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Social care · Children's home inspection (SCCIF)

Children's home run by Thoughts of Others Limited in Birmingham

Inspected 29 Mar 2017 · URN SC464249

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Summary

RI to be good

Christy Wannop

What we read, and from where

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  • Inspection datesingle source

    29 Mar 2017

  • Inspectors verified

    Christy Wannop

  • Helped and protected verified

    Requires improvement

  • Overall effectivenesssingle source

    Requires improvement to be good

  • URN verified

    SC464249

Page 1 of 19
Page 1 of the report

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Hollow rings show the previous inspection, 2016.

  • OverallRI to be good
  • Helped and protectedRequires improvement

13% of comparable inspections in the last three years were graded Requires improvement to be good (12,716 inspections).

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

−39Criticalmore positive than 34% of reports of this type graded Requires improvement to be good
OutstandingGoodRIInadequate

In line with other reports of this type graded Requires improvement to be good.

Markers show where typical reports of each grade sit.

Praiseindependentsafecleareffectivehighly effectiveconsistentlywell supportedconfident
Criticismat riskweaknessesnot yetharmlackseriousnot alwaysrequires improvement

How the report reads, start to finish

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What needs to improveAbout the inspection positive critical

Strengths

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No standout praise found.

Concerns

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No strong criticism found.

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

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Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages
19
Words of findings
4,716
longer than usual (typical 1899)
Reading level
Hard
Flesch 45, typical 50
Average sentence
19 words
Next steps
8
typical 8
Hedged sentences
8%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

What needs to improve 92%About the inspection 8%

Full report text

Requires improvement

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.

p.2

The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Staff and managers do not always follow the local safeguarding children board‘s or the home‘s procedures when children make allegations against staff. The manager has not notified Ofsted of some allegations.  The statement of purpose does not state that the service accommodates some children on deprivation of liberty orders. Also, it does not clarify the difference in the care delivered to a child on an order and to a child who is not.  Records of the use of deprivation or restriction of children‘s liberty or movement do not include all the information required under regulations.  Managerial scrutiny has not improved the quality of all records, safeguarding practice, or ensured that children‘s self-harm and health needs are managed consistently.  The registered provider suspended independent reporting without making alternative arrangements for a number of months. Consequently, the service was without external scrutiny on children‘s safety and well-being.

p.3

The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Children do not have independent access to a telephone to make calls should they need help or advice.  Staff do not have specific training in self-harming behaviours.  The registered provider‘s systems for staff induction and confirmation of staff probation lack detail.

p.3

The children’s home’s strengths

 Children receive good educational support. Children get clear messages about the value of learning and of keeping good daily routines.  Children and staff have good relationships, which help children to grow in confidence.  Children benefit emotionally from being able to access a range of creative resources that include good access to speech and language therapy, music therapy, drugs counselling and psychology expertise.  Children reduce their previous high-risk behaviours, such as self-harm and going missing from care, because of the diligent care of staff.  Staff feel well supported by the registered manager, who has recently gained her Level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare.

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets 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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered person must ensure that staff help each child to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

(2)(a) (i) achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child‘s relevant plans; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

(c) that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. 30/06/2017

p.5

Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard:

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to safeguarding policy, policy and practice, and risk assessments, the registered provider must ensure:

p.5

Requirement Due date

(2)(a) that staff– (i) 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; (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‘s welfare; and (vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‘s child protection policies; (e) that the effectiveness of the home‘s child protection policies is monitored regularly. 30/06/2017

p.5

Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard 30/06/2017 In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to fulfilling safeguarding responsibilities, quality of children‘s records and delivering improvement against regulation and guidance, the registered provider must:

p.5

Requirement Due date

(1) enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children‘s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

(a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare.

p.6

Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

(a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‘s statement of purpose; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; in particular, that staff receive awareness training of self-harming behaviour; (e) ensure that the home‘s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. The registered person must compile in relation to the children‘s home a statement (―the statement of purpose‖) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. Specifically, make clear the organisation‘s approach to deprivation of liberty and restriction of liberty and movement. (Regulation 16(1) and Schedule (2)) 30/06/2017

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to the following facilities which they may use without reference to persons working in the home— a telephone on which to make and receive telephone calls in private. (Regulation 22(3)(a)) 30/06/2017

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‗the behaviour management policy‘) which sets out the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. This is with reference to the procedure for implementation of deprivations, or restrictions, of liberty and movement. (Regulation 35(1)(b)(2)) 30/06/2017

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the 30/06/2017 use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes all elements of this regulation, and has spoken to the user and to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(b)(c)) The registered person must maintain records (―case records‖) for each child which are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. Case records must be kept securely in the children‘s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 30/06/2017

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40(4)) 30/06/2017

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‘s home at least once a month and must provide a report. The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person‘s report to HMCI and the placing authorities of children. (Regulation 44(1)(7)(a)(c)) 30/06/2017

p.7

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

p.7

Recommendations

 Ensure that restraint records also include interventions that restrict a child's liberty of movement. Restrictions such as these, and all other restrictions of liberty of movement, should be recorded as restraint. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 47, paragraph 9.42)

p.7

Recommendations

 Ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, and clear recording. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.7

Recommendations

 Ensure that staff understand that deprivation of liberty may occur when a child is both under continuous supervision and control, and is not free to leave the home. A children‘s home cannot routinely deprive a child of their liberty without a court order, such as a section 25 order to place a child in a licensed secure children‘s home. In the case of young people aged over 16 who lack mental capacity, deprivation of liberty may be authorised by the Court of Protection following an application under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 50, paragraph 9.63)  Continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements that are in place to protect them. This is with respect to inclusion in risk documentation of all risks, such as actions in the event of self-harm, or for occasions where staff restrict children‘s movement. (‗Guide to the children‘s

p.7

Recommendations

homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 42, and paragraph 9.5)

p.8

Recommendations

 Ensure that the principle of listening to the child and taking their views, wishes and feelings into account when planning and undertaking their care applies to all children, including children with disabilities, special educational needs or other complex needs. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 21, paragraph 4.5)

p.8

Information about this children's home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private provider operates the home.

p.9

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/11/2016 Full Requires improvement 23/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/10/2015 Full Good 24/02/2015 Full Good

p.9

Requires improvement

Children arrive at the home with vulnerabilities and behaviours that have put them at significant risk of harm. From the start of their placement, these risks reduce rapidly. This is possible because staff take into account children‘s vulnerabilities and behaviours and put in place measures, such as high supervision, to keep children safe. Despite children‘s good starts, inconsistent practice means that the quality of care delivered by staff to children requires improvement. For instance, in one case a child was not taken for medical treatment at the earliest opportunity. When medical advice was sought, the decision was made that the child needed to stay in hospital. Once admitted into hospital, staff support and care was good. Staff stayed with the child at all times and ensured that she received the treatment required during and after her stay. Although the delay did not have a detrimental impact on the child‘s health, the lack of clear guidance for staff created an

p.10

Requires improvement

Children‘s health plans are in place, but they do not describe how actions identified in statutory health assessments and local authority health plans will be met. The registered manager was able to describe intended plans to address some health needs, but these were not recorded in the children‘s health plans. For example, staff have not followed up or recorded the plan to ensure that children‘s vaccinations are updated at the company‘s school. Furthermore, the registered manager has not yet secured a consultant‘s review of medication for a child who was admitted to the home three months ago. At the time of the inspection, the registered manager and the child‘s social worker were confident that this would be addressed in the near future. These gaps in records create confusion over how children‘s health needs are fully met.

p.10

Requires improvement

Staff receive training on a number of subjects, such as safeguarding, behaviour management and first aid, all of which cover some aspects of self-harm. Discussions relating to specific children‘s high-risk behaviours also take place in meetings involving all staff. The two children currently living in the home can cause significant harm to themselves. One child has made good progress to reduce the intensity and number of incidents. This has been achieved in a short period. Although staff are supporting children who have very complex needs, staff have not received specific training to make sure that they are skilled in managing and responding to children who self-harm. Records of accidents and incidents of self- harm do not show how staff use their first aid skills or seek proper medical advice promptly. These weaknesses in records mean that it is not possible to demonstrate that staff do take the right measures to apply emergency first aid when required.

p.10

Requires improvement

Children‘s views, wishes and feelings are not well recorded. Records of key working and weekly aims discussions do not give a good picture of how children are feeling. For example, records do not show how children feel after they self-harm, or how their wishes affect their care. There is no evidence that staff have discussed with one child the implications of a recently imposed deprivation of liberty order. Staff can reflect on plenty of discussions that have taken place with children and are confident that children‘s views are taken seriously. However, weaknesses in records compromise this potentially good practice.

p.11

Requires improvement

Arrangements for children to have access to a telephone without having to ask staff does not meet regulation. This restriction is not part of their risk assessment or placing agreement with placing local authorities. Consequently, children are unable to contact their advocates, social workers, or any helplines independently of staff, and may not be able to call for help.

p.11

Requires improvement

The organisation‘s behaviour management approach relies on high staffing levels and constant supervision. Consequently, children only spend time alone when they are asleep at night. One child has a formal deprivation of liberty order. The other child does not have an order. Nevertheless, this child also has a high level of staff supervision. For example, staff have restricted her to the use of three rooms in the house, including the bathroom, and, following a self-harming incident that required hospitalisation, she is not allowed out. Children do not see these restrictions on their movement negatively. One child told the inspector that the registered manager ‗stops me going out and that makes me think about my behaviour‘.

p.11

Requires improvement

Children are making progress in some aspects of their lives. For example, staff have helped one child to make safer decisions and, consequently, she now needs fewer staff to supervise her. The last child to move into the home had a good transition from her previous placement. This included staff playing a key role in coordinating her move, and this helped her to settle in well. This child thought this home was better than her previous residential experience. She told the inspector, ‗They look after me more.‘ An independent professional told the inspector that the home had provided, for a different child, a ‗high level of physical and emotional containment alongside emotional support with a family feeling‘.

p.11

Requires improvement

Children‘s education is coordinated well by the registered provider. Children either attend the provider‘s school nearby, or are on roll and access their education at home with the support of qualified teachers. This helps children to overcome initial barriers to learning prior to starting at the provider‘s main school. Children receive the extra help that they need to prepare for their GCSE exams, to give them the best opportunity to achieve educationally. Staff work in partnership with school staff. For example, there has been a recent dip in a child‘s attendance and the staff were quick to liaise with the organisation‘s school to remedy this. This swift action has ensured that the child‘s educational progress is not compromised.

p.11

Requires improvement

Information about how children can use the home‘s complaints procedure is clearly covered in the children‘s guide. Both children now have external advocates. The children‘s guide makes it clear that some staff are related to directors or senior managers and that children are encouraged to have confidence that their concerns will be addressed. Children have not made any complaints.

p.11

Requires improvement

Staff support family contact and friendships with other children in the organisation well. Children have upbeat, constructive relationships with the large team of lively staff. These relationships and support have helped children to make safer life choices.

p.12

Requires improvement

Children benefit from good specialist services provided by the organisation. For example, children are able to access speech and language therapy, music therapy, drugs counselling and psychology expertise that helps to inform the assessment process. These arrangements mean that children do not have to wait for child mental health support or counselling. Staff value the creative input of the music therapists, who help them to gain insight into children‘s social, developmental and emotional needs. The music therapist told the inspector that she valued the staff support so that children can ‗experience a therapeutic and an emotional space once a week where there is no pressure to achieve or conform‘.

p.12

Requires improvement

The registered manager has ensured that medication is now stored, recorded, administered and disposed of properly. These improvements make sure that children receive medication in accordance with the prescribing doctor‘s instructions.

p.12

Requires improvement

Staff encourage children to do their own washing, cooking and cleaning if this is part of their independence plan. This encouragement helps children to develop their basic life skills. However, neither child has opportunities to build their independence skills in the community. This is because of the level of staff supervision provided, or because children have become so used to constant supervision. Consequently, they have mixed feelings about moving towards the next stage of their lives. This ongoing, intensive supervision does not help to prepare children for independence, or to move to other residential services, and has the potential to eventually hinder their progress.

p.12

Requires improvement

Children enjoy going to the local high street with staff to spend reward and pocket money. Children like the city‘s amusement venues and going ice skating, trampolining and paintballing. Sometimes, children enjoy using the trampoline in the small concrete yard at the rear of the house, supervised by staff. Judgement grade

p.12

Requires improvement

While in this home, children become safer compared to their previous level of vulnerability and behaviours. Children no longer go missing from care, or bully each other, and any vulnerability to child sexual exploitation is minimised because of high staff supervision. There has been no police involvement, even when children have been violent towards staff. The managers have not criminalised children unnecessarily.

p.13

Requires improvement

The core staff team understands the risks and needs of individual children. Some children‘s high-risk behaviours, such as self-harm, have reduced rapidly since living at the home. Despite the level of success made by children, their risk assessments are not consistently maintained to a good standard.

p.13

Requires improvement

The responsible person has created a new organisational role of safeguarding officer. The new post holder has not yet successfully improved the safety of children or supported the registered manager in her role. This change in processes has confused some staff members and means that staff are less certain about how to implement safeguarding procedures.

p.13

Requires improvement

The registered provider has not defined the thresholds for referring allegations against staff to the local area designated officer. Moreover, the organisation‘s safeguarding officer has delayed referring allegations against staff to appropriate professionals. Allegations are predominantly about restraint practice by staff, and include the director, who had been called to assist. Where a child has a history of making allegations during restraint, information about incidents has been collated and passed on a weekly basis to the local authority social worker. Managers believe that the risk to a child is reduced in these situations due to the high number of staff being present and able to witness appropriate or inappropriate practice.

p.13

Requires improvement

The quality of recording safeguarding decisions is not consistent. The registered manager does not have access to the electronic record of safeguarding incidents held by the organisation‘s safeguarding officer. This does not support the registered manager to fulfil her responsibilities to ensure that appropriate action is taken and outcomes are reached.

p.13

Requires improvement

Some safeguarding documentation is confusing. It fails to consistently provide a clear chronology of action taken by staff, or give a full account of the events or the conclusion. For example, new referral forms to the host authority designated officer have been sent with the wrong incident date and incorrect information. There is no record of advice sought or given by the local area designated officer. There is no managerial monitoring of how the safeguarding policy has been applied. These inconsistencies in records mean that it is hard to know that staff practice takes into account the needs of children. However, when children spoke with inspectors, they did not raise any safeguarding concerns about the staff practice.

p.13

Requires improvement

Omission of key information, or factorial errors, means that unfamiliar staff will not know how to best minimise avoidable hazards to keep children safe. For example, one risk assessment contains inaccurate information about a child‘s legal status and, consequently, the decision-making authority for that child. Another risk assessment for another child makes no mention that a deprivation of liberty order is in effect, or which risks are managed through this, and how. Managers have not ensured that records tell staff of the actions to take after a child has self-harmed. Children‘s risk assessments and documentation do not address the situations when staff may restrict a child‘s liberty or movement, or the risks that led to staff clearing one child‘s room of all but essential contents. They do not identify clear strategies that enable an unfamiliar member of staff to support a child to make progress.

p.14

Requires improvement

Records of ‗hands on‘ restraint are now clearer than seen at the last inspection. Staff use of physical restraint is kept to the minimum and does take account of the child‘s individual needs. One child told the inspector, ‗They hold tighter here to keep you safer.‘ However, the restraint overview by the registered manager does not cross-reference when children have made allegations about a restraint, or whether the local authority designated safeguarding officer has been notified, or that a child has complained of unauthorised techniques in their subsequent debrief. The gaps in recorded detail mean that managers and staff are not able to show that their practice is safe and only ever used to protect the child.

p.14

Requires improvement

Improvements had been made in recent months to ensure that staff, when they restrict children‘s movements, record this in a separate ‗Restrictions Log‘. However, the records do not provide the information required by regulation and have not been used for all restrictions. A recent decision by the registered manager not to allow a child outside has not been recorded. Consequently, it is not clear whether the practice is necessary, effective, or what the child‘s views are of this.

p.14

Requires improvement

Improved systems now ensure that robust vetting of staff is secured before they start working at the home. A range of environment and vehicle checks ensure that the staff and children are safe. These checks keep children safe from avoidable accidents and from people who may be unsuitable for the work.

p.14

Requires improvement

An experienced registered manager is in post. She was registered in April 2015 and has recently completed the Level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. Children respond well to her. During the inspection, the warmth of their relationship and communication with her was clear. She was well informed about their care, their plans and progress. This showed that the manager carefully listens to children and monitors their progress.

p.14

Requires improvement

The vast majority of weaknesses identified at this inspection relate to recording omissions. This means that the quality of care is difficult to track and that reviewing children‘s progress, joint working and decision-making is not easily validated.

p.15

Requires improvement

The registered person and registered manager have taken actions to meet most of the previous requirements, but progress has not always been sustained. This inspection makes some requirements again for different aspects of the same regulation and identifies new weaknesses.

p.15

Requires improvement

The previous requirement for consultation with stakeholders in the six-monthly quality review is not yet tested. This is because, at the time of this inspection, the registered manager had three days remaining to submit her report to Ofsted.

p.15

Requires improvement

Security of children‘s confidential information is still not good enough. Some children‘s sensitive files were stored in a cabinet in a communal dining room. At times, this was left unlocked and was, therefore, accessible to anyone.

p.15

Requires improvement

The statement of purpose is informative but does not provide any details about the organisation‘s approach to deprivation, or restriction of liberty or movement, nor does it make clear how the staff at the home will do this. From reading the document, parents and placing authorities would not be sufficiently informed about this important aspect of the home. Managerial and operational overview of safeguarding, restrictive and restraint practice is not yet of a consistent quality. Data collection about restraint has begun, but lacks any evaluation and omits data about duration or allegations made by children about restraint. The registered manager has not made sure that staff are using revised guidance to inform safe restraint practice. Staff still have access to previous guidance dated November 2016. This guidance shows techniques, such as restraining children to the floor. The registered manager told inspectors that this guidance and associated

p.15

Requires improvement

techniques are no longer used. Inspectors were unable to confirm this due to the quality of recording. Poor-quality records are widespread. They are unreliable because so many are incorrectly dated, including referrals to the local safeguarding authority and to Ofsted.

p.15

Requires improvement

Some systems for formally monitoring the quality of staffing are minimal. There are no formal systems for confirming staff competence in post after successful completion of a defined induction or probationary period. The induction record is a short, one-page guide relevant to the home. The registered manager does not directly supervise the majority of staff who work at this home. Without a more formal induction process, she is not fully aware of all performance issues or whether additional staff are sufficiently competent to lead shifts.

p.15

Requires improvement

Just over half the core staff team of 15 have achieved the government‘s recognised qualification at Level 3 in working with children in residential care. Other staff are registered on courses to achieve this. Most of the core staff team members are now trained in first aid, the care of medicines and have received ligature training.

p.16

Requires improvement

Staffing ratios are high. A core staff team provides a degree of staff consistency for the children. However, a high number of staff, 34, have worked in the home over a one-month period, in addition to core staff. Such high numbers are required to support the intensive staffing model, but do not provide continuity for children. The provider has not yet evaluated that this staffing model provides sufficient continuity of care for children.

p.16

Requires improvement

Sustaining external independent scrutiny has been problematic. The registered person had not shared any independent visitor reports with Ofsted since November 2016. This is because the organisation had a disagreement with the author. This absence of an independent opinion about safeguarding and well-being removes a valuable source of information to protect children and to drive improvement. The provider has now recruited a new independent visitor.

p.16

Requires improvement

The organisation has a mixed relationship with the two placing local authorities. One placing authority reported positive contact and that it was pleased with the service for its child. The provider‘s senior managers described a challenging relationship with the other placing authority over disagreements about readiness for independence and professional communication.

p.16

Requires improvement

Delays in some notification of serious events to Ofsted have impeded independent regulatory scrutiny. There have been delays of up to several weeks by managers making serious notifications of allegations about staff to the right authorities. Some of the notifications are unreliable because dates of incidents are incorrect. These delays and unreliability of information mean that local authorities and Ofsted are not able to make effective decisions. They also mean that Ofsted is unable to take any timely required regulatory action to protect children.

p.16

Requires improvement

Staff feel well supported by the registered manager, who follows up on any performance issues and allegations against core staff in supervision sessions every eight weeks. Staff attend regular whole-organisation therapeutic discussions at the provider‘s head office. This is another source of support and an opportunity for staff to learn from the experiences of others. Staff enthused about their work to inspectors. The provider invests well in the high staffing levels that it deems necessary to keep children safe. This provides plenty of opportunities for positive adult relationships with staff.

p.16

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‗Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection‘.

p.17

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.17

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or that result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.17

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference that adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

p.18

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‗Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‘. the guidance ‗Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted‘, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.18

Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.19

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.19

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.19

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