboratively with the various authorities to secure the young people‟s return as quickly as possible. Young people are positively reintegrated when they return, and a visit by the placing authority is requested. However, these visits do not always take place in a timely manner, and one took over a month to be completed. Furthermore, there is no evidence that managers have challenged the placing authorities‟ delay in meeting their statutory duty to provide young people with an opportunity to have an independent return interview within 72 hours.

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improvement to be good

Young people who display self-harming behaviours are helped to stay safe through effective risk assessments and well-considered staff responses. These plans are agreed with mental health practitioners who provide direct support for young people as well as information, advice and guidance for staff. Handovers are used effectively to discuss each young person‟s presenting level of risk, and supervision regimes are increased when necessary. Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 11 Searches of bedrooms and communal areas are completed in line with procedures and when intelligence is gained by staff. Young people are aware of the need for these to be completed and sign their records, allowing discussion when items have been removed to support their safety. Searches on admission and following visits from the home are proportionate, using „pat down and electronic wand‟.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s behaviour is assessed constantly, and there is a good reward system in place to promote and incentivise positive behaviour. Young people stated that they understand the system well and enjoy receiving rewards. Staff consistently encourage young people to move up the incentive scheme and help them to achieve additional privileges. Staff use sanctions well, linking these to the behaviour exhibited when possible. The use of „restorative justice discussions‟ increases young people‟s awareness of the reasons that sanctions are given and, in some cases where appropriate, decreases the degree of the sanction. This empowers young people to examine their own behaviour and to see how this affects others. Not all of the records examine the effectiveness of the sanction, which could further improve young people‟s awareness of their behaviour if assessed correctly.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of bullying behaviour are responded to well. A number of young people spoke about feeling afraid and intimidated by some young people, none of whom lives at the home currently. They confirmed that „staff tried to sort this‟ by talking to the individuals and the group when they were not getting on. One young person said, „They try to make sure that we all feel OK with each other and things are much better since (Name) left.‟

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in restraint techniques, and young people, through discussions and evidence in records, stated that they understand why they have had to be held. All incidents of physical intervention are recorded, and the management team has developed a recording tool that has gone some way towards improving the quality and level of detail contained in restraint records. However, timescales for completing these records and completing debriefs are not consistently met.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of restraint are scrutinised by managers through the use of closed-circuit television and reviewing the written reports. There is a focus on reviewing the holds to ensure that they are safe, and there is good evidence of using this information to improve staff practice or support any emerging investigations. However, this scrutiny does not expand to reviewing the build-up to an incident and the actions taken by staff post incident; this is acknowledged by the newly formed management team.

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improvement to be good

Staff use single separation and „managing away‟ appropriately, and situations are monitored well by senior staff. Staff attempt to engage with young people during incidents and try to minimise the time that young people spend away from their peers. Targeted work is delivered to those who need intensive support to enable them to function as part of the general population. This is in line with the home‟s overall behaviour management regime and therapeutic model.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment records include an evaluative front sheet to show that all staff have Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 12 undergone necessary checks to help to keep young people safe at the home. Records are basic, but show that there is a system in place to examine a range of aspects of staff‟s skills, qualifications and backgrounds before they commence work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is undergoing a period of transition. The current manager has been in post since March 2017 and has considerable experience of working at this home. She is close to completing a level 5 management qualification and is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, managers and staff have at times been faced with significant challenges associated with a small group of young people whose needs could not be effectively and safely managed. The need to focus on these young people has meant that, during this difficult time, staff struggled to provide consistently good levels of care for all young people. The senior management team had already recognised the need for change and has started to make good inroads into identifying and addressing the areas for improvement. For example, managers have agreed to limit admissions and are now more thorough when assessing the needs of young people referred to the home, ensuring that their needs can be met by a staff team that is currently carrying a number of vacancies. Recruitment to vacant posts is ongoing and runs alongside a measured plan to gradually increase occupancy, as more staff are recruited and trained. These

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

decisions have provided, and will continue to provide, an opportunity to consolidate and rebuild, and early signs are positive. The young people told inspectors that they are much happier now because things have settled down. They are not afraid of their peers and have the opportunity to spend quality time with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been insufficient action taken in response to the requirements and recommendations made at the previous inspection in November 2016. Of the three requirements, only one has been fully addressed, resulting in an improvement in the quality of information contained in the regulation 44 reports. Requirements will be raised again in this report in relation to medication procedures and behaviour management records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Positively, managers have taken action to address the two recommendations from the visit in November 2016. Efforts have been made to improve the quality of food, and work is ongoing in this area. There is now a formal timeline for challenging and escalating concerns when external agencies and professionals do not provide the input and services needed to meet young people‟s needs. However, this is not being consistently used, for example, in challenging delay in placing authorities‟ delivery of independent return interviews within statutory timescales, following an episode of a young person being missing from care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Three education recommendations were raised at the full inspection in May 2016 and were reviewed as part of this inspection. Insufficient action has been taken to address Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 13 these, and all three are repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers show a good level of learning, having reflected on the challenges presented over recent months. A recently appointed individual has taken overall responsibility for ensuring that inherent issues are addressed and that young people receive a consistently good level of care. Areas for development have been clearly identified, and thoughtful, realistic strategies are in place to ensure that the necessary improvements can be made throughout education and care provision. Good consideration has been given to the roles of each manager in ensuring that continuous development is promoted. Clear lines of accountability have been identified throughout the leadership team, and a number of processes and meetings have been introduced to ensure that progress in relation to the home‟s development plan is continuously reviewed. If used effectively, this should ensure a more diligent approach to addressing shortfalls, such as requirements and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The complex and demanding needs of some young people, combined with staff leaving and absence through sickness, have meant that at times staffing has been stretched. During these times, staff have shown an immense amount of resilience when dealing with young people who have presented challenging behaviour, including staff suffering serious assaults. Gaps in the rota have been covered, using a combination of agency staff and core staff working extra shifts. A number of staff said that this left them feeling tired, but working extra was necessary if any continuity of care was to be maintained. Despite the impact on staff morale, this shows that the motivation of staff remains unquestionable, although their ability to undertake their roles in a planned and well- thought-out manner has at times been compromised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all staff are receiving regular supervision. Data maintained by managers confirms that, on average, only 75% of staff received formal supervision between January and March 2017, arguably at a time when they needed it most. One of the team managers is responsible for maintaining oversight of the home‟s training plan, which clearly identifies the needs of care staff. Training opportunities have been limited, due to the restrictions on releasing staff from direct work with young people. Scrutiny of the training records confirmed that all care staff have completed mandatory safeguarding and physical intervention training, and dates are identified for the 53% of staff who need to complete or refresh their first aid training. However, this plan does not include the training needs of education staff. The consequence of this is that neither education nor care managers have identified that no education staff have completed safeguarding training since 2013.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

This was addressed during the inspection, with all education staff completing on-line level 1 training. Within the staff team, 45% are suitably qualified and the remainder are either in the process of completing a relevant qualification or waiting to be enrolled on the next intake.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been a number of serious incidents reported to Ofsted since the last inspection. In the main, the information shared provides a good insight into the nature of the concern and the action taken to ensure that young people‟s safety is given the utmost priority. However, on two occasions, there has been a delay between the incident occurring and Ofsted being informed: seven and 14 days respectively. This Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 14 makes it difficult for Ofsted to fulfil its regulatory responsibilities. When necessary, managers and staff have engaged the services of external agencies and have worked with them to ensure that all aspects of risk are managed. For example, when young people have exposed vulnerabilities in the secure environment, the home has worked effectively with partner agencies to ensure that shortfalls are addressed quickly and the integrity of the building is improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some aspects of day-to-day monitoring require improvement. Managers have, on occasions, failed to use existing systems to identify and address shortfalls; for example, they have failed to address the requirements and recommendations from previous inspections. To the new manager‟s credit, her thoroughness when undertaking the most recent six-monthly quality care review meant that she had recognised and started to take action to address a number of areas for improvement. She recognises that this level of scrutiny needs to be demonstrated throughout the management team, which should be making better use of systems, such as daily briefings and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The statement of purpose provides good information about the aims and objectives of the home and the services and support for young people. It is revised annually and is available to professionals on request. However, the document that is available on the home‟s website is significantly out of date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

On the whole, there is good liaison with external stakeholders, such as placing authorities, parents, safeguarding and health professionals, and, in a large majority of cases, there is a cohesive approach and a sense of working together to support young people. There are good examples of the home advocating on young people‟s behalf.

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to be good

Young people continue to make good progress in most core and additional subjects, such as English, art, physical education (PE) and woodwork, considering their prior attainment, which was often low and below the standard for their age. In English, in particular, young people improve markedly their reading comprehension. Many of the young people who undertook qualifications in functional skills in English and awards in art and other subjects last year achieved and passed their tests well.

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to be good

In mathematics, young people have not made sufficiently good progress in the last year. Similarly, those young people undertaking exams in mathematics experience a low rate of success. Staff absences in this area have had a negative impact on young people‟s development of mathematics skills. Consistent teaching for mathematics has been recently re-established, but it is too early to measure impact with regards to improved outcomes in this subject area.

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to be good

Young people attend education well considering that many of them had extremely poor attendance in school prior to their arrival at the home. However, the percentage of authorised and unauthorised absence is too high and requires improvement. Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 15 Young people‟s individual educational needs are identified promptly, and targets are set for the development of their English and mathematics skills as well as behaviour and attendance. These targets are not always sufficiently challenging, in particular in mathematics where staff absence has led to a delay in identifying each young person‟s starting points in this subject.

p.14

to be good

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good overall. Teachers develop very good rapport with young people.

p.15

to be good

Teachers plan learning well, using a variety of resources and visual props that support the topics that they are teaching. Many are imaginative in their approach to teaching, and this enables young people to remain engaged and curious to learn. Teachers demonstrate a high level of flexibility and often improvise or quickly change teaching strategies to adapt to young people‟s interests. In a very few instances, learning activities fail to stretch and challenge the most able.

p.15

to be good

Much of the teaching promotes young people‟s social development particularly well. Often, teachers hold conversations with the young people on social topics, promoting the development of English speaking and social skills at the same time. However, in one lesson observed, teachers and assistants failed to challenge gender stereotypical views voiced by young people. Teachers hold high ambitions for the cultural development of young people and, for example, in art they actively seek to explore a wide range of painting styles with them.

p.15

to be good

Young people receive good support in class from teachers and learning assistants who know well their strengths and weaknesses in learning. Even those young people who have complex needs are kept engaged and attending the full lesson to the best of their abilities.

p.15

to be good

The curriculum of core subjects is narrow and has decreased since the previous inspection. Furthermore, it does not support the development of IT and employability skills of young people.

p.15

to be good

Young people experience good development of their personal skills and behaviour. Mutual respect is evident in the vast majority of classes. In the very few instances when offensive language is used by young people, this is not well challenged or managed. Young people have good punctuality at education and learning activities and remain productive and engaged in tasks until the end of the lesson or session. They develop a good understanding of how to work safely with tools and are vigilant of the wider safeguarding issues affecting them and each other, such as self-harm.

p.15

to be good

Young people participate well in sports and games and play with staff and their peers in team games. During their leisure time, they seek to participate in recreational activities together and with staff, such as playing board games.

p.15

to be good

Young people develop their confidence and self-esteem in education and other activities Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 16 and further improve essential skills, such as working with others and being tolerant of each other. However, teachers do not always maximise the opportunities available to them to support young people to develop useful employability and life skills, such as good food hygiene. A wide selection of enrichment activities are available. These link well to the curriculum and include some aspects of science.

p.15

to be good

Arrangements for information, advice and guidance continue to be good. Career advisers build successful relationships with young people, in the main, and provide effective advice in relation to learning and training opportunities in the geographical areas where the young people will relocate to when they leave the home. Education continues to work well to support young people to secure a college or training placement when they leave the home, in particular in those instances when the home authority has arranged a placement for the young person. Young people undertake activities, such as visiting colleges, which equip them well for the next steps in their education and learning.

p.16

to be good

Managers have been effective at addressing performance when education staff have not met the high-quality standards of teaching and learning expected at the home. Current staff, including temporary teachers, make every effort to secure and maintain the high quality of teaching and learning observed at the previous inspection.

p.16

to be good

Managers and care staff maintain good communication with teaching staff, reviewing issues affecting the engagement and attendance of young people, such as behaviour or health issues. This allows them to monitor closely how young people are developing and to provide effective support.

p.16

to be good

The successful partnership, noted at the previous inspection, with a local football club remains. However, no links or further partnerships have been developed, for example with local employers.

p.16

to be good

Leaders and managers have not made sufficient progress in rectifying the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. As a consequence, they have not developed the curriculum to meet the full learning and development needs of young people, in particular broadening the core curriculum to include science, information and communication technology (ICT) and vocational skills development. They have not provided effective support and challenge to the education manager to ensure that they continue to improve the provision.

p.16

to be good

All teaching and learning support assistants have undergone the necessary recruitment checks.

p.16

to be good

The use of data is insufficiently robust to provide a thorough evaluation of the provision, in particular of the outcomes that young people experience that lead to effective action planning and secure improvement. The progress and achievement that different groups of young people make are not identified or monitored. Similarly, no information is gathered to demonstrate the impact that attending education at the home has had on young people once they leave. Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 17

p.16

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.

p.17

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‟. Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 18

p.17

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hampshire County Council, The Castle, Winchester SO23 8UG

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Inspector(s)

Paul Scott, social care inspector Andrew Hewston, social care inspector Natalie Burton, social care inspector Maria Navarro, social care inspector Inspection report secure children‟s home: SC038719 19 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.

p.18

Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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