Children's home run by Physis Quantum Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 1 SC487794 Registered provider: Physis Quantum Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a privately owned limited company. It offers care for up to three young people. The home specialises in caring for young people who are victims of child sexual exploitation.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because: Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 2  Young people make exceptional progress in dealing with their difficulties.  Young people focus on their education for the first time in years.  Young people engage in weekly therapy and complete specific work relating to their personal difficulties.  Young people no longer go missing or self-harm.  Young people eat healthy food and engage in physical activities.  Young people try lots of new activities that help to broaden their opportunities and improve their self-confidence.  Young people’s relationships with their families and friends improve significantly.  Young people become highly motivated by care and support they receive from the staff and the manager.  Living at the home has made a lasting difference to young people’s lives.  Staff and the manager are thoughtful, skilful, imaginative and enthusiastic

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

about their work with young people.  Staff and the manager are exceptionally effective at working as a team.  Staff are well trained.  The manager and staff have excellent understanding of the organisation’s therapeutic care model, which is supported by research.  Staff and the manager communicate clearly, promptly and insightfully with local authority professionals.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Staff occasionally make decisions without a thorough review.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/08/2016 Full Requires improvement 10/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 3

p.2

Recommendations

 Ensure that children’s home staff take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child’s needs and developmental stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. Staff should discuss the decision with the child’s placing authority where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7) In particular, write up risk assessments more intelligently alongside young people, so that risk assessment documents work better as a tool to inform and improve decisions.

p.3

outstanding

All of the young people who have lived at the children’s home over the last year have made excellent progress. One young person told the inspector, ‘I know I can speak to the staff when I’m upset or angry.’ Another young person said, ‘I am glad that they have been there for me and helped me get through the hard times.’

p.3

outstanding

A young person who has now moved back to her home area said:

p.3

outstanding

‘Never would I have thought I would come to a place like this! The staff are amazing and they help me through my struggles and have been supportive. I felt loved by the people around me, safe and cared for.’

p.3

outstanding

Young people make outstanding progress because staff are exceptionally insightful and nurturing. Staff think about the way they approach every situation, always bearing in mind young people’s needs and worries. The home’s monthly independent visitor recently said:

p.3

outstanding

‘There is outstanding attention to making a positive lifestyle for the young people. They think about things – what’s going on for the young people; what’s going to be the best way.’

p.3

outstanding

Staff understand that young people want to be with their families and friends. They help young people to sustain and improve their relationships with the people who are important to them. For example, staff have taught one young person to be assertive when speaking to her mum, instead of being aggressive. This has really improved their relationship. Another young person is now seeing her father after many years of no contact. Staff have supported this through numerous skilful conversations. These conversations gave the young person insight and strategies for managing her feelings Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 4 and behaviour.

p.3

outstanding

Young people trust staff, and choose to engage with everything that the organisation offers. This can include weekly therapy, weekly personal social and health coaching, and a wealth of activities and positive experiences. One young person told the inspector, ‘Thanks to [the name of the therapist] for getting me through difficult and confusing situations.’ Another young person said, ‘I’d rather be at home, but to get there I have to show I’m not running off, can keep myself safe and do my GCSEs.’

p.4

outstanding

Young people have re-engaged in their education and are now working hard to achieve recognised qualifications. Young people have aspirations for their future. Staff have made this turnaround possible with their excellent supportive skills. For example, staff skilfully help young people to overcome ‘fallings out’ and disengagement from other young people and adults at school. Young people can now calm down, reflect, apologise and choose to take part in school more maturely.

p.4

outstanding

Young people have experienced a wealth of new activities. For example, young people enjoy horse-riding, swimming, ice-skating, tobogganing, gym, go-karting and country walking. At home, young people can do arts and crafts, card and board games, baking and pamper evenings. The home celebrates birthdays, arrivals, departures, and key dates, such as women’s day. These activities are new, interesting and confidence building for young people. As a result, young people’s horizons are much broader now, and they now spend their time engaging in positive activities. One young person said that her old life consisted of ‘boys and kebabs’. Now she cooks and eats a wider variety of food, has reduced her smoking considerably and is fully engaging in the therapeutic programme. Another young person’s social worker said, ‘[Young person] is making loads of progress. She is more settled here than she has ever been.’

p.4

outstanding

All staff know the organisation’s model of therapeutic practice and implement it at all times. The staff constantly review and analyse what stage each young person is at in their recovery from previous trauma, assessing their journey towards resilience.

p.4

outstanding

Staff show endless patience and insight, taking every opportunity to help young people develop. Staff write positive messages to each young person every day in their ‘praise book’. They collect photos and memorabilia for them.

p.4

outstanding

Staff make sure that young people understand their plans, and what progress they need to make. Young people’s outstanding emotional and behavioural progress is evidence of the home’s excellent practice. One staff member said:

p.4

outstanding

‘We build up great relationships. If we do not help them out, no one will. We must build up their self-esteem and make them feel good about themselves. We show them what a good family would work like and how the outside world should work. We have a lot of sessions, talking, revisiting conversations, sometimes reading the key-working sessions back to them. We are really trying to help with issues like anger, getting to sleep and keeping things tidy, recognising the trauma that makes it so hard for them. We try practical things too, like breathing techniques, the herb Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 5 garden, soothe boxes, sleeping bag and a lavender-filled warm teddy bear.’

p.4

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

Staff provide superb levels of support and care that help young people become increasingly safe. Staff work closely with the coordinator of the organisation’s child sexual exploitation (CSE) recovery programme. Staff and the coordinator undertake a number of hours’ work with each young person each week. They help each young person to develop emotional intelligence, self-awareness, coping skills and emotional resilience. They advise, assist and educate young people about grooming, online safety, sexual health and relationships. A member of staff said, ‘The adults have regular key-work sessions with the young people. They discuss CSE. Staff and young people identify how they have been vulnerable in the past and how to work towards being safer in the future.’ Young people respond well to this regular and skilled input. They make excellent progress in overcoming risky behaviour. One young person said, ‘Adults in the home have done work with me about things like grooming, CSE,

p.5

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

exploitation and dangerous situations that could occur.’ Since moving back to her home area, she has been able to stay safe.

p.5

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

No young person has gone missing from the home. Young people have gained a good understanding of the extent of the risks that they used to take, and they have learned that they are worthy of better things. Now, when they go back to their home areas to see relatives, they do not go missing. One young person said, ‘I used to smoke weed on a daily basis, run off, and drink alcohol on a daily basis. Now I want to go to college and see my friends and family more. I’m excited because I can go home for Christmas.’

p.5

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

Young people have learned to manage their angry feelings. They do not self-harm, damage things, run away or need to be physically restrained. Staff have helped young people understand that their anger is the result of sadness that they can accept comfort for. Staff have helped young people understand that they can calm themselves and can repair relationships. One young person vowed, ‘I never apologise.’ Since living here, she has been able to apologise on several occasions.

p.5

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

Staff deal with any bullying sympathetically and without hesitation. Their skilled support also enables young people to engage positively with drugs workers, advocates and social workers. This adds to young people’s sense of worth and their competence in social situations.

p.5

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

Staff occasionally make decisions without a thorough review. For example, when there was only one young person living at the home, staff stopped using the bedroom door alarms and locking away the kitchen knives. However, without a revised assessment, they put these control measures back in place as soon as a new young person arrived. Similarly, the staff made a decision to allow one young person to have razors, and then wrote a quick risk assessment to justify their decision.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 6 The registered manager is an approachable, motivated and immensely experienced leader. She inspires young people to achieve great things. She ensures that staff are equipped and supported to provide the highest standards of individualised care. One young person said that she would grade the home ‘excellent, ‘cos it does make a difference to our lives’. Another young person said of the manager, ‘She’ll sort stuff out – she took me to see my family when the social worker cancelled.’

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager leads and supports staff openly and insightfully. She is able to identify and learn from mistakes. She listens to young people and ensures that they are central to all that staff do. She recently wrote to young people saying, ‘We do all work really hard to sort things out! Keep talking to us about how things could be sorted better.’ All staff have confidence in the manager and the deputy manager. One staff member said, ‘Supervision is vital in this work and helps to keep us grounded and focused. It also helps to have something to work towards.’ The monthly independent visitor said, ‘They listen and learn – they take on board things – they are focused as a team; they are all fully on board.’ Effective teamwork is central to their success. The manager said, ‘Information, planning, action, analysis and reflection are central to being effective. We provide opportunities to innovate, persist and find solutions rather

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

than disengaging, avoiding and defending our position.’

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are well trained. The training ranges from in-house and online training to more specialist training. For example, staff have received training about child protection and radicalisation.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The organisation has evolved the therapeutic care model from attachment theory and related research. The model uses a range of tools to help staff chart young people’s progress in recovering from, and overcoming, their emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The organisation invests in young people’s care in a principled and truly therapeutic manner. The responsible individual does not accept young people into placement without the manager’s decision, and assurance that she and her staff team are ready. There are always enough staff in the team to give every young person one-to-one attention and care. Young people know all the staff who look after them, and they form lasting attachments with them. Staff and the managers willingly give up their spare time keeping in touch with young people who have left, but who still value their support.

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 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 7 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: SC487794 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Physis Quantum Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Church Meadows, Alport Road, Whitchurch, Shropshire SY13 1PY

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Laurence O’Dwyer

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered manager: Lorraine Easterbrook

p.8

Inspector

Rachel Britten, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC487794 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

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

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9