Children's home run by Priory Education Services Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 1 Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited

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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 part of a private organisation and is registered to accommodate up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 September 2017

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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

Date of last inspection: This is the home’s first inspection.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress and identify improvements in their behaviour and relationships with others.  Safeguarding processes are rigorous, and young people are safer from risks such as going missing and child sexual exploitation.  Young people value, positively engage with and do well in education.  Staff’s in-depth understanding and celebration of young people’s individuality is reflected in care-planning strategies and their interaction with young people.  Leadership is strong and focused on young people’s needs and drives progressive improvement.

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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

 Key-working records need to be more focused on young people and the support that they are provided with.  Young people should be better prepared for their statutory review meetings.  Young people’s meeting records should include feedback from, and actions taken by, the manager. Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure children are able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. This is with particular regard to recording how the registered manager receives and addresses the feedback from young people in the weekly young people’s meetings. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Recommendations

 Ensure staff are familiar with the care planning process for looked-after children and assist children to prepare for meetings in relation to this. Staff should play an important role in these meetings, including supporting the child and enabling a clear understanding to be reached about the child’s views, wishes, feelings and expectations for their future. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.14)

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Recommendations

 Ensure staff encourage young people to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. This is with particular regard to the quality of key-working records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.19)

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Recommendations

 Ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress. They grow in confidence and have extremely positive relationships with staff. They experience a strong sense of belonging and self- determination, as staff ensure that young people feel included in the running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Safety and stability are key experiences for young people. One young person has grown in maturity and has excellent education and employment opportunities, because of living at the home for several years. His achievements provide excellent incentives and positive role modelling for other young people. Another young person is significantly safer from going missing and child exploitation since coming to the home. Other young people Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 4 (more recently admitted) quickly thrive as a result of the good quality of care provided by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy living with each other and understand the need for mutual respect. They are very clear that bullying is not tolerated in the home and have every confidence that staff would deal with any concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people grow in self-esteem as they re-engage with and enjoy education. They have more self-belief. Staff liaise well with education staff. Determined staff use their insight into young people’s strengths and qualities to overcome the difficulties young people face. This is key to young people’s positive outcomes. For example, one young person now attends college and has the opportunity to address poor academic attainment as a result of staff persistence. Weekly homework sessions are well attended and young people work hard to catch up and optimise their educational potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Photographs and memories of the home’s education awards ceremony take pride of place in the home. Both staff and young people have immense pride in their achievements, which include obtaining excellent GCSE results, attending college and achieving good school attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people thrive and are nurtured by staff. Young people’s individuality shines through staff practice, and good attention to detail ensures that all young people feel that their needs are met. Staff have good parenting skills. They prioritise morning and evening routines to ensure that young people get up and return from school happy. The staff helping young people with their favourite hairstyles, finding their favourite football and making favourite breakfasts helps young people feel cared for and gives them a stable base.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people take pride in their appearance and have much better personal hygiene because of the support that they receive from staff to build their confidence. A choice of healthy meals and a range of activities also support good physical health. One young person is pleased with her new-found fitness as a result of healthy eating and doing more exercise with the encouragement of staff. Another young person enjoys being part of a football team and feels valued when staff go to watch him train and play matches.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people develop a good sense of responsibility, investment in the home and good independence skills as they enjoy cooking and help with chores, including the upkeep of their bedrooms. They (and the staff) take pride in the house and there is a great sense of joint ownership.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Older young people are very proud that they can budget, shop, cook and safely manage their free time as they grow in maturity and confidently look forward to more independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people’s physical health and emotional needs are well catered for in the home. Staff work in partnership with health agencies and offer extremely sensitive support to help young people develop a greater understanding of sexual health, drug use and emotional well-being. Staff liaison with (and talking to young people about) adolescent Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 5 mental health agencies helps young people to receive the support that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Rewards and praise from staff are key to young people’s growing self-esteem. They are confident in expressing their views and have high regard for the manager, who consistently listens to them and works with staff to ensure that young people feel understood and that their needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation with young people is generally good. Young people feel involved in their plans and the wider running of the home, including the recruitment of staff. Young people value their relationships with staff, particularly key workers. However, a small minority of staff lack insight into young people’s plans and give little scope for meaningful consultation. For example, a lack of liaison with placing social workers, short timescales and rushed consultation do not allow young people to express their views fully in statutory review meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s meetings are regular, well attended and encourage good participation, including from the home’s cook. Individual menus reflect the time and effort made by the cook to listen and act on young people’s views and choices. Young people can also influence whom they have as a second key worker, when they feel that they have good connections and common interests with particular staff members. However, records of young people’s meetings do not reflect what staff have fed back to the manager or the actions he has taken in addressing young people’s ideas and views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a homely and well-maintained environment. Communal areas are nicely decorated and furnished. Young people have a good sense of belonging, with personalised bedrooms where they can enjoy their own space.

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

Young people feel safe and cared for, as their needs are set out and met via a comprehensive and regularly reviewed care-planning framework. Safeguarding strategies are consistently implemented by staff, who work in partnership with other agencies when required.

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

Training ensures that staff have a sound understanding of the home’s and the local authority’s safeguarding procedures. The registered manager is proactive and effective in identifying and referring safeguarding concerns. He works in close partnership with safeguarding agencies and senior leaders to address shortfalls in staff practice.

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

Effective risk assessment and insight into the needs of young people promote a safe environment both inside and outside of the home. In-depth knowledge about young people’s family backgrounds, childhood experiences and emotional resilience enables staff to promote safe and appropriate contact between young people and their family members.

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

Partnership working is a key strength. Working with families, social workers and the police is effective and has a positive impact on, for example, the missing activities of Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 6 young people. The police are very complimentary about the staff team’s commitment and the work carried out with young people. One police officer stated:

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

It’s a difficult situation and staff share everything. Going missing is now far less and while [the young person] is still medium risk, it speaks volumes about the staff as she now returns to the home a lot more.

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

Staff respond consistently when young people go missing. They follow young people and some staff have walked miles to ensure the safety of one particular young person believed to be at risk of child sexual exploitation. This commitment from staff is now rewarded, as the young person communicates more when out on free time. Young people know that family members and staff worry about them and care about their welfare.

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

Trusting relationships provide young people with a sound backdrop from which to express their concerns and worries. Staff are always visible with little time spent in the office, and therefore they are able to be vigilant and at close hand. They provide a very nurturing and attentive environment, which meets young people’s needs and minimises the potential for conflict.

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

Young people’s behaviour improves as a result of the strong and realistic boundaries in the home. Behaviour plans are extremely detailed, with excellent focus on the individuality of each young person. Plans written in the young person’s voice with sections such as ‘How I Usually Present Myself’ and ‘My Exit Strategy’ give young people ownership of and understanding about their behaviours. Strategies for staff to use are clear. Young people receive good support to help them manage their behaviours and reduce conflict and the risk that they present to others.

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

Behaviour management focuses on the positive reinforcement of good behaviour. Young people enjoy receiving rewards and are keen to use their incentive charts to show how well they are doing. Physical intervention is seldom used in the home, and records show that restraint is only used as last resort to keep young people safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has extensive managerial experience and a suitable level 4 qualification in management. Leadership is strong and has been integral to the effective transition of this home from a local authority to a private provider. Strong leadership, rigorous monitoring and team spirit ensured that staff competently implemented the new procedural framework and maintained high expectations for the young people at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a sound understanding of the regulatory framework and uses this awareness in the day-to-day operation of the home. For example, the quality standards are used to gauge staff performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose is kept under review by the registered manager. Staff Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 7 value training, and new staff speak highly about the high quality of induction and the support that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people receive consistent care and thrive because staff work as a team and respond well to the leadership of the registered manager. Staff’s understanding of the care-planning framework ensures that young people have a consistent sense of nurture, as staff meet young people’s day-to-day care and safeguarding needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses internal monitoring to improve the care that young people receive and enhance staff development. Action and development plans focus on realistic goals and young people’s needs and drive improvement. For example, care plans are more child friendly and written in the young person’s voice. This individualised approach was demonstrated on this inspection when one young person proudly explained her care plan and risk assessment to the inspector. She is able to do this because these are written according to her needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recording in the home is much improved and key-working records are generally of a good quality. However, some records do not reflect the voice of the young person or fully reflect the help and support that is in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people hold the registered manager in high regard. They are confident he will deal with their concerns and complaints effectively. Young people’s confidence in the complaints process was demonstrated when an independent investigation was arranged after a young person raised concerns about the registered manager. While concerns were unfounded, the manager and team used feedback to reiterate staff procedures when entering young people’s rooms. The young person received a full written reply to reassure her that her concerns had been listened to and addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works transparently with Ofsted and safeguarding agencies. Concerns about young people’s welfare and concerns about staff practice are routinely notified and show that appropriate safeguarding and disciplinary action is taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Comprehensive independent monitoring reports are regularly submitted to Ofsted, and the manager and staff are quick to address any shortfalls. The registered manager has a clear understanding of his monitoring responsibilities, which consistently drive improvement in the home. Four recommendations, relating to recording, are made as a result of this inspection. Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 8

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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: 1245979 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Priory Group, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Elaine Cray, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1245979 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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