Children's home run by Inmind Childrens Services Limited in Wokingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC481672 1 SC481672 Registered provider: Inmind Children’s 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 provides care and accommodation for up to five children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home, privately owned and managed, provides services mainly to local authorities.

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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

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC481672 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people develop good and trusting relationships with staff. This provides a good foundation from which young people can make progress.  The young people are attending school. This is progress because they have previously experienced significant educational disruption.  Young people take part in a wide variety of activities. This improves their self- esteem and confidence.  Young people’s views, opinions and ideas matter to the manager and staff.  Young people’s behaviour improves because staff implement clear and consistent boundaries.  Young people are safer when they use the internet and social media because staff understand and minimise risks.  The manager and staff have a good understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities of young people. Risk assessments are comprehensive, detailed, and are implemented consistently by staff.  An experienced and committed registered manager leads the home well.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager is meticulous when considering the impact of new young people admitted to the home. This helps to prevent disruption to the progress made by young people already resident.  The training and development of staff is a priority because the manager understands that this is fundamental to helping young people make progress.

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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

 The home requires upgrading in some areas. Some internal decoration is tired and the garden is overgrown and untidy. This detracts from what is otherwise a pleasant home environment.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/05/2016 Full Good 09/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/05/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC481672 3

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food, hygiene, etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy living in this home and have good experiences. The staff spend time with young people and listen to them, leading to the development of good and trusting relationships. Consequently, young people feel settled and this helps them to make progress. One young person said, ‘I think it is great here. The staff are good to talk to, and they do lots.’ The manager and staff understand and prioritise the educational needs of young people. Some young people’s education has been considerably disrupted. These disruptions include exclusion from mainstream education and the young people have needed a great deal of support to get back into education. One young person now attends school regularly and enjoys learning. Another young person is about to begin at his education setting. The registered manager has challenged local authorities to act quickly in order to secure the correct resources to meet young people’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have access to primary healthcare services, including doctors, dentists and opticians. Young people have at times refused to attend routine appointments. When this happens, staff liaise with the health providers to find alternative and creative ways to enable young people to access services. Young people’s mental health and emotional needs remain of the utmost importance. The manager and staff work closely with the child and adolescent mental health team to access the services the young people require, including therapeutic support. The home also benefits from the services of a psychologist and therapist, who provide individual therapy for young people if this is required. The manager and staff understand that the physical, emotional and mental health needs of young people are fundamentally important to their making progress in all areas of their lives. Young people have placed their health at risk through using cannabis and smoking

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

tobacco. The manager and staff have responded to this well, with referrals made to specialist agencies to help young people and the staff manage this behaviour. The staff have completed individual sessions with young people and have provided them with the Inspection report children’s home: SC481672 4 information needed to help them make better decisions. This has helped young people become more aware of the damaging effects of tobacco and cannabis. Young people’s confidence and self-esteem improve because staff encourage and promote their involvement in a wide range of activities. One young person has developed her skills in ice skating, enjoying individual and group skating activities. Another young person enjoys music and paintballing. Staff celebrate and praise young people for taking part in activities, and staff promote this because they understand it helps young people’s overall development. Staff listen to the young people’s views, opinions and ideas. There are positive

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

interactions and, when young people disagree with staff, there is negotiation, compromise and discussion. The staff respect young people and there is a culture in which the views of young people are taken seriously. The young people provide their views through young people’s meetings and by completing feedback for the manager on the care that they receive.

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

The staff manage the behaviour of young people effectively. Staff maintain clear boundaries and young people benefit from this consistency in relation to their behaviour. Consequently, the behaviour of young people improves. The staff understand the importance of knowing young people’s friends and associates, as well as the whereabouts of young people when they are away from the home. Young people know what time to be home if visiting friends and they understand the staff’s expectations of them. There have been some incidents of difficult and challenging behaviour, in which the staff have needed to physically intervene. Physical intervention has been proportionate to the circumstances and has been undertaken by appropriately trained staff. The manager has ensured good and detailed recording following such incidents, and all those involved receive a good level of support. Staff undertake safeguarding training, they have a good

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

knowledge of child protection procedures, and care practice is effective in keeping young people safe. The manager and staff learn lessons following incidents of difficult behaviour, and they update risk assessments and plans designed to keep young people safe. All potential new staff undergo checks to ensure that the young people are not at risk of being harmed by anyone employed by the home. Staff recruitment is rigorous, in line with the safer recruitment policy of the organisation. New staff do not get to work with young people independently until the manager assures herself of their ability to provide good and safe care. This keeps young people safe. The manager and staff take effective action to safeguard young people when they use the internet and social media. Internet-linked devices in the home have software installed that blocks concerning sites. The staff monitor internet use through one home

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

laptop and staff can trace internet history. Staff are clear about their expectations of the young people’s online behaviour. Young people do not have ‘smart’ phones, so cannot access the internet through mobile devices. The staff are up to date with wider social Inspection report children’s home: SC481672 5 media developments because they understand the risks to young people. The manager and staff have a good understanding of young people’s individual vulnerabilities and risks. Young people have flexible and comprehensive risk assessments that take into account information gathered from partner agencies, such as social workers and other professionals, and can be adapted in line with changing circumstances and needs of young people. These risk assessments appropriately identify risk, the reasons for risk, and the actions staff should take to keep young people safe. Staff understand and consistently implement these risk assessments.

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

The manager has very good and well-established working relationships with partner agencies in the local area. The police will visit the home regularly, try to develop positive relationships with young people and provide advice, guidance and support. The manager has established links with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and this helps staff access safeguarding training and resources that will help staff to keep young people safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A qualified and experienced registered manager leads this service. She has managed the home for three years and demonstrates dedication and commitment to good outcomes for young people. An experienced and skilled deputy manager and senior care staff support the manager. Young people make progress because they receive consistently good care, develop excellent relationships with staff and receive the guidance and direction that they need to make good choices. Before new young people are admitted to the home, the manager undertakes careful and meticulous matching procedures. She considers the needs of the potential new young person alongside those already living at the home, as well as the staff’s ability and capacity to provide the best possible care. This cautious and thoughtful approach to admitting new young people minimises the risk of destabilising placements for all the young people. The manager has introduced a new and intuitive system of monitoring young people’s

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

progress. This provides valuable data that is used in developing and reviewing young people’s plans, which she is involved in, having an in-depth knowledge and understanding of these plans. The manager attends meetings and maintains excellent relationships with young people. She understands the young people’s strengths and potential, as well as their vulnerabilities. Young people benefit from stable and well-trained, qualified and motivated staff, who have the skills they need to provide good and effective care. Individual staff members have their development reviewed by the manager, and have personal development plans that detail their learning and developmental needs. New staff members undergo a thorough induction, which includes mentoring by a more experienced colleague and completing core training. New staff members ‘shadow’ shifts, which allows them to observe colleagues and develop relationships with the young

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

people. One new member of staff spoken to said, ‘I feel well supported. The staff help Inspection report children’s home: SC481672 6 and explain why they do certain things and this helps.’ Staff receive regular and professional supervision. Supervision sessions are comprehensive, covering the workers’ individual performance and the care provided to young people. They provide a good balance of professional challenge, support and praise, helping staff feel valued and enthused by this interesting and rewarding work. The manager understands the importance of a systemic approach to monitoring the quality of care provided. She uses a range of methods, including very good reports from the independent visitor, to compile her own quality assurance report, as well as collating a range of data and the views of other professionals. The report is both detailed and ambitious for the development of the home. The home appears tired in some areas, detracting from what is otherwise a comfortable

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

and pleasant home. Painting and decorating in rooms is required, and some internal doorframes and doors need repairing. The garden is overgrown and untidy in parts, and needs some attention to ensure that the home is a place that young people can be proud of.

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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: SC481672 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inmind Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 7 The Quadrant, Upper Culham Farm, Upper Culham Road, Upper Culham, Reading RG10 8NR

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Patricia Gregory

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Inspector

Phillip Morris, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC481672 8 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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Inspector

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