Children's home run by The Place Young People’s Company in Rushcliffe

Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 1 SC480655 Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company

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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 by a private provider and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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

Date of last inspection: 25 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people are happy and benefiting from living in very settled placements. Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 2  Each child and young person is making good progress, when compared to their starting point on moving in.  Children and young people have become safer after moving to this home. There is broad evidence of children now making safer and more educated decisions in their daily lives.  Children and young people have built trusting relationships with staff, based on mutual respect, and have confidence in the care that they receive.  While there has been a recent change in manager, this has been well managed and the changes have not resulted in a detrimental impact on the service or the children.

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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 records kept following the use of a physical intervention do not consistently reflect all of the information required by children’s homes regulations.  The arrangements to ensure that the nutritional content in the menu planning is appropriately balanced should be strengthened. This will ensure that children and young people’s diets are healthier and contribute to their overall good health and well-being.  Induction training for auxiliary staff should include familiarisation with the home’s whistleblowing policy.  Placement plans should consistently clarify how the home is planning to meet each area of identified individual needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/06/2016 Full Good 21/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 3

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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

Within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint, the registered person or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so has spoken to the user about the measure; and within 5 days adds to the required record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 53(3)(b)(c)) 16/06/2017

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Recommendations

 The specific responsibilities of the home towards supporting the health and well- being of each child should be agreed with the placing authority and recorded in the child’s placement plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.7)  Ensure that staff have relevant skills and knowledge to be able to: respond to the health needs of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12.) In particular, this relates to the need to strengthen guidance for staff and to improve individual and team knowledge about healthy eating and nutrition.  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistleblowing procedures through the induction process. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are happy and are very settled living at this home. When children and young people move into the home, they are made to feel welcome and are provided with written and verbal guidance about the care they can expect to receive. One young person said about her care, ‘I would not want to change anything.’ The reflective manner in which two young people separately spoke positively to the inspector about their personal journey since moving here, stands out in this inspection. As well as Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 4 talking about how confident they feel about their care, they both spoke about having valued and trusting relationships with the staff. The staff want the very best for children and young people and are happy in their work. They strive tirelessly to create a warm, nurturing culture for the children. One member of staff said, ‘It’s like a family here.’ Children and young people enjoy a range of stimulating activities and are encouraged to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

try new experiences. The staff team is currently exploring ideas for summer holidays. On the first day of the inspection, two young people spent the majority of the day enjoying a planned trip to the seaside. One child particularly enjoys sport and plays football with a local group, and has more recently started to attend a boxing club. It was evident during the inspection that staff encourage this child to succeed with his sporting activities and praise his achievements. Children and young people are generally in good health. While some have continued to smoke cigarettes since moving here, staff are working with them, providing education and promoting smoking cessation. Children and young people attend for routine appointments and see a doctor as needs arise. Children and young people understand the importance of physical activity and are currently planning to achieve a 10,000 steps a day challenge, alongside staff. Emotional well-being is closely monitored and reviewed

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

by a mental health professional working within the organisation. Good care planning promotes overall good health and well-being, and children and young people have every opportunity to talk about their feelings and address any worries they may have. Education is seen as important within this service, and each child and young person is making positive progress in this regard. One young person has not had a school placement since moving into the home. However, the staff team has helped by advocating for the young person’s right to education, supporting the placing team to recently finalise a full-time programme of schooling. During this interim period, educational activities have been implemented and time spent with the young person has been aimed at preparing for them for a return to school. A young person, who previously did not attend school for an extended period of time, says that she is really happy now

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

she is back in school full time. She spoke with enthusiasm to the inspector about her aspirations for positive exam results and further education. Dependent on age and development, children and young people are encouraged to take on increasing responsibilities for budgeting, shopping, household tasks and cooking. This means that they are supported to develop skills that they will need in order to live independently in the future. Children and young people maintain important relationships with family and friends. Arrangements are agreed with placing authorities and, where required, full supervision of visits is supported by the staff team. A social worker said that she is impressed by the manner in which staff recently supported a young person to travel some distance to their home, meet with family, then in a planned way see friends and visit a previous placement. Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 5

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

Children and young people confidently say that they feel safe living here. They each identify trusted adults and say that they feel any concerns that they may have are listened to. Because of effective risk management strategies and the high quality of support from staff, children and young people become notably safer after moving to this home. A social worker reported that since one young person moved here there has been a complete move away from the concerning risk-taking behaviours seen previously. Children and young people do not go missing. The last such event was July 2016. This is at least in part because they are content and know that staff genuinely care about them. Staff have a good understanding of the risks and potential hazards for each child and young person. Staff training covers statutory responsibilities and ensures that staff understand the potential for the sexual exploitation of children and young people,

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

internet safety and the risks of children and young people going missing. They work with children and young people as individuals to improve their overall safety, including supporting them to make positive choices in relation to their personal safety. Good behaviour is promoted. Relationships are key to the way staff work with children and young people. Because of adjustments in placement planning, there has been a drop in the number of significant incidents taking place with one particular child. This includes a reduction in the need for physical intervention to be used. While no concerns are found about the use of physical holds, behaviour management records required by regulation are not consistently maintained. Specifically, this relates to a lack of evidence to confirm that children have always been spoken to after such an event, and, in some cases, that the staff involved have not been spoken to about the events. This means

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

that there is a lack of clarity in records about events, necessary to inform team development and to demonstrate that children and young people are always fully protected Children live in a safe and well-maintained environment. Fire safety is prioritised and arrangements include fire drills, which ensure that children and young people know how to respond should a real fire occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new experienced and qualified manager started working in the home in March 2017. He has commenced the process of applying to Ofsted for the role of registered manager. The new manager is very enthusiastic and has had a positive impact on the service. Comments from staff include, ‘He is a really strong manager and is very clear about what is expected.’ Staff feel supported in their role and say that this is a happy place to work. A new member of staff says of the staff team, ‘They are ‘absolutely fantastic, if I have any issues I can ask anyone.’ Other comments made by staff include, ‘Everyone works from the same page.’ The management team drives forward service development and it is aspirational for each child and young person. The views of children and young people are sought and acted Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 6 on within the daily culture of the home. As a result, children feel that their views are

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

seen as important. The management team has a clear understanding of service strengths and weaknesses, and managers take action to address shortfalls when necessary. For example, managers promptly reviewed the way personal care needs are delivered for one child, in order to ensure that arrangements fully encompass their cultural and ethnicity requirements. An independent person visits the home each month and produces a report about the quality of care provided and reflects on the progress made by children and young people. This process assists the manager to identify areas for action and development. The manager acts as a positive role model to the team, promoting effective professional working relationships with involved professionals and parents. A social worker spoke about how she valued the monthly ‘team around the child meeting’, and also commented that she has seen improvements in communication with the introduction of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

the new management team. Parents talk positively about the service provided. One said of the staff team, ‘I think they are all brilliant.’ The service is meeting the aims and objectives as published in the service statement of purpose. A particular strength in this area is that the identified therapeutic parenting model is clearly implemented in practice and is understood by staff on all levels. There is tangible enthusiasm in the management team to promote progression for each child and for further service development. Staff training and development is prioritised. New care staff are provided with an induction training programme, which includes core areas of knowledge such as behaviour management, safeguarding children and food safety. A recommendation for further development is made in this report to ensure that auxiliary staff are familiar with the home’s whistleblowing policy. A further recommendation is set to widen training and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

development opportunities to include dietary intake and nutrition. This will mean that staff are better able to assess the nutritional balance of the weekly menu and will be able to appropriately advise children and young people. While only three staff have completed the required level 3 qualification, five are partway through and are expecting to complete within the required timescales. While no negative outcomes for children and young people were identified, an area of weakness is identified in relation to placement planning. While plans for the most part are detailed and provide appropriate guidance for staff, some areas were less clear. For example, following a statutory medical for a child, comments made by the health professional were not followed up or incorporated into placement planning. This raises the potential for needs to go unmet.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 7 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 who 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 18b, Market Place, Nottingham NG13 8AP

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Inspector

Mary Timms, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC480655 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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