Children's home run by Oasis Young People’s Care Services (UK) Ltd in Southend-on-Sea

Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 1 SC015499 Registered provider: Oasis Young People’s Care Services (UK) Limited – Company Number 03865269

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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 children’s home is operated by a private company and is registered to provide six places for children 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children in the home make good progress.  The children speak about feeling valued and know that the staff care about them.  Children with historic behavioural difficulties form strong and resilient relationships with the staff and one another.  Children who previously refused education now attend school.  Children’s health is well maintained.  Children understand their right to complain, their right to an advocate and their right to be looked after appropriately.  Children who had previously gone missing have now ceased and become more settled in the home.  Well-managed and planned safeguarding strategies enable the staff to keep children safe.

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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

 Not all staff are appropriately trained in fire safety.  The children do not sign some of the records of their support sessions.  Children’s files are disorganised, which means that information cannot be accessed easily.  The children’s files do not always contain the relevant documentation from the placing authority.  Not all of the children have memory boxes.  The home looks tired and worn in some areas.  The staff bedrooms do not have curtains at the windows for privacy.  The patterns and trends of staff turnover are not monitored by the manager. Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/10/2016 Full Requires improvement 29/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)) 27/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention. (Regulation 25 (c)) 01/09/2017

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Recommendations

 The design of the home should provide staff that sleep in the home overnight with appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.26) In particular, rooms where staff sleep should have curtains at the windows.  Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11) In particular, children should read and sign all documents in relation to their care.  The registered person should monitor and review patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and where possible, address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)  The registered person should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and when they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 5 the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) In particular, ensure that all looked after children paperwork is received.  Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3). In particular, each child’s file should be fully maintained and legible.

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Recommendations

 The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time spent living at the home and help them to record significant events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) In particular, each child should have a memory box.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress across all areas of their development. This improvement is seen through improved behaviour and the progress that the children make in their education and healthcare.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children with historic behavioural difficulties have formed strong and resilient relationships with the staff and one another. Children call this their home. One child said, ‘I love it here, I’m staying until I’m 18;’ another child said, ‘My behaviour has improved; I go to school every day.’ Relationships between the staff and the children are warm and friendly. Observations during the inspection demonstrated the closeness that the children gain from these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children speak about feeling valued and know that the staff care about them. The children are confident that their opinions and views are listened to and that they are important to staff. The children can see and understand how they can influence the home and their care. However, the children do not always sign their records from support sessions, some files are disorganised, and it is difficult to access information. One file did not contain the necessary documents from the placing authority, and one child does not have a memory box. However, these shortfalls do not affect the care and support that the children receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children have confidence in speaking in front of their peers at house meetings, which are held regularly. The children have the opportunity to share their views on their day and what they will be doing in the evening. It has resulted in the children influencing their free time, hobbies and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the importance of supporting children to access interests and Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 6 activities to further their self-esteem and self-worth. One child climbed to the top of Mount Snowdon during a holiday to Wales. This huge achievement would not have happened without the sustained support and commitment of the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Those children who previously refused education now attend school. Additionally, those children who had fragmented attendance now attend, with attendance rates more than 84%. One child has his entire educational and work life planned for his future. This demonstrates that some children are starting to realise that their life chances can be improved through their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is well maintained through the prompt registration with core health services such as the doctor, dentist and optician. The children have a better understanding of the importance of being healthy and of making good lifestyle choices. One child said that he has stopped smoking, attends the local gym with staff and eats very well. This is because the staff successfully promote an understanding of the importance of the children looking after themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning processes, in which the children’s diverse needs are evaluated and understood, fully recognise and incorporate their individual traits and personalities. For example, children who find it difficult to manage their anger are supported through consistent and visible strategies to control their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the importance of creating a warm and nurturing environment for children and of enabling them to influence and shape their home. One child was eager to show the inspector his bedroom, which he had decorated and which was clean and tidy. However, some areas look tired and worn. In some rooms, furniture is torn. Staff bedrooms require curtains at the windows for privacy. The children do not report that they feel that their home is in need of repair and redecoration and spoke of being happy with their bedrooms, which are large and bright.

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

The children talk about their safety with confidence and understanding. They learn how to understand risks and how their behaviour can increase or reduce risks. Some children spoke about their safety and although they do not always agree with the procedures that the staff have put in place to protect them, understand why these risk assessments and arrangements are in place to keep them safe. One child gave examples of their previous and current behaviours and how they have reduced the risk they took and the consequences of their actions.

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

The staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities and consider more specific risks in respect of their individual needs. Formal risk assessment procedures are well managed, demonstrating the strategies deployed by the staff to keep children safe. Regular reviews of risk assessment and strategies ensure that risk management remains current and proactive, which enables the children to develop and grow in a safe environment.

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

Behaviour management strategies are regularly reviewed and reflect the children’s Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 7 triggers and behaviours. The staff know how to manage these and some children positively engage in this process. The staff and children fully appreciate the impact of physical interventions when such methods are used. The staff spend time working with the children through timely debriefing, and during support sessions. This has been successful in some instances and has resulted in a reduction of incidents and episodes of going missing.

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

The manager understands the value of thorough recruitment practices and the importance of ensuring that only those people considered suitable work in the home. The manager ensures that all statutory checks, references and employment histories of applicants are meticulously gathered. The manager makes key recruitment decisions and uses his expertise to carry out face-to-face assessments and interviews.

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

Health and safety in the home are well managed, with regular checks on fire equipment and fire evacuation drills. However, not all staff have received training in maintaining fire safety. The staff and the children spoke about being fully aware of the fire evacuation procedures and safety in the home.

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

An assessment of the local area is in place and regularly reviewed. Having a good knowledge of local risks to the children means that the staff can be vigilant about the risks, and work with the children to raise their awareness, both inside the home and out in the community.

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

Through discussion with children at the inspection, children understand their right to complain, their right to an advocate and their right to be looked after appropriately. The home has embedded good practice around safeguarding matters.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Strong and effective leadership is consistent and provided by a very experienced manager. He has been in post for two years and brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to this role. He is respected and valued by staff, who benefit from his supportive leadership. He leads by example through his involvement in all aspects of the day-to-day running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Frequent supervision meetings enable the staff to review and develop their childcare practice. The staff say that they value supervision and find this to be a supportive forum. A member of staff commented that their supervisor is very easy to talk to and covers areas around practice and confidentiality. Since the last full inspection, there has been a large turnover of staff. A significant number of new staff have started at the home, some of whom are currently going through their induction. The manager does not monitor and review the patterns and trends of staff turnover. Changes in staff do not provide consistency of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are competent in their roles. They are supported by mandatory training in core areas, which include safeguarding, physical intervention and first aid. Also, the staff undertake more specific or targeted training through consultation with the manager or Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 8 during supervision. Specific training has included managing self-harm, preventing child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. Training focuses on the individual personal development plans, induction and the roles of the staff and responsibilities with the children. This training ensures that the staff have the skills that they need to meet the individual needs of the children they care for. A grandparent said, ‘The staff team look after my granddaughter very well; she is well cared for, and all the staff are really helpful and supportive.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Meaningful quality assurance is conducted through monthly visits by the external visitor, along with oversight from the manager. When shortfalls in service provision are identified, prompt action is taken to address this and to improve. There have been some recent improvements, for example in school attendance and a reduction in risk-taking incidents and episodes of going missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Notifications of concerns to external agencies and Ofsted are appropriate. When notifications are made, information is concise and clear. This provides sufficient information to describe events and the actions taken by the home in response to these events.

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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 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: SC015499 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oasis Young People’s Care Services (UK) Limited – Company Number 03865269

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 457 Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2PH

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Inspector

Cathy Russell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC015499 10 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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