Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 1 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties (EBD), and/or learning disabilities (LD).

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 It provides a warm and nurturing environment where young people feel safe, accepted and respected.  Staff share positive relationships with young people. They provide them with structure and positive boundaries that help to motivate and engage them in this therapeutic setting.  Staff are effective in helping young people to reflect on their behaviour and improve the choices they make.  Young people’s health is well prioritised, ensuring that they have good access to health services and staff support to maintain healthy lifestyles.  Staff are creative in providing learning opportunities for those young people who have disengaged from formal education.  Staff are successful in helping young people to understand the extent of the dangers associated with some behaviours. For example, a young person has dramatically reduced and avoided risk-taking behaviours such as being missing from home and misusing substances.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff seek to support positive behaviour with praise and encouragement. To date, the home has not had to use either sanctions or physical intervention to manage behaviour.  Strength is identified in the current management team. The registered manager works in partnership with the home’s deputy manager to achieve the smooth running of the home.  Staff act as good role models. They show commitment to their roles as carers and have a good range of experience to ensure that there is a good mix of skills in the home.  Administratively, the home is well organised and well maintained. Documentation is kept up to date and provides a good and comprehensive account of the young person who is resident in the home.  The home has good internal and external monitoring arrangements to ensure good-quality assurance of the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

None Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 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 registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience (Regulation 33(4)(b)).

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to new staff consistently receiving frequent and regular supervision. 03/11/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the home’s first full inspection following its registration with Ofsted in May 2017. So far, only one young person has been admitted to live at the home. She is happy with the home and told the inspector, ‘I would give this home a strong 8/10; it is very homely and welcoming. It would be even better with more young people living here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm and nurturing environment where young people feel they are safe, accepted and treated with respect. Staff are committed to building strong, trusting relationships that allow young people to fully engage with the care and support provided. The young person said, ‘I get on well with all staff, but I have a strong bond with my key worker. I understand that you have got to earn trust and give respect to receive it.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide young people with structure and positive boundaries. Staff encourage young people to complete a weekly programme of activities; these include periods of education, quiet times for reading or watching a film, and outdoor activities. For the young person currently living at the home, activities have included horse riding, walking, running, swimming and regular trips to the gym. Her social worker commented, ‘Staff have been fabulous, motivating her and maintaining structure.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person came to the home well motivated to engage with its help and support programme. Her goals were to make changes in her attitude and her behaviour, and to Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 4 begin to refocus on her education. Since coming to the home, the young person’s risk- taking behaviours, particularly frequent periods of being missing from home and alcohol and drug misuse, have dramatically reduced. She has grown in confidence, communicates well and contributes positively to her day-to-day care and future planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide regular opportunities, using a combination of therapeutic discussions and key-working sessions, for young people to reflect on their relationships and behaviours and the choices they make. This approach provides young people with valuable opportunities to explore their personal views and feelings. For example, the young person was able to share with the inspector her recognition, in her words, of ‘how disrespectful she had been to her mum’, and how she has been able to improve her relationship with her mother more recently. The social worker commented, ‘Staff are very supportive of her. They have given her lots of opportunities to think, good advice and sound boundaries.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to reflect on their week and complete a brief questionnaire. This helps to evaluate the content of the week’s planned programme and identify progress and successes that occurred during the week. This also gives young people the ability to raise any issues of concern, as well as providing useful feedback and raising ideas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that young people’s healthcare needs are appropriately assessed and provided for. Staff role model and advise young people about the benefits of healthy lifestyles, focusing on good physical and emotional well-being. Staff successfully promote healthy eating, avoidance of activities that can have long-term adverse effects on health, and regular exercise. The young person was able to identify the positive progress that she has made during her time at the home. This included putting on a healthy amount of weight, reducing her smoking habit and taking part in outdoor activities, such as going ghyll scrambling and enjoying a new-found love of horse riding. These activities have identified a growing resilience and self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative and show skill in engaging young people’s interest in learning. The young person was permanently excluded from school on her arrival. Since that time, staff have successfully motivated the young person to work towards gaining nationally recognised vocational awards. These have included bike riding, animal care, cooking and catering. Staff have supported her in completing some work provided from her previous school. Additionally, the home has accessed some personal tuition through its company’s education resource. Feeling encouraged, the young person has ambitions to attend college, once she has successfully completed her GCSEs. The young person recognises her potential and is now eager not to waste it. Her words were, ‘I want to be able to smash my GCSEs.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value the importance of promoting family contact. They have supported the young person to maintain regular contact with her family with telephone calls, visits and, more recently, her first overnight stay at home. Staff acknowledge the importance of strengthening relationships, and building resilience and life skills. With this they aim to facilitate good transitions to help young people achieve long-term stability. The young Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 5 person’s parents commented, ‘It’s absolutely brilliant. She is safe and learning new skills. She is really settled. I have seen a big change in her.’

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

Staff successfully keep young people at the centre of all they do and work together to provide a calm and homely environment. This provides reassurance and helps young people to feel safe and appropriately secure. Young people know that there is always someone they can talk to. The young person currently living at the home confirmed this and said, ‘If I have a problem I can take it up with any of the staff. They treat me like a mature adult. We have good respect for each other.’

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

Staff are familiar with the home’s child protection procedures, and are appropriately trained to support and safeguard young people effectively. Young people’s care is supported by effective, comprehensive behaviour and risk management planning that demonstrates the staff’s good knowledge and understanding of young people’s vulnerabilities, and the action required to minimise risks.

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

Staff are trained in reflective therapeutic intervention. This guides staff to support young people’s positive behaviour with an open and respectful approach, working inclusively with young people. This approach promotes trust, allowing young people to explore often sensitive and difficult issues. Staff are able to help young people to reflect on their own situations and circumstances. Young people are able to identify their feelings, triggers for behaviour and how they think they can be supported. This approach enables them to identify options and opportunities that help them to move forward positively.

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

Staff have been successful in motivating the current young person living at the home to avoid those risk-taking activities that made her vulnerable in the community. For example, prior to coming to the home, she was frequently missing and was considered to be at high risk and vulnerable to sexual exploitation. There have not been any incidents of her going missing since she has come to the home. Although the remote location of the home is a positive factor, it would appear that her positive relationships with staff have influenced the choices she makes.

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

There has been no use of sanctions or physical intervention, which further promotes the young person’s safety. Staff reward positive behaviour with praise and encouragement and, on occasion, small rewards. For example, the young person received some additional money to spend on clothing by successfully reducing the number of cigarettes she smokes. Staff explained that this was to illustrate how money could be saved and then spent on other items, rather than cigarettes.

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

The registered manager has made good arrangements in the home to ensure the safe storage of medication. Separate lockable cabinets are available for each young person. All staff receive training on the safe handling, recording and administration of medication. Together these significantly reduce the likelihood of errors being made that the compromise the young person’s safety. Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 6 Health and safety is a recognised priority. Routine checks are made by staff to ensure that the home remains a safe environment for young people, visitors and those working in the home.

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

Fire safety information is appropriately communicated to all staff and young people. Regular evacuation drills take place to ensure that staff and young people are familiar with leaving the home in the event of an emergency. These events are well documented; this provides good evaluation of the success of these practice drills, allowing the registered manager to share any lessons that need to be learned. These measures further improve safety in the home.

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

The home’s recruitment and selection arrangements are sufficiently rigorous to ensure that young people’s safety is not compromised. Staff are appropriately checked and vetted to ensure their suitability to work with children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s registered manager and deputy manager work in close partnership to ensure the smooth running of this home. The registered manager shares his time between this home and another local service operated by the company. He is the registered manager for both.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has mentored his deputy manager in preparation for him to ultimately take over the registered manager role. This arrangement so far appears to be working well. Both are appropriately qualified and have good experience in working with children and young people in residential care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team works in good partnership with placing authorities and other professionals to ensure that planning is thorough and takes into account the breadth of young people’s needs. Managers are familiar with their responsibilities. They appropriately advocate and show willingness to challenge other professionals to make sure that young people receive a consistently high level of care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is not yet fully staffed, but has sufficient staff at present to meet the current need. Recruitment is continuing and the staff are continuing to develop in their roles. Some difficulties have occurred with the recruitment and retention of staff, due to the home’s remote location and the shift pattern. Although beneficial in providing continuity for young people, it does not suit all potential employees.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff showed tremendous commitment to their roles as carers. They possess a diverse but healthy range of skills and experience that suit them to their roles. For example, some have teaching backgrounds while others have interests in outdoor pursuits and activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff benefit from an intensive induction programme. This includes a wide range of Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 7 relevant training opportunities, such as child protection; drug and substance misuse; mental health awareness; self-harm; and first aid. One staff member commented, ‘It was engaging, fun and interesting.’ Staff are also required to undertake online training provided by the local safeguarding board. This ensures that they are knowledgeable and up to date with current concerns, such as the radicalisation of young people and extremist behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s personal records are extremely well organised and well maintained. Records demonstrate regular management oversight. They successfully detail management observations, good evaluation and guidance for staff. The quality of these records ensures that young people have a good and comprehensive account of their time at this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff identified regular shift-handover and staff meetings as being helpful forums that enable them to share ideas and information. Alongside the personal supervision and input they receive from the company’s clinicians, staff say they feel these meetings helpfully support and guide therapeutic model of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, a shortfall in supervision arrangements was identified during this inspection. Although managers had provided a group supervision to address a deficit in the frequency of supervision, this did not satisfy the additional frequency required by newer, as yet unqualified, staff members. While this group supervision may have met the need for the qualified and experienced staff, it is deemed insufficient for those staff members with less experience in working in children’s residential care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the home has not had any official complaints, a social worker spoken to in the course of this inspection highlighted the problem in communicating with the home. The registered manager accepted that this can sometimes be problematic due to the issues with mobile phone reception in such a remote location. He confirmed that action has already been taken to improve the landline communication to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has good-quality assurance arrangements in place. The independent visitor reports regularly to Ofsted, providing good evaluation of the home’s operation and how well it is safeguarding and supporting young people’s well-being. The deputy manager has been completing regular monitoring activity in the home, and will be using his findings to complete his six-monthly report to Ofsted. This is not due until later this year.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 8 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: 1249123 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Reflexion Care Group Ltd, Black Birches, Hadnall, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 3DH

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Inspector(s)

Gillian Walters, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1249123 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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