Children's home run by Resolute Care

Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 1 Registered provider: Resolute Care Ltd

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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 care for three young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is owned and managed by a private organisation.

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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: Not applicable

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is good because:  Young people make very good progress in many areas of their lives. Elements of safeguarding practice are excellent, and leadership is very strong.  Staff create a very caring and nurturing environment, providing the warmth and care that helps build strong relationships. Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 2  Staff work very effectively as a team and feel supported by the manager, the directors and their colleagues.  Staff understanding of behaviour management strategies is good. Physical intervention is rarely used and positive behaviour is an expectation.  The quality of care, progress and experiences of children and young people are very good.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:  One requirement is made in respect of staff understanding their role in protecting young people.  Two recommendations reflect the need for staff to improve their recording skills and for the manager to review and evaluate all incidents.

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Recent inspection history

This is the first inspection since registration. Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 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

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that staff understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2) (a) (v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, to forward concerns regarding other organisations and to always follow missing from home protocols. 30/09/2017

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Recommendations

 Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, and paragraph 9.31)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, and paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Given their starting points and complex lives, young people make admirable progress because they live in this home. For some, this is the most stable placement they have experienced. Staff exude warmth, nurture, and love in a family-style environment. They build effective relationships that encourage and support young people. This is confirmed Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 4 by a number of agencies and family members. Comments from family and professionals include: ‘She has come such a long way in such a short space of time, this is the best place for her.’ One placing authority social worker stated: ‘The home is fantastic. They have a grasp of her needs and work fantastically with her. She is coming on in leaps and bounds.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff tenaciously advocate for young people in relation to their education. This ensures that they receive the most appropriate education from the most suitable provider. This helps young people make progress in their learning. One young person has been helped to secure a college placement. Staff also help young people to find part-time employment. In addition to providing young people with a source of income, this boosts their confidence and provides opportunities for interaction with a wide range of adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive individualised and age-appropriate support to prepare them for adulthood. For one young person, it has been vital to establish positive relationships and improve her self-esteem before embarking on any independence programme. This approach has led to very positive progress in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff proactively work with placing authorities to increase contact opportunities with siblings, and to ensure that contact with family and friends is a safe and enjoyable experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and young people enjoy very good relationships with neighbours and the local community. Young people host events at the home, attended by family, friends, and neighbours, and they access community activities such as Guides and gymnastics groups. Young people also learn about the wider, international community. They are currently linking with an organisation to support young women in Africa. This provides them with a sense of understanding of others in need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people generally enjoy good health. Staff encourage young people to stop smoking, providing information and access to varied support groups. Healthy eating is an area of vast improvement for young people, who eat a range of nutritious foods and understand the benefits of a good, varied diet. Young people increasingly take pride in their appearance, attending to their personal hygiene routines. Staff have been dogged in ensuring access to the mental health services. This ensures that young people receive the right support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The leaders and managers of this home are prepared to make difficult decisions concerning placements, ensuring the safety of all young people concerned. They challenge placing authorities effectively when they do not receive accurate and full information about new young people, or when they believe a move is not in the best interests of a young person. They continue to challenge professionals when there are delays in carrying out formal assessments of young people’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is child-centred. Young people participate fully in preparing and reviewing their care plans. The ‘my daily living plan’ provides young people with an easy-to-read version of their care plans, outlining their targets, and enabling them to identify the Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 5 progress they make. Photographs enable young people to recall happy events. This provides clear evidence of their journey from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good use of regular key-work sessions helps young people to explore issues such as education, managing emotions, behaviour, activities, safety, and health. Work on relationships in both key-work sessions and residents’ meetings helps young people develop positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation with young people is good. Daily conversations, key-work sessions, individual meetings and group meetings provide opportunities for young people to share their views about their care and the operation of the home. They discuss the menu and activities but also current topics such as the environment, international disasters and charities. This provides young people with a wider perspective about the world around them. Matters raised in residents’ meetings are discussed in staff meetings, ensuring that action is taken where required. Young people contribute to staff appraisals, commenting on what the member of staff does well, what they could do better and any concerns. This not only helps young people feel valued but also helps the member of staff improve how they care for young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A minor shortfall was identified during the inspection in relation to the updating of a young person’s health plan.

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

Staff and managers responded extremely effectively to safeguard a young person when she was missing from the home. Previously unknown concerns around sexual exploitation came to light and staff swiftly shared crucial information with a range of relevant agencies. This helped to return her to the home and keep her, and others, as safe as possible. This was an extremely complex and high-risk incident that was handled very well by all concerned. A number of important links with other agencies were made during this incident and these continue, providing strong multi-agency approaches to safeguarding.

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

Incidents of young people going missing have reduced. Staff reflect on the fact that building relationships helps young people to increase their confidence, which, in turn, helps keep them safe. Clear protocols outline the process for staff to follow should a young person leave the home without consent. On one occasion, the protocol was not correctly followed, leaving a short delay in informing the police of a young person’s absence. This was not noticed during the manager’s review of the incident. Consequently, important learning might have been missed.

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

Staff receive training in safeguarding young people, reporting allegations and managing disclosures. Allegations within the home have been managed very well, with appropriate procedures followed, allowing full investigations to be carried out. A concern about another organisation has not been as well managed. However, since the inspection this has been addressed. A requirement is made in relation to ensuring that staff and managers understand their role in reporting concerns and following safeguarding Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 6 protocols.

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

Positive behaviour is expected of all young people and, as a result, there is little use of sanction or reward. Instead, staff use the home’s ‘Just Because’ forms to record their ongoing affirmation of positive behaviour. This encourages continued positive behaviour, promotes confidence and increases self-esteem. Where there are incidents of negative behaviour, the use of restorative practice helps young people explore the reasons behind their behaviour, and how to repair relationships. Staff are also good at reflecting on their responses to challenging behaviour. They also receive training that enables them to respond well to negative behaviours.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used. Records of such incidents are good. Debriefs allow for staff and young people to learn from incidents. The registered manager completes a thorough analysis of interventions, looking at who is involved, timings, locations, and types of behaviour. This helps develop new strategies for intervention.

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

The quality of risk assessments is good. Each risk is carefully assessed. Triggers are identified and detailed strategies are developed to manage and reduce risks. Ongoing monitoring of risk ensures that alternative strategies are implemented if required. Reduction of risk is celebrated with young people as a real achievement.

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

Incidents of self-harm mostly involve biting and scratching. Incidents are discussed with the young person. Regular key-work sessions explore the triggers for self-harm and how staff can help young people to reduce incidents. Staff receive debriefs following self- harming incidents, although these are not always recorded. Other minor shortfalls in recording relate to not providing the timings of calls to other agencies during an incident to provide a clear chronology of events. In addition, appropriate terminology and language is not consistently used in records.

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

The home is well maintained, clean and safe. Regular fire, maintenance, and health and safety checks ensure that this remains the case. Regular fire drills mean young people know what to do in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although relatively new to the role, the registered manager leads the staff well in delivering good care and helping young people achieve good outcomes. She is appropriately qualified. Highly visible and supportive company directors provide excellent support for the manager and staff, and have very positive relationships with young people. This means that young people feel able to discuss any issues and concerns with the whole leadership team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work well as a team. A range of skills and experience brings depth to the team. Some staff have been with the home since it opened and have helped to develop the training programme. New staff begin training immediately. Online courses are offered from the moment they accept the post. These include courses on safeguarding, radicalisation, sexual exploitation and medication. Further, in-depth courses then take Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 7 place once the member of staff is in post. Professional development continues throughout their employment, helping to grow a knowledgeable and skilled team. For example, all staff are currently undertaking a diploma in autism, helping them to meet the needs of young people. All staff are either qualified to the appropriate level, on the relevant course or new in post. This means all staff are appropriately qualified within required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision with managers and from peer supervision, offering staff the opportunity to share learning and improve as a team. Regular team meetings enhance knowledge and teamwork further. Staff fully understand and implement the ethos of the home, exuding warmth and nurture with a desire to help young people reach their potential. Appraisals of staff performance include the views of young people about their strengths and areas to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A wide range of monitoring tools enables staff and leaders to recognise the progress young people make and highlight any triggers to behaviour. This includes internal monitoring such as the weekly outcome tracking. This enables staff to analyse progress towards each target in a care plan and amend targets to help young people develop further. External monitoring is good. An independent person assesses the service on a monthly basis, ensuring that young people are well cared for, safe and making progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good partnership working provides holistic care and keeps young people safe. Other organisations and agencies speak highly of the home and the staff. Comments include: ‘Staff are absolutely great, they are always efficient, seek advice, and are very proactive. We regularly share information and clarify any concerns.’

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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 differences 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: 1245829 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 43 Blanford Gardens, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7UQ

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Inspector

Judith Longden, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1245829 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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