Children's home run by Searchlight Care Services Ltd in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report children’s home: SC362170 1 SC362170 Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private company owns and operates the home.

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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 outstanding

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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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Key findings from this inspection

 Committed staff provide the young person with continuous encouragement and advice so that she is able to make progress in all aspects of her life. Inspection report children’s home: SC362170 2  Staff celebrate educational success and empower the young person to have aspirations for her future.  Staff work hand in hand with key stakeholders, including school and the child and adolescent mental health services, to meet the needs of the young person.  Staff understand the young person’s vulnerability and manage risk effectively.  Staff are flexible in promoting and facilitating contact between the young person and her family.  The registered manager promotes a culture in which innovation and creative thinking helps to improve the outcomes for the young person.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/11/2016 Full Good 23/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/10/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC362170 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked closely with the child and adolescent mental health services in order to understand the young person’s emotional health needs. For example, staff join in with the young person’s play therapy. Feedback from these sessions, including observations about the young person’s body language and behaviour, helps staff to develop a deep knowledge of when the young person is presenting as anxious or stressed. This is helping staff to respond more quickly to her needs, and to offer reassurance or use distraction techniques at the earliest opportunity. As a result, the young person is starting to learn how to manage her emotions better, reducing the frequency of her self- injurious behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person’s improving emotional resilience is helping her to make progress in many aspects of her life, including her positive engagement with education. A professional told the inspector, ‘She has completed her GCSEs; she managed to get through her exams and deal with the stress, and that is a real milestone for her.’ Staff work collaboratively with school, communicating daily in order to understand the young person’s progress and ensure that they are able to offer all support necessary. For example, staff implemented a homework and revision timetable to help the young person prepare for her recent exams. They sat alongside her and completed their own work in order to help maintain the young person’s motivation. Proactive staff provide the young person with the best opportunities to succeed academically.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Opportunities are abundant for the young person to develop her independence skills. For example, staff encourage the young person to go food shopping and cook meals for herself and staff. Staff shower the young person with praise when she makes a meal, taking photos and enthusiastically telling each other how good the food was. This helps the young person to believe in herself. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘I think staff are supporting her and enabling her to become as independent as she can be.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff continue to monitor the young person’s physical health, and positively she is in good health. Engagement in a wide range of activities, including taekwondo, means that the young person is active and generally fit. Engagement with such activities helps to promote her physical and emotional health, as well as providing opportunities for her to socialise with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide the young person with lots of opportunities to share her views and, where possible, staff act quickly on her requests. For example, staff, in conjunction with the local authority, have been responding to the young person’s requests for changes to family contact arrangements. Although the speed of these changes is slower than the young person may like, staff are ensuring that increases in family contact are safe and sustainable. The staff’s commitment and support of family contact is ensuring that the young person is able to maintain appropriate contact with her loved ones. Inspection report children’s home: SC362170 4

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

Staff are successful at assessing the young person’s vulnerability and ensuring that appropriate safeguards are in place to manage any identified risk. The young person’s relationship with staff is a fundamental aspect of how they are able to keep her safe at home, in the community and online. A professional told the inspector, ‘She is showing signs that she will trust staff, which is a big change; she is beginning to feel safe and to trust staff and this is something which she has never had before.’

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

The young person’s self-harming behaviour is one of her main areas of vulnerability, although positively these behaviours are on a downward trend. Staff have used a range of initiatives to respond to these behaviours, including a sensory box, paper chains, and an incentives chart. There are signs that a combination of approaches is helping the young person to make positive choices and not self-harm. Recently, the young person opened up about plans to self-harm, and this enabled staff to take immediate steps to prevent this from happening. This disclosure by the young person represents a significant milestone for her. The young person’s trust in staff is helping her to seek support when she needs it the most.

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

Staff ensure that clear and consistent boundaries are in place for the young person. This has the dual benefit of providing the young person with a sense of stability while also promoting her positive behaviour. Staff have a good understanding of the young person’s potential vulnerability to exploitation both online and in the community. Appropriate supervision and restrictions on the use of her phone and the internet are helping to manage these risks. Staff use key-work sessions and daily conversation with the young person in order to support her to develop the skills and knowledge to make safe choices. Staff are allowing the young person to gradually have greater independence and reduce the restrictions in place. For example, staff encourage the young person to go to the local shop on her own, and she will soon be making her own way to and from college. Such opportunities allow the young person to demonstrate her ability to keep herself

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has been in post since April 2012 and is suitably qualified. The registered manager’s passion and enthusiasm mirrors that of her staff team. The registered manager and staff are proud of the young person’s achievements and have high aspirations for her. This means that staff are motivated and keen to improve how they support the young person to achieve her potential. For example, staff have completed research into attachment disorders in order to develop their own knowledge and understanding. This allows staff to have greater empathy and insight into the young person’s behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has developed a culture in which staff are encouraged to be creative and innovative. For example, staff are currently supporting the young person to recycle furniture. It is planned that she will take this furniture with her when she Inspection report children’s home: SC362170 5 eventually moves into independent accommodation. This approach is not only developing her life skills and self-esteem, but is helping the young person to prepare emotionally for her transition into independence. A professional told the inspector, ‘The team have been really committed to working with [the young person] and try new approaches and new strategies, which are designed at helping her to deal with some of her difficulties.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager uses a range of monitoring systems to understand the quality of care afforded to the young person. Staff act swiftly in response to any learning identified, in order to improve the care that the young person receives. The registered manager uses staff supervision and team meetings to promote high standards of care in line with the statement of purpose. As a result, the young person is thriving and making excellent progress in respect of her educational, emotional and social development. An independent reviewing officer told the inspector, ‘I don’t think we can improve on the placement for her.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are highly effective at developing relationships with partner agencies, including school, local authorities and child and adolescent mental health services. Collaborative work is at the heart of staff members’ approach to meeting the needs of the young person and contributes significantly to the young person’s many successes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that, in addition to mandatory training such as safeguarding and behaviour management, staff have opportunities to complete training specific to the needs of the young person. For example, training on attachment disorders and visual impairment disorders is ensuring that staff have an in-depth understanding of how best to support the young person to overcome any barriers to success.

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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: SC362170 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Marcus House Estates, Marcus House, Stoke On Trent ST3 5XA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Denver Underwood

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Inspector

Paul Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC362170 7 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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