Children's home run by ABC Children’s Homes Limited in Stroud

Inspection report children’s home: SC477121 1 SC477121 Registered provider: ABC Children’s Homes 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 privately owned children’s home is registered to care for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is currently offering medium- to long-term care for young people aged eight to 18 years.

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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: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people receive good-quality care.  Young people have good access to a range of activities that help to promote Inspection report children’s home: SC477121 2 their hobbies and interests.  All young people are helped to attend school and make good educational progress.  Young people are supported to develop their independence skills at a pace that suits their needs and abilities.  When young people move on, staff maintain links with them with the agreement of their social workers.  Excellent partnership working with professionals helps to keep young people safe.  The staff team is alert to potential bullying and is quick to address any concerns.  Staff are safely recruited.  Managers are child focused. The staff share their high aspirations for young people.  The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the service and is committed to making improvements.

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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

 Some risk assessments are not up to date. Young people do not receive timely debriefs after a physical restraint has taken place.  The physical restraint policy is not up to date.  The registered manager has not ensured that new staff receive supervision in line with the organisation’s policy.  The statement of purpose has not been updated and sent to Ofsted in accordance with the regulatory requirements.  Duty rotas have not been updated to capture records of the actual hours worked.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/11/2016 Full Good 16/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC477121 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 keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and 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)) 25/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33(1)(a)) This is with direct reference to new staff being supervised in line with the home’s supervision policy. 24/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 35(2)) 24/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child that include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3. The records must be kept up to date, and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (a)(b)(c)) 24/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must 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 measure. (Regulation 35(3)(c)) 24/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they maintain in the home the records relating to schedule 4. (Regulation 37(2)(a)) This is specifically in relation to having a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual hours worked. 24/11/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC477121 4 Young people receive good-quality care from staff who focus their attention on the things that matter the most to young people. This has enabled young people to understand that staff want the very best for them, and have high aspirations for them. As a result, young people and staff enjoy positive and trusting relationships. Young people are very much at the heart of the home. Young people attend regular meetings where their suggestions are discussed at staff team meetings. Where it is not possible to meet young people’s requests, staff make sure that explanations are given to help the young people understand why decisions are made. There is a good range of activities available. This helps to promote young people’s hobbies and interests. All young people have been on a holiday. Young people recognise the progress that they are making in developing their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are helped to attend school and to make good educational progress. Staff members advocate for young people and they challenge schools to ensure that their young people get the very best education. Teachers report that the staff work in partnership with them. For example, one professional told the inspector, ‘The staff liaison with the school is outstanding and I feel strongly that we are a partnership. [The young person] has turned a corner since they have been at the home. They are learning appropriate boundaries and taking responsibility for their actions.’ Parents speak positively about being made to feel welcome at the home. They join in at meal times and brothers and sisters are encouraged to have overnight stays. Staff also provide transport to help maintain important links for young people. A parent told the inspector, ‘I can’t praise them enough. They support me too, they encourage me to do

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the right thing. I trust their judgement. If I would want [my child] to be anywhere other than home, it is this home.’ Young people are being supported to develop their independence skills at a pace that suits their needs and their abilities. Young people have developed skills such as cooking basic meals and keeping their bedrooms tidy . These opportunities enable young people to take on appropriate levels of responsibility to develop life skills for the future. When young people move on, staff maintain links with them with the agreement of their social workers. This helps young people to feel valued. The staff ensure that the house always feels homely. Young people personalise their bedrooms. This helps young people to have a sense of belonging.

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

Excellent partnership working with professionals helps to keep young people safe. Information sharing is at the heart of staff practice. Professionals speak highly of the home’s ability to safeguard young people. One professional stated, ‘I feel that [the young person] has been at the centre of staff thinking. They make decisions with her and about her in a safe and empathic way. [The young person] had been really aware of that.’ Another professional stated, ’Communication is good. When children first arrive, their details are always passed on quickly with good detail of the risks and the vulnerabilities.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC477121 5 Staff are alert to potential bullying and are quick to address any concerns. They support young people to take action and to keep themselves safe. Young people take part in staff training around their own vulnerabilities to child sexual exploitation. This helps

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

them to make well-informed decisions and enables them to be safe. When young people have gone missing from the home, staff have worked in partnership with the police and the placing authority to protect young people from potential harm. Staff are not afraid to challenge other professionals’ perceived views on a young person. Staff have escalated concerns to ensure that young people are effectively safeguarded. The registered manager makes sure that young people feel welcomed when they return home from being missing. The manager also makes sure that young people are given the opportunity of a return home interview. Swift action by the team helps to ensure that young people have the right help to make safe decisions for the future. Managers ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard. This includes completing regular checks of electrical, gas and fire safety. Fire drills take place and help

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

young people know how to respond in an emergency. Staff have a good knowledge of fire safety. Staff are safely recruited, to ensure that anyone employed is safe to work with young people. Staff are aware of each young person’s vulnerabilities. However, this knowledge is not always captured in the home’s records in a consistent manner. For example, some risk assessments are not up to date, and impact risk assessments contain different information to that shared at the time of admission to the home. As a result, staff are not working with the most up-to-date information. This can lead to inconsistences in practice. Although the number of physical interventions is low, and restraint is only ever used as a last resort, young people are not debriefed within the necessary timescales. Furthermore, the home’s restraint policy is not up to date and refers to a different strategy. This lack of management oversight means that staff practice could be

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been employed for three years and holds a level 5 management qualification in working with children and young people. A qualified and committed team leader supports him. Together, they represent a strong and consistent management team. Staff hold, or are working towards, a level 3 qualification within required timescales. Staff receive a range of training to enable them to meet the individual needs of young people. New staff benefit from a comprehensive induction. Managers are child focused and have high aspirations for young people. Managers and staff ensure that the décor of the home provides a homely and nurturing environment. The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the service and is committed to making improvements. For example, he is implementing systems to Inspection report children’s home: SC477121 6 increase management oversight. He has introduced a consultation process for

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

stakeholders that will support a wider understanding of service impact and areas for development. The home has one staff vacancy, which is covered by staff working overtime. This ensures that young people experience continuity of care. Staff report that managers are available and that they are supportive. Supervision records are comprehensive and detailed. However, the registered manager has not ensured that new staff receive supervision in line with the policy. Furthermore, supervision expectations for part-time staff are not clearly explained in the home’s policy. This means that there have been missed opportunities to celebrate and support good practice. The staff understand the statement of purpose and the ethos of the home, which they apply to practice. However, the statement of purpose has not been updated and sent to Ofsted in accordance with the regulatory requirement. Duty rotas have not been updated to capture records of the actual hours worked. This

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

does not ensure clear management oversight.

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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: SC477121 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: ABC Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Eden Barn, Green Lane, Hardwicke, Gloucester GL2 4QA

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Inspectors

Louise Battersby, social care inspector Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC477121 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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