Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 1 SC061158 Registered provider: Radical Services Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is privately run and is registered for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 The home provides a safe and nurturing environment that helps young people feel well cared for and supported.  Young people enjoy respectful and meaningful relationships with staff that help Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 2 them feel trust and acceptance.  Young people participate fully in their care planning. They feel listened to and respected, and know that their views and wishes influence the care and support they receive.  The home has a good track record of supporting young people’s education and learning. Staff are creative in identifying informal learning opportunities that complement their formal education.  Young people have access to a wide range of activities and outdoor pursuits. These provide fun and new experiences as well as good exercise, and promote their health and well-being.  Placing authority social workers and other professionals speak highly of the service provided. They identify the key component as being the quality of

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

relationships shared between staff and young people.  Young people’s vulnerabilities are well understood. Risk-assessment documentation ensures that all staff are aware of potential risks and how they should be best managed to minimise harm.  Staff are competent and confident in their skills that enable them to de-escalate conflict and deal with challenging behaviour. Consequently, the incidence of physical restraint is low in this home.  The high staff ratio and the quality of relationships that staff share with young people significantly reduce the likelihood of young people running away from this home.  The home has been led and managed consistently for a number of years by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. He uses coaching and mentoring skills positively to empower his staff to act with confidence in his absence.  The home has a good track record of working closely with parents and

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

professionals to ensure that young people receive high-quality care and support.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/12/2016 Full Good 18/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of the use of the measure, that the authorised person has spoken to the user about the measure and has signed a record to confirm that it is accurate. (Regulations 35(5)(b)(i-ii)) 16/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home records in schedule 4; and ensure that the records are kept up-to-date. (Regulation 37(2)(a-b)) This relates specifically to ensuring that an accurate record is maintained of all visitors to the home. 16/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent persons report to HMCI. (Regulation 44(7)(a)) 16/10/2017

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a safe and nurturing environment for young people, who often arrive in crisis. Young people feel well cared for and supported by the staff team. They understand that staff genuinely want to help them and keep them safe. As such, young people tend to settle quickly after arriving at the home, saying they like the ‘relaxed and chilled’ approach of staff. One social worker commented, ‘There is a very homely feel. There is a good, calm and safe atmosphere.’ Young people enjoy a good rapport with staff, sharing good-humoured ‘banter’ and fun. They quickly achieve trust and acceptance as a result of the good relationships that are established. Staff successfully engage young people, showing them consideration and respect. The young person currently in placement said, ‘I didn’t think it would be this good. Staff are sound with me.’ A professional commented of another young person placed in this home, ‘All staff have

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

worked very successfully with him. One staff member in particular is a very positive role model for him. He speaks highly of him and as a result is open to achieving a better life for himself.’ Staff encourage young people to express their views and wishes. Young people work alongside staff in planning and reviewing their care and support. This results in highly Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 4 personalised and child-focused planning. Young people know the influence they have in shaping their future plans and as such invest in them. Key workers and staff provide young people with frequent opportunities for discussion. This gives young people time to raise any sensitive issues or to share any worries they may have. Young people feel listened to and respected, knowing their voice is being heard. The home has a good track record of supporting young people’s attendance and achievements in education. Staff encourage young people to value informal learning

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

opportunities alongside their formal education. For one young person, this involved staff reading with him each night. This helped to develop his reading skills and encourage his interest in reading for fun. Staff also used age-appropriate publications to help explain puberty. This gave the young person a better understanding of the changes he was likely to experience. This helped to inform and promote both his physical and emotional well-being. Young people are supported and encouraged to follow healthy lifestyles. They have good access to a range of health practitioners in the community, as well as hospital and other specialist health provision. Staff ensure that young people’s health is regularly assessed and monitored, and they support their attendance at routine appointments. This helps to maintain their good health. Staff help young people understand the benefit of healthy eating and maintaining a good nutritional diet. Young people are encouraged to shop

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

with staff for food and assist with food preparation. This works to support young people in making good healthy choices, and contributes to their development skills necessary for independent living. Young people enjoy a wide range of activities and outdoor pursuits. These include walking, climbing and biking. Often, the home is able to offer young people the opportunity to try new activities and experiences. For one young person who expressed an interest in dance, staff introduced and encouraged his attendance at a local dance and stage group. In moving on to his long-term placement, his plan included arrangements to ensure that he was able to continue this new interest in his new home. The home shows particular strength in promoting young people’s contact with their immediate and extended family members. This supports young people to stay in touch and maintain those relationships that are most important to them. Some young people

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

choose to keep some informal contact with the manager and staff after leaving this home. This highlights the significance some young people have attributed to staff in shaping their lives. Placing authority social workers and other professionals consistently speak highly of staff. One professional commented, ‘He loved being here and that was a reflection of the relationships and the support he received. Staff have kept in touch with him. They managed and built really good relationships with him. They did go above and beyond with him. They embraced and supported him in education, social activities and in promoting his independence. These were really healthy relationships.’

p.4

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

The young person currently living in this home says that he feels safe and well protected by staff. Staff are knowledgeable and skilled in safeguarding young people. They receive frequent and regular training opportunities that ensure they are familiar and confident Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 5 with a range of child protection and safeguarding matters. Young people often come to the home with complex backgrounds and a significant history of risk-taking behaviours. These include alcohol and drug misuse and criminal activity. Often these are accompanied by aggressive and anti-social behaviours. The registered manager assesses young people’s needs and vulnerabilities in advance of their arrival at the home. This helps him to be sure that his staff have the skills and knowledge to keep young people safe and meet their assessed need. Comprehensive risk assessments and behaviour management plans are developed in

p.4

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

close cooperation with young people. These guide staff practice, identifying the positive strategies to reduce or avoid conflict. Planning is highly effective, with young people contributing and often providing helpful insight into those situations that are likely to compromise their safety or affect their behaviour. Staff provide young people with some small incentives to promote socially acceptable behaviour. These rewards provide good encouragement for young people to meet their agreed targets. Their withdrawal as a consequence for less than acceptable behaviour is also understood and accepted. This works well to influence the positive choices young people are encouraged to make. The home has a good track record of rarely using physical intervention. This further contributes to young people’s sense of safety and well-being. Records are detailed and well maintained. They provide the reader with a good understanding of the incident that

p.5

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

occurred. However, a staff debriefing record was not completed following the use of one physical intervention. This fell short of good practice. Staff also missed a significant opportunity to professionally reflect on how the incident was managed. However, this had no immediate impact on the young person concerned. The high staff ratio significantly reduces opportunities for young people to run away. More commonly, it has been the home’s experience for young people to go missing during unsupervised visits to their own home area. When this occurs, staff follow agreed guidelines and procedures. They work in good cooperation with parents, police and other professionals to prioritise the young person’s safe return to the home. To ensure physical safety in the home, extensive risk assessments of the property and the locality have been completed. These identify potential risks and necessary action to minimise or remove those risks. Staff inform young people about fire safety. They

p.5

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

encourage young people to take part in regular fire evacuation drills, which makes sure that they know what to do in the event of an emergency. Staff routinely check fire- fighting and emergency equipment, to ensure that it remains in good working order to safeguard all who come into the home. To further promote young people’s safety, all visitors must show appropriate identification and sign the home’s visitor’s record. However, the document seen did not detail at least one visitor who was known to have spent some time in the home. Although this did not compromise the young person’s safety, it did fail to give an accurate account of all those visiting the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led and managed effectively by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who has been in post since 2009. He is ambitious for young people in his care Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 6 and committed to ensuring that his team consistently supports their achievements. Staff share his passion and commitment. They aim to ensure that young people make good progress and have positive memories of their time at this home. The manager and his staff consistently meet the home’s overall aims and objectives as outlined in its statement of purpose. Staff are child-focused in their approach. They ensure that young people contribute to their planning, and feel empowered to influence their own care. Consequently, young people enjoy good stability in this home and make good progress from their starting points. The investment of staff time ensures that young people have meaningful and dedicated support to help them reach their goals.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are encouraged to be reflective in their practice. This enables them to continuously evaluate their success, and change or improve their approach when needed. Staff value this and believe it provides clarity and improves their effectiveness as a staff team. The manager regularly uses coaching and mentoring skills to support staff on a day-to-day basis. As well as being highly effective in influencing good practice, this also empowers staff to act with confidence in the manager’s absence. Staff benefit from regular staff meetings, supervision and annual appraisal. These assist in monitoring staff performance and identifying individual staff development needs. Staff receive regular training opportunities to maintain and enhance their professional development. Consequently, they keep up to date with legislation and research, which supports good professional practice. The home’s quality assurance arrangements are well established. The registered

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

manager regularly monitors activity within the home and reports to Ofsted on a six- monthly basis. He is able to show how the home is helping young people to maintain and sustain progress. Additionally, he is able to identify the home’s strengths and areas for development and action. As required, the home is visited each month by an independent visitor. Their reports provide further independent scrutiny of the home’s activity and performance. The registered manager acts promptly to meet any recommendations made to improve the home’s operation. However, some reports have failed to reach Ofsted. Without these, the home has been unable to share its usual transparency with its regulator. There is no doubt that the visits have indeed taken place, and this has not affected the young people’s care. The home works inclusively with parents and a range of professionals concerned with the care of young people who live in this home. This approach is successful in

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

strengthening care planning. Young people are assured of good access to services and professionals that can influence the quality of care and support they receive.

p.6

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 7 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.

p.6

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: SC061158 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Radical Services Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Leeds LS5 3BT

p.8

Inspector

Gillian Walters, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9