Children's home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 1 SC405977 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group 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 two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities

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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 requires improvement to be 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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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Education, healthcare, risk assessment and behaviour management fit well into the routine and consistently good day-to-day care of young people.  Young people credit their progress, confidence and positive life opportunities to the trusting and positive relationships they have with staff.  Young people grow up, mature and make excellent progress. They are exceptionally well prepared for their transition into independent living.  Staff support young people to do well and achieve in education and employment.  The registered manager and staff team are highly motivated. They have high aspirations for the young people and themselves. Their enthusiasm and child- centred approach is key to the significant progress that young people make emotionally, socially and educationally.

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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 supervision of young people has not always been robust.  Face-to-face work with young people about relationships, including the risks around under-age sex, needs more consistency and regularity.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/11/2016 Full Outstanding 22/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2) (a) (ii) (iv) (v)) 30/11/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have very positive relationships with staff. One young person said, ‘I’ve been in other care homes and they didn’t care, but here they really do care. The staff really care here and I care about them.’ This sense of belonging has helped this young person to improve his behaviour. He no longer goes missing or uses drugs, and is no longer involved in criminal activity. He does not want to let himself or staff down and has many positive activities to focus on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have an incredibly positive view of the home and the staff, and hold the manager in high regard. One young person has moved on to independent living after living at the home for three years. He sees the support from staff as key to his maturity, and his successful and smooth transition to independent living as a result of the ongoing support he receives. This young person says, ‘I will never lose contact with the staff because they are so important to me.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 4 Young people settle quickly into their placements. They are able to visit before moving in and feel at ease because staff are kind, welcoming and share lots of information about the home, rules and boundaries. They mature and develop good social skills as a result of role modelling by staff. The reflective model of care enables them to explore and discuss their emotions and behaviour, and their greater sense of self-determination and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

growing confidence enable them to articulate their concerns and understand their rights. One young person said that before he came to the home he would just get angry and run away. Now he liaises with the children’s commissioner because he knows his rights as a child looked after and has made a formal complaint against his placing authority. The manager and staff are excellent advocates for young people. They speak up for, and are instrumental in arranging access to independent advocacy for, young people in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care staff work closely with education staff at the provider’s school. They transport young people to and from school and, when required, sit with them in the classroom. One-to-one tuition allows young people to learn in a safe environment and better manage their group behaviour. Young people have positive opportunities to reach their potential through this excellent education support. Attending the provider’s school has been very important for some young people’s re-engagement with learning. They have been able to catch up with studies, achieve good outcomes, get good exam results and access apprenticeship training as a result of staff support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s health has improved and they say that advice from staff about healthy eating and encouragement to go to the gym have been key to losing weight, feeling much fitter and having greater confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a homely and well-maintained environment. They have a sense of belonging, with personalised bedrooms where they can enjoy their own personal space. Communal areas are spacious, should young people wish to meet privately with family members, friends and social workers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive excellent support to prepare for leaving care and living independently. Bespoke independence plans set practical and gradual targets to enable young people to practise budgeting, shopping, cooking and managing their free time. A score chart for each section of the programme and weekly meetings help young people to look at their progress and enable staff to adapt the programme and their support accordingly. This clear and individualised structure gives young people stability and confidence in the skills they will need to live away from the home.

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improvement to be good

Lack of clarity about the supervision of young people’s relationships has resulted in safeguarding concerns for young people who live at the home, as well as young people who visit. While staff encourage positive friendships for young people, their face-to-face work with young people about sexual consent and the law around this has had little Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 5 impact. While the registered manager has taken clear and immediate action to define how staff supervision must be carried out and recorded, the provider’s own investigation has not been timely. It has taken the human resources team over six weeks to report back and make requirements to improve practice in the home.

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improvement to be good

Other than the above area for improvement, the home has a good framework to promote young people’s welfare and safety. Young people’s positive relationships help them to talk to staff about their concerns. The initial referrals of safeguarding concerns are prompt and show a good understanding of child protection reporting requirements.

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improvement to be good

Young people feel safe and cared for. Staff keep them safe with comprehensive risk assessments that clearly measure and prioritise the risks presented by and to each young person. Action plans provide guidance for staff to keep young people safe in the community and monitor the risks that they present to each other in the home. When young people move into the home, plans are detailed and tailored to the needs of each young person. Young people benefit from early stability in their placements due to effective compatibility assessments. This tool ensures that young people are well matched, that potential for bullying is minimised and that staff have the correct skills to meet young people’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s understanding of the history and childhood experiences of young people is based on good retrieval of information from social workers and families. Good knowledge enables staff to promote safe and appropriate contact between young people and their families.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff are able to identify the smallest concern and ensure that risk management plans give clear strategies to support young people’s emotional resilience. As a result, historic behaviours are closely looked for and monitored and plans are adapted accordingly. These behaviours include self-injury, going missing and exposure to child sexual exploitation.

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improvement to be good

Staff also work closely with police when each young person is admitted to the home. This individualised approach means that missing from care protocols are tailored for each young person and are appropriate for the vulnerability of each young person. Young people do not go missing from the home and there are no concerns about child sexual exploitation.

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improvement to be good

While there are no concerns about young people’s exposure to radicalisation, training sets staff in good stead to identify and report concerns should they arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has extensive managerial experience and a suitable level 5 qualification in management. Her leadership is strong and she leads her motivated and ambitious team of staff well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are enthusiastic about training and development. For example, one senior member Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 6 of staff is qualified at level 5 in leadership and management, while another is about to embark on a training course in reflective therapeutic intervention, so that the home can have its own trainer. Training is well organised and managed to ensure a seamless progression from induction to probationary training and then on to timely registration for a level 3 diploma in caring for children. All experienced staff have completed their level 3 diploma in caring for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager keeps the home’s statement of purpose up to date so that it reflects the operation of the home. Staffing arrangements are managed effectively and one-to-one staffing ensures individual support for each young person. Young people make excellent progress and experience a firm sense of permanence as full consideration is given to levels of experience, competence and the induction of new staff across all shifts.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is both strategic and consultative in her approach to managing and improving the home. The home’s development plan is a working document and very child-centred. Young people are regularly consulted about the day-to-day running of and improvement in the home. Social workers’ feedback includes terms such as ‘proactive’, ‘remarkable’ and ‘excellent’ when describing outcomes for young people and the conduct of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff show unquestionable commitment to young people, who are more empowered because the registered manager is a strong advocate who skilfully represents their views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a good understanding of the regulatory framework and of her monitoring responsibilities. Her oversight of the operation of the home is good and thorough and this is consistently demonstrated in the home’s regular independent monitoring reports. Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 7

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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: SC405977 8

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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

Elaine Cray, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC405977 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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