Children's home run by Adventure Care Limited in High Peak

Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 1 SC375136 Registered provider: Adventure Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties on site, and for a further two children and young people off site, for up to 28 days. The home is owned by a private company.

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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: 30 November 2016

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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 make significant progress in this home.  Integrated education, therapeutic provision and outdoor activities promote holistic development. Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 2  Staff have warm and supportive relationships with children and young people.  Day-to-day experiences provide enrichment opportunities. These help children and young people to develop new skills and self-confidence.  Strong care and placement planning significantly influences the progress and experiences of children and young people.  Safeguarding practice is good. Risks are understood and effectively managed. This means that children and young people become increasingly safe.  Managers and staff have high aspirations for all children and young people.  Leaders and managers are skilled, knowledgeable and highly motivated. They ensure that a committed staff team provides the best possible standards of

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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

 Children and young people require a telephone to be available to them, at reasonable times, without having to ask staff.  Records of fire safety arrangements need to reflect staff taking part in fire drills and the effectiveness of evacuations.  All staff are required to undertake physical intervention and self-harm training.  The frequency of staff supervisions requires improvement for some staff. Additionally, the registered manager requires copies of her supervision records.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/05/2016 Full Good 06/01/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 23/06/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 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

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must: ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child, with specific reference to ensure that all staff have training in relation to self-harm and physical intervention. (Regulation 13(2)(c)) 14/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to a telephone, on which to make and receive calls in private, which they may use without reference to persons working in the home. (Regulation 22(3)(a)) 28/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in the case of fire. (Regulation 25(1)(d)) 28/07/2017

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Recommendations

 A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, and paragraph 13.3)  It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, and paragraph 13.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

On admission to this home, all children and young people have clear, individualised care plans. Plans ensure creative approaches to introducing children and young people to the home. For example, new arrivals can begin their placements by going camping and taking part in wilderness pursuits with their key team. Admission arrangements ensure that trauma is minimised and children and young people can adapt to their new home. Day-to-day care plans continue to be responsive to changing needs and risks. A social worker said: ‘Care and interventions are flexible and creative to meet the child’s needs.’ Professionals and parents confirm that relationships with managers and staff are wholly positive. One professional said of the staff group: ‘They are one of the best I have worked with.’ Relationships between staff and young people are good. Staff ensure consistency and set clear boundaries. This is balanced with a caring, supporting and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

nurturing approach that ensures children and young people thrive. Some children live away from their own home communities. Where this occurs, an independent advocate is commissioned to visit the home and meet with the child. This gives children and young people an opportunity to discuss any issues that may be affecting them in, or outside, the home. During this inspection, it became evident that one child did not have access to a telephone without having to ask staff. This was due to his mobile phone being confiscated. In such circumstances, the home should have a phone available for the use of children. This is to ensure that, where care plans allow, children and young people can make calls, in private, to their social workers, independent reviewing officers and family members. The provider has its own on-site school, which received a judgement of good at the last Ofsted school inspection. The curriculum is creative and broad. It integrates the needs of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

each child or young person. Children and young people have excellent school attendance and make good progress from their starting points. A defining feature of this home is an emphasis on outdoor activities. Children and young people enjoy participating in an extensive outdoor programme. The skilled staff team supports children and young people to participate in activities including camping, rock climbing, kayaking, fishing, and caving. Additionally, involvement in recreational and social activities in the local community is encouraged. These activities provide daily enrichment opportunities. They expand horizons as well as improving self-esteem and confidence. The provider has a therapeutic approach to support the emotional and psychological needs of children and young people. A clinical psychologist is commissioned to work with children and young people. He also attends staff meetings to offer guidance, support

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and consultation. Additionally, the home accesses local child and adolescent mental health services. Staff offer a wide range of therapeutic interventions, including drama, art and music therapy. One child said that he liked equine therapy. This involves working with an equine therapist and the home’s rescue ponies. One social worker said: ‘This young person had complex emotional problems – but made rapid progress in their care.’ A parent said: ‘My son is better behaved. He is calmer and not getting into mischief.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 5 Over time, children and young people learn to regulate their behaviours and understand their emotions. Independence skills form part of the daily routine of the home. Children and young people learn to take some responsibility for tasks such as cleaning their bedrooms, cooking, shopping, managing their laundry, and helping with tidying the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Additionally, they undertake personal projects, such as growing vegetables and flowers. Independence skills are formally assessed. This means that staff are aware of the strengths and learning needs of each child and young person. Consequently, children and young people develop age-appropriate life skills.

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

Children and young people say that they are safe and that they live in a safe home. A social worker said: ‘It is without question that this home keeps young people safe.’ Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures. Safeguarding issues are notified promptly to relevant professionals. Guidance is immediately implemented. Risks are well understood and plans are put in place to minimise risk. Risks are regularly reviewed and strategies to protect children and young people are adapted accordingly. Rigorous risk assessments are undertaken for all physical activities. Qualified instructors supervise all adventurous and physical activities. Consequently, children and young people are able to take appropriate risks, while being kept safe from potential harm. Incidents of children and young people going missing from the home are rare. Where this does occur, risks are minimised. The skilled staff team effectively implements

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

protocols to safeguard children and young people. A police officer from the local vulnerable persons unit stated: ‘The home is good at safeguarding children and young people. Staff follow missing from care protocols effectively. We have no concerns. We visit the home monthly. Staff are skilled and knowledgeable.’ All staff have received mandatory safeguarding training. In addition, some staff have benefited from a wide range of additional safeguarding training including sessions on radicalisation and extremism, forced marriage, sexual exploitation, internet safety, and social media. There have been very few physical interventions since the last inspection. One young person used to require physical interventions on a daily basis. They are now rarely necessary. This is because of consistent boundaries and routines, as well as the creative use of incentives. Staff benefit from having their own physical intervention trainer on

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

site. This means staff can access consultation on specific behavioural issues. Currently, the home has several staff who have not undertaken the provider’s physical intervention training. The manager recognised that this is a weakness in ensuring safe interventions. However, where staff do not have the required training, managers ensure that they work alongside staff who are qualified. This minimises any impact on children and young people. Health and safety is a priority in this home. A recent visit from the fire safety officer confirmed that this is a safe home. Staff learn about fire safety in their inductions and formal training. Children, young people and staff take part in planned and unplanned fire Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 6 drills. However, records of these evacuations are poor. They do not have the required detail to show who took part in fire drills or the effectiveness of the drills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has completed the required management qualification. She is supported by the responsible individual and two assistant managers. The management team is highly qualified, with social work and social policy backgrounds. This good level of knowledge supports effective partnership work with social care colleagues. The registered manager is an excellent role model. She has an in-depth understanding of the children’s and young people’s needs and progress. She is clear about what plans are needed to enable them to achieve their potential. Likewise, she understands her staff team. She knows the strengths and developmental needs of individual staff members and the team as a whole. This ensures that staff are deployed to best effect. Weekly management meetings support the operation of the home and staff benefit from regular team meetings. These meetings include the headteacher and therapists. This

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

enables the wider team to share good practice. Supervisions and annual appraisals are generally consistent; however, some staff supervisions are not at the frequencies defined in the statement of purpose. Staff confirm that supervision is supportive and meaningful. The registered manager has regular clinical supervision with the therapist, as well as supervision with the responsible individual. This supports good leadership of the home. However, records of these supervisions are not always provided to the registered manager. Staff who are not in their probationary period are either suitably qualified or working towards the required qualifications. Some senior staff have management qualifications. This means that the staff are well equipped to meet the needs of children and young people. Staff are provided with a programme of mandatory and additional training. The range of training has ensured that the staff team has a good level of knowledge and skill to meet

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

the needs of children and young people. A requirement from the last inspection was to ensure that staff attended training on how to respond to self-harming behaviours. The attendance at this training was poor. Consequently, this requirement is set again at this inspection. Effective management and monitoring of the home ensure continual improvement. Internal and external monitoring systems identify areas for improvement. Additionally, the management team routinely analyses children’s and young people’s records to identify any progress, concerns, patterns or trends. The registered manager understands the strengths of the home and has identified areas of potential improvement. Management and staff have a strong commitment to promoting diversity and equality in the home. The service provision recognises children and young people as individuals, with their own unique talents and skills. The management and staff team are dedicated

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to promoting a positive view of diversity and disability within both the education and care provision. Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 7 The home is fully achieving its aims and objectives, as defined in the statement of purpose. A recent Ofsted policy change has led to the providers altering their statement of purpose to withdraw the provision of outreach placements. The provider’s certificate of registration will be altered in accordance with this change.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people 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: SC375136 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Adventure Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Manchester Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6SB

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Inspector

Amanda Ellis, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC375136 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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