Children's Home, Residential special school run by Overley Hall Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 1 SC020558 Registered provider: Overley Hall School Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned residential school is registered as a children’s home to accommodate up to 22 young people who have severe learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment and/or challenging behaviours and/or autism spectrum disorders. Young adults may stay beyond the age of 18 to complete their education. A separate residential home for young adults, registered with the Care Quality Commission, also operates in the school grounds.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 27 February 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 2

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make very good progress in many areas of their development.  Staff have positive and nurturing relationships with young people in their care.  Staff understand young people’s individual needs and consider innovative ways of meeting these needs.  Parents and professionals are positive about the impact that living at the home has on their young person’s life.  Young people enjoy a fantastic range of activities on site and in the wider community.  Staff work closely with speech and language therapists to promote young people’s communication.  Staff celebrate young people’s diverse needs.  New young people are warmly welcomed into the home.  Staff help young people prepare for their move to adult care.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Not all the requirements from the last inspection have been met. Improvements are still required to physical restraint records.  Managers have not completed a six-monthly review of the care.  The statement of purpose requires updating to reflect changes in staffing.  There are shortfalls in leadership and management, including the monitoring and reviewing of young people’s risk assessments and the care of medication.  Managers have not reviewed the complaints and safeguarding policies.  Not all staff are familiar with the home’s protocol about allegations against staff.  Doors and gates are kept locked. This practice restricts young people’s access to various parts of their home.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/12/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/12/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13(1)b) In particular, ensure that all staff are familiar with safeguarding protocols including how to respond to allegations against staff. 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that, in particular, to the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the home has sufficient staff to care for each child. (Regulation 13(d)) 01/12/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that, in particular, to the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(h)) In particular, review the home’s complaints policy. 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must (a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and (b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home, is necessary and proportionate, is kept under review, and, if necessary, revised and allows children as much freedom as possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

Ensure that within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the 31/10/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 4 measure. (Regulation 35(3)(c)) The registered person must maintain records (case records) for each child – which are kept up to date. (Regulation 36(1)(b)) 31/10/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45(1)(4)(a)) 31/10/2017

p.4

Recommendations

 Ensure young people live in an environment which meets their basic day-to-day needs. (‘The guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, continue to make the home a comfortable, and homely environment, with reference to young people’s bathrooms, small areas of damage in one young person’s room, and a strong smell in another young person’s room.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make progress in many areas of their development as a result of living at the home. Young people say that they are happy living here. One young person said, ’I like it here. I like my house.’ Parents are enthusiastic about the care that their child receives. One parent told the inspector, ’He loves people and loves going out. They have fun at the home and also go out for meals together. He has made huge progress. His attention span has improved, as well as communication. Fantastic place.’ Young people enjoy their lives at the home. Managers and staff go the extra mile to create a warm, homely environment in which young people thrive. Staff prioritise young people’s safety, and ensure a sense of fun and enjoyment throughout the young people’s day-to-day lives. The facilities at the home are excellent. Young people enjoy the cinema suite, spacious grounds, various clubs, woodland, play areas, a sensory room

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and quiet spaces. One young person goes for a morning and evening run with staff as it helps him start and end his day on a positive and relaxed note. There is something to meet all young people’s needs. Staff are skilled in identifying young people’s feelings and mood and finding something fun and enjoyable for them to do if they wish to join in. The majority of the young people living at the home attend the on-site school. Home and school staff communicate well with each other. In this way, staff are attuned to young people’s needs when they return to the home, and they offer young people appropriate support. Managers and staff work well together to promote young people’s needs. They have Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 5 regular multi-disciplinary meetings to discuss young people’s needs. This helps staff and young people overcome difficulties, and identify new targets to promote development,

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

including behaviour management. Close and cooperative working has resulted in a significant decrease in incidents for some young people. Other young people are developing self-care skills. Managers and staff work closely with parents, involving them in the care of their child. Staff liaise with parents if there are any health concerns and ensure that relevant information is passed on. A parent commented to the inspector, ‘I am reassured as staff keep me fully informed, and I know that they will contact me if there are difficulties.’ Young people’s emotional health improves. Staff and therapists help young people develop communication skills. Speech and language therapists advise staff about the use of an application on the young people’s iPads that help them make choices. For example, young people are able to tell staff when they are ‘full’ and do not want anything to eat. Young people become more independent and have more control over their lives. Staff

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

also use social stories to explain changes or unusual events. For example, staff explained to one young person why he had to move to another bedroom after it was flooded following rain. The social story helped the young person to understand the reason for the temporary move. New young people are warmly welcomed into the home. A parent commented to the inspector, ‘They could not have done more to help him settle in. I was impressed with how keen staff are to get things right.’ Another parent said, ‘Staff go above and beyond in their care of my son. He is in safe hands.’

p.5

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

Staff develop positive relationships with young people. Staff understand young people’s individual needs and recognise when a young person is becoming distressed or anxious. Staff step in and de-escalate situations, avoiding possible behavioural incidents. Managers’ and staff’s recording of physical restraints need improvement. This was a shortfall at the last full inspection and resulted in a requirement being made. There are continuing shortfalls in managers confirming that they have spoken to the young person and staff member after a physical restraint. Some recordings lack detail, and managers have not reviewed a small number of records. Young people are always accompanied when out in the community, and supervised in their use of social media. There have not been any incidents of young people being exploited, missing from care or at risk of radicalisation. Managers check new staff to ensure that they are suitable people to work at the home.

p.5

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

In addition, managers and staff undertake regular safety checks of the fire alarms, emergency lighting and fire equipment. This means that young people’s safety is prioritised.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 6 There have been changes in management at the home. The registered manager has left and there is an interim manager in post. The headteacher has become principal of the school with responsibilities for both school and the residential home. A number of staff have left, and new staff have joined the team. Managers have an ambitious vision to improve the service for young people. There are still some staff vacancies, and managers are not always able to maintain staff ratios due to vacancies. Managers are working with staff to reorganise services, and their focus is the stability of the young people. When considering moving staff to work with different young people, managers carefully ensure that a known and familiar staff member stays with them. This helps minimise young people’s anxieties and worries about change. There are shortfalls in managerial monitoring of the service. Managers have not sent in a

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

six-monthly review of the service to the regulator for Ofsted to review. In addition, young people’s risk assessments are not always updated. It is not clear, from reading young people’s risk assessments, why some doors and gates in the home and garden are kept locked. One young person’s medication arrangements were not clearly recorded for staff guidance. Although no medication errors have occurred, there remains a risk that this may happen. The complaints policy needs reviewing. The policy suggested that complaints must be made in writing. This does not take account of young people’s different abilities. The safeguarding policy also needs reviewing. The policy does not include clear guidance to staff about what to do if there are allegations against staff. The home offers young people a comfortable, spacious environment in which to enjoy their lives. There are minor shortfalls. The bathrooms in the main house are cold and

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

clinical, there was a strong smell in one young person’s room, and another bedroom had damaged paintwork. These shortfalls detract from the overall very good standards in the home. The home continues to offer the service reflected in the home’s statement of purpose. However, the statement of purpose is not up to date and includes details of staff who have left. This may be confusing for young people and parents who are reviewing the document. Managers have made various improvements in the running of the home. Staff now receive regular supervision, training and most of them have either completed their diploma level 3 in residential childcare or are completing the award. Not all requirements made at the last inspection have been met. There are continuing shortfalls with the recording of physical restraint and monitoring arrangements of the home.

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 7 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.

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: SC020558 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Overley Hall School Limited

p.8

Inspectors

Julia Wright, social care inspector Louise Battersby, social care inspector Lisa O’Donovan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC020558 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.

p.8

Inspectors

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

Inspectors

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

p.9

Inspectors

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

p.9