Children's home run by Inspirations Leicestershire Limited

Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 1 SC437825 Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Limited company number 07765916

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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 privately owned and run children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three 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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make exceptional progress in relation to their education. From their starting points, their attendance and attainment significantly improve. Young people develop aspirations for their futures and go on to further education and training.  Staff prepare young people extraordinarily well for their eventual move to independence. Detailed and focused work leads to young people feeling ready and able to make the transition from this home confidently.  Placement stability is excellent, with young people forming extremely positive relationships with staff and each other. There is a real family feel to this home, with young people receiving extremely dedicated care and support from staff.  The safety of young people is paramount in this home. Staff work extremely hard to ensure that young people feel safe and are kept safe from harm at all times.  Staff listen to young people. Their feedback is central to the running of the

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Key findings from this inspection

home and informs key plans. Young people support managers to recruit new staff and have influenced decisions about new placements.  Research-informed practice used by staff and managers informs the care and support provided to young people. Staff feel very well supported and display extremely high levels of competence and commitment to the young people in their care.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/05/2016 Full Good 08/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/07/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff team displays a commendable passion and interest in the young people living in this home. Staff members know and understand the backgrounds of each young person and take great pride in their achievements. It is abundantly evident how the excellent care and support provided has led to significant improvements in the outcomes and life chances for each young person in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

There is a strong commitment to education for young people. Young people fully understand the expectations to attend and achieve in their respective education or training provisions and all have made dramatic educational progress. One young person had not engaged in any form of education for over a year when they moved to this home. Since then, they have successfully completed their secondary education and recently secured a full-time apprenticeship in the local area. The parent of this young person stated: ‘Education attendance has been a big improvement since moving to this home.’ Another young person has completed their GCSE exams and successfully secured a place at college for September 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are fully involved in all aspects of the running of the home. They are involved in such things as recruitment of new staff, and with the completion of the home’s location risk assessment. Young people are also fully involved in the decision- making regarding new placements. Such imaginative practice has led to planned placements being made. It has also led to excellent placement stability and strong and positive peer relationships being formed and sustained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Every month, young people consider their progress with staff. They score where they feel that they have made progress and any areas that they are worried about. This then informs their goals and targets moving forward. It feeds into their incentive charts and reward systems. Through such full engagement, young people can see their own progress, set their own goals and targets and feel a strong sense of personal achievement. They lead and strongly influence the care and support they receive. This is commendable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The use of sanctions is minimal and fully includes young people in deciding and agreeing them. Records reflect a very proportionate response to any concerning behaviours or actions of young people by staff. Staff discuss the concerns, consider the young person’s views and they mutually agree a sanction. Young people feel that such an approach is fair and so they respond positively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people feel extremely confident in raising any concerns they may have with staff. They receive a very quick and appropriate response from the manager. The manager keeps them informed of all action taken and ensures that they are happy with the outcome of any investigations. Young people have helped develop a new complaints procedure. They completed mock complaints as part of this process to ensure that they were confident in how to make a complaint. This further reflects an outstanding service, Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 4 intent on the full inclusion of young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff ensure that young people’s health needs receive full consideration. They work closely with a range of health services and providers to ensure that the holistic health needs of young people are met at all times. A looked-after children nurse reported a positive working relationship with the home. They commented that the registered manager: ‘Is very impressive – chases up when things are due and is approachable.’ Young people also receive more specialist support from drugs agencies, child and adolescent mental health services and others. Staff strongly advocate for young people to ensure that they receive the right support from the right service without delay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

One young person had a fear of attending the dentist. With patience and tenacity, the staff have supported them to attend. The staff promote healthy lifestyles and support young people to engage in physical activities and to eat healthily. Staff teach young people how to meet their own health needs in preparation for adulthood extremely well. This includes work being done on storage and self-administration of medication and making health-related appointments. One young person stated how well supported and prepared they felt for moving on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people form very positive attachments, not only to staff but to friends they have made locally. Due to their excellent engagement in education and training, they make friends and feel fully integrated in the local community. They use local resources such as gyms, swimming pools, parks and youth clubs. Young people’s friends visit them at the home. Young people enjoy holidays with the staff. Staff support young people in relation to their spiritual or religious needs. One young person now attends a local church. This enabled them to make further friendships as well as it meeting their cultural and spiritual needs. Activity planners show that young people are engaged in an extensive range of activities. Young people work with staff to consider a number of activity options for each week. Staff then evaluate with young people the success of activities participated in each month. This is commendable and imaginative practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Research-informed practice underpins the work of staff to support young people. A relationship-based model is embedded as a framework to assist young people to increase their sense of security, competence and to build resilience. There is clear and extremely positive evidence of young people responding to such an approach. Young people are making significant progress in relation to their resilience and sense of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff and managers receive clinical support and guidance from a suitably qualified psychologist. This person attends team meetings, provides bespoke training to staff and supports in devising and implementing plans for young people. This adds to the exceptionally high quality of care and support provided. Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 5

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

Young people receive highly effective care and support, which reduces the risk of actual or potential harm. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the complex needs of each young person. They devise and implement risk assessments and behaviour management plans to meet young people’s individual needs. Young people feel fully involved in all aspects of their care and learn how to manage potentially risky or dangerous behaviours exceptionally well over time. They work with staff to identify areas of concern, formulate plans with them and receive praise and rewards for making positive progress.

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

Staff support young people to take age-appropriate risks. They understand fully the need to prepare young people for their eventual move into the adult world. Young people learn how to use public transport unaided. This enables them to visit family and friends and increases their confidence and sense of worth.

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

Young people form very close and positive relationships with staff members. They feel able to discuss any concerns or worries they may have. Missing from care incidents are infrequent. This reflects the excellent work done by staff with young people to support them at times of crisis or emotional distress. Staff model positive parenting and instil in young people a sense of being valued, believed and accepted.

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

Through the work done each month in respect of setting and reviewing targets, young people learn how to self-regulate and manage their own behaviours and emotions more constructively. Young people feel secure and know that staff will respond to them sensitively. They know that staff are available to them at all times.

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

There have been no reports of bullying made by young people. The manager has appointed one member of staff as an anti-bullying officer. They monitor and evaluate any concerns in this area and it means there is a central contact person for staff and young people should concerns arise.

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

Staff encourage young people to engage with relevant services, such as drugs and alcohol services and youth offending teams. One young person stated that they had previously felt pressured to accept such support, but now understand the value of it and have engaged well. Staff work extremely well with external agencies to promote the safety of young people. A local police officer recently accepted an invitation and attended a young person’s meeting in the home. This assisted the young people to consider the role of the police and to form a positive relationship with such agencies.

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

Recruitment and selection procedures for new staff in this home are excellent. The manager has very robust and detailed processes in place to prevent unsuitable adults from working in the home. Young people are involved in the interview process for new staff, further adding to their sense of inclusion. The home has a very stable and secure staff team, whose members can and do meet young people’s needs to a very high level.

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

There has been no use of physical restraint for a considerable period of time. Staff Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 6 receive necessary training, but through their excellent understanding of young people’s needs, they are able to de-escalate situations. Young people learn how to regulate their own emotions and discuss their feelings openly with known and trusted staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager provides inspirational leadership to staff in this home. He has very high aspirations for young people and clearly leads by example. He has an extremely detailed understanding of the needs of young people and acts as a very strong advocate and positive role model for them and the staff team. He is ambitious and wants the very best for each young person. Staff report feeling extremely well supported and valued by their manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff also report high levels of satisfaction with the training and development opportunities they receive. There is a strong and commendable learning culture evident in this home. One staff member stated how they used learning from a course on radicalisation to support and educate a young person. Staff support young people to consider world events and to develop an understanding of issues and their impact on society. A member of staff has dedicated time each day to work with one young person whose first language is not English. This staff member said: ‘I want them to make the best of the opportunities they have here.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has highly effective monitoring systems in place. He regularly reviews and considers the care and support provided to young people and the progress they are making in all areas of their lives. His excellent monitoring also includes regular consideration of performance-related targets for staff through supervision and the appraisal processes. The manager focuses on ensuring that staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff are able to evidence the impact that their training and supervision have on improving outcomes for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The statement of purpose is detailed. Young people have worked with staff on reviewing, amending and improving the young person’s guide for the home. This again shows how the views of young people influence the service provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff challenge agencies to ensure that they provide the right support for young people. They request meetings and produce detailed reports of how agencies may be failing young people. The manager and staff display a hugely detailed understanding of young people’s complex needs and are able to show how their support has assisted young people to make significant improvements in all areas of their lives.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 7 addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Limited comp number 07765916

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Children’s home details

Registered Provider address: 2 Rosemead Drive, Oadby, Leicestershire, LE2 5SE

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Inspectors

Tracy Murty, social care inspector Caroline Walsh, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC437825 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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