Children's home run by Care 4 Children Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1240840 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Holdco 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 children’s home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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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.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 18 January 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: 1240840 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 This home provides a warm, homely and nurturing environment for young people. Young people benefit from long-term placements, as well as support that has continued after they have transitioned from the children’s home.  Children make excellent progress from their starting points, benefiting from the extremely high quality of care provided by staff.  Staff talk about young people in the highest positive regard and they have high aspirations for them. Staff seek to raise young people’s aspirations and strive to ensure that they reach their potential.  Risk-taking behaviours, for example committing criminal offences and going missing, dramatically reduce. Detailed, high-quality and thorough risk assessments ensure that risks are clearly identified, and that strategies to reduce and minimise risks are effective.  Damaged young people, who have experienced trauma, adopt more socially acceptable lifestyles, which helps them to engage in education and learn how to

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Key findings from this inspection

socialise through new experiences and activities. This helps young people develop into young adults with improved life chances.  Staff work collaboratively with external professionals, particularly education professionals, to ensure consistent practice and that young people benefit from support that meets their individual needs. Professionals talk highly of the efforts and communication that they experience from staff.  The manager of this home leads by example. He is dedicated, committed and child focused. The manager is highly regarded by young people, staff and other professionals. The manager has high expectations of the care staff, and role models good practice to staff.  The home benefits from rigorous internal and external monitoring that recognises the strengths of the home and supports the drive to improve the service for young people.

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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

 Continue to reflect and evaluate working practice, to ensure that the home moves forward and makes progress. This refers particularly to progressing young people’s plans when they are working towards independence

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: 1240840 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home has a warm, cosy and homely feel. The atmosphere is calm and young people benefit from a staff team that is consistent and stable. This means that young people are able to build relationships based on trust. They also feel safe at this home. The staff team provides consistency, with clear boundaries and have high expectations of how young people behave. This means that young people know what is expected of them and, as a result, incidents are low. When there is an incident, the young people benefit from reflection and discussion with staff and the manager, helping them to manage their feelings. One social worker for a young person who has very complex needs said, ‘This has been the most settled he has been. They have a good understanding of his needs. The young person refuses to accept his diagnosis… The home doesn’t label him. Staff manage his complexities very well.’ Young people in this home have made excellent progress from their starting points. One

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

young person has gone on to college locally, and is in the process of making university applications. The young person commented, ‘I loved living here, it was like a second home.’ Another young person has made considerable progress from their starting points while living at the home. There has been a reduction of incidents in the home, and young people have not been missing from home or committed criminal behaviour. An area of concern for the current young person has been engagement and behaviour while in education. The home has taken creative action to ensure improvement in this area. This includes weekly meetings, support by care staff in school, joint working with school to devise strategies that are consistent with what is successful at home, and joint training for school and care staff in the behaviour management programme used by the home. One education member of staff commented, ‘The staff are extremely supportive

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

of us and the young person. We have come a long way over the last three years. The home is always reviewing what it does.’ This has meant that exclusions have reduced and attendance has improved. The young person has achieved a GCSE a year earlier than expected. The home strives to ensure that young people’s views and wishes are taken into account when planning for their care. Young people are regularly consulted and the home tailors care around their needs. However, the staff at the home also recognise their responsibilities in promoting aspirations for young people and they strive for continued progress. One young person, who has difficulties in communication, has been supported by the staff to increase his social skills by introducing him to a range of activities and encouraging interaction while out in public. This level of support has increased the young person’s confidence and self-esteem. This has been recognised by the mother of the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

young person, who has noted, ‘He was presenting well, happy almost to bursting point. He is compliant at all times, appropriate and polite also.’

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

There are excellent systems in place to keep young people safe in this home. The Inspection report children’s home: 1240840 4 particular strengths of this home are the risk assessments and behaviour management plans. These documents are current, easy to read and thorough. Risk factors and strategies are carefully considered and reviewed, and evidence when risks may escalate as well as when they are reducing. The staff team has a good understanding of the risk factors for young people and have benefited from some therapeutic training to understand how young people’s behaviour has been affected by trauma and their life experiences. Responses from young people, family and other professionals confirm that they feel the home is a safe place. One social worker said, ‘They manage risk well. They encourage positive risks, and this ensures that the young person’s plan is moved forward.’ The management of behaviour is outstanding. The staff team is skilled and experienced

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

in managing challenging, aggressive and inappropriate behaviour. The manager and the staff team get to know young people and use the good relationships that they have formed to recognise triggers for young people. As a result, staff act early to divert and defuse situations to prevent escalation. Incidents requiring physical intervention, which are rare, are managed effectively. The monitoring and evaluating of these incidents, as well as the de-briefs following interventions with staff and young people, have meant that incidents have reduced and relationships between staff and young people are strengthened. The home works positively with young people and positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded. Where there have been consequences, these are clearly explained to young people, and young people agree that they are fair and proportionate. Young people are encouraged to be part of the decision-making in the home. Young people are also

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

encouraged to make amends for any damage or harm that they may have caused, providing them with an opportunity to have consequences rescinded. The manager and staff at the home have a very good understanding of the risks posed to vulnerable young people with regard to issues such as radicalisation, child sexual exploitation and bullying. Despite these not being current concerns, the staff have received training and understand current issues for young people. Direct work is undertaken with young people to increase their knowledge and develop their understanding. Recruitment procedures for staff are thorough and meet with regulatory requirements and guidance. The organisation has arranged for some staff to move with a young person from their previous placement. This has ensured that the young person experiences consistency and maintains relationships where attachments have been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A new manager has been appointed and registered for this service since the last inspection. The manager is suitably qualified and experienced, having been in post as the home’s deputy manager for a number of years. The organisation has changed the role of the manager to oversee only one home, where previously they were responsible for three homes. This has allowed the current manager to focus on this service and develop the systems in place to ensure rigorous monitoring and oversight. A member of staff from an education provision told the inspector, ‘He [the manager] is accessible. Inspection report children’s home: 1240840 5 This is a big improvement. I can’t speak highly enough of the manager.’ Since the manager’s appointment in May this year, he has revised the systems in the home. The new systems include weekly and monthly monitoring that enable the manager to review trends and patterns in the home, and to learn from identified trends.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is currently part of a quality assurance group, whereby a group of children’s homes’ registered managers are involved in sharing good practice and looking at where practice can be improved or developed. This means that the manager continues to seek development and progression for the home. The manager seeks feedback from young people and external agencies to improve the service, with one professional stating, ‘We meet regularly. The manager is receptive to feedback. We negotiate – we come from different angles, but he is professional and we reach a point that is in the best interest of young people.’ The vision and ethos for the home is driven by the manager. He is child focused and clear about his role and responsibilities. Equally, the manager is clear about the role and responsibilities of the staff team. This means that staff know the manager’s expectations of them and what they can expect from him as a manager. The manager is well liked

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

and respected by the staff team and, in return, he is supportive and visible to the staff. As a result, the manager and staff present as a well-organised, child-centred team that benefits and enhances the experiences of young people while in their care. One member of staff commented, ‘This is a really good team, the best place I’ve worked.’ Additionally, visitors experience a happy, relaxed and comfortable atmosphere where young people and staff are observed enjoying each other’s company. Feedback from the looked after children’s nurse includes, ‘The best thing about visiting the home is seeing the young person so happy in placement.’ Training for staff is up to date and staff are able to access a wide range of training opportunities. The manager is proactive in seeking training that will ensure that the staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of young people, including specialist training in autistic spectrum disorder. The manager has also been proactive in managing

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

the probation of a new member of staff, ensuring that this process was only finalised when they were both satisfied that the member of staff had reached the standards expected to meet the needs of the young people.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1240840 6 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: 1240840 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care 4 Children Holdco Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Care 4 Children, 1 Stuart Road, Bredbury Park Industrial Estate, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2SR

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Inspector

Jessica Forshaw, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1240840 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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