Children's home run by Applegreen Children‟s Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children‟s home: SC488406 1 SC488406 Registered provider: Applegreen Children‟s Care Limited 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 privately operated, and provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who have learning difficulties.

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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 September 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people receive individualised care from a committed staff team.  Young people receive help and support to promote their well-being at each stage of their placement.  Staff develop nurturing, sensitive and caring relationships with young people. Inspection report children‟s home: SC488406 2  Staff act as positive role models to help young people to develop self-care and independence skills.  Young people enjoy a range of activities that meet their needs.  Young people are treated with dignity and respect.  Staff recognise risk and make appropriate safeguarding referrals. Young people say that they feel safe.  The manager and the staff work in partnership with the placing authority and other agencies to promote the progress and well-being of 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

 The manager‟s oversight of the physical restraint record is not always formally recorded.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/09/2016 Full Requires improvement 24/02/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC488406 3

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a safe and caring environment that enables them to make good progress in many aspects of their lives. There are notable improvements in young people‟s outcomes, especially in their safety and education attendance. Committed staff work hard to get to know young people and understand how best to support them. Young people feel valued and develop a sense of belonging to the home. A former resident wrote a thank you card to the manager and said, „Thank you for supporting me and being consistent with me. I really appreciate it, so thanks.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regular key-working sessions take place. These sessions help young people to reflect on their progress and consider their future needs. This direct work supports young people to gain an understanding of current affairs and humanitarian disasters. For example, staff supported two young people to donate toys, food and clothes to the families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has good links with schools. This support means that most young people access appropriate education. Staff are proactive in helping young people to address any issues that arise in school. Consequently, any disruption in young people‟s education is managed well. This collaborative approach helps young people to overcome barriers to their learning so that academic success can be achieved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager considers all potential new admissions and ensures that the staff team can meet the identified needs of young people. This results in good placement stability. A social worker said, „Staff try so hard to do the best for the young people that are placed at the home and never give up on them or their families. This offers great consistency and supports vulnerable young people that have been through a lot.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When it is appropriate, young people are encouraged to prepare for their move to adulthood. Young people successfully learn the skills that they need to be independent adults. Young people are supported to do their own laundry, prepare meals and travel independently. This ensures that young people have the necessary life skills ready for adulthood. When young people leave, moves are well planned. Inspection report children‟s home: SC488406 4 Young people‟s views are taken very seriously. Staff notice achievements, no matter how small, and highlight these to the young people on a daily basis. This boosts young people‟s confidence. This is central to the care that they receive and the progress that they make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people get involved in a range of activities, attending youth clubs and outdoor pursuits. This helps them to make new friendships in the community and gives them a chance to try different experiences and develop new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people‟s meetings capture and celebrate each young person‟s achievements. These meetings are used to enable young people to have a voice and to be listened to. Young people feel confident to identify issues and make suggestions about issues that are important to them. The manager has a good overview of these meetings and responds to each request being made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with the placing authorities to ensure that young people are able to maintain relationships with their friends and families. When contact restrictions are in place, staff clearly explain these.

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

Young people feel safe and cared for. Staff have excellent insight into young people‟s histories. For some young people, this includes risks such as going missing, child sexual exploitation, criminality or self-injurious behaviours. There are now no concerns about the current young people going missing or being subject to exploitation. There is also a decrease in young people‟s self-injurious behaviours. This is because of the support that they receive from staff.

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

Staff ensure that boundaries and expectations are clear for young people to follow. Socially acceptable behaviour is actively encouraged, both in the home and in the community. Staff model positive behaviour and they are skilful in de-escalating situations when necessary. When young people‟s behaviour does become a concern, staff follow young people‟s behaviour management plans effectively. As a result, physical intervention is used as a last resort. Although staff record the restraint details appropriately, the manager‟s oversight is missing from the record.

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

There are detailed missing from home plans in place for each young person. When young people do go missing from the home, staff put these plans into action.

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

Staff understand the risks to young people of child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. Those young people who have historically been highly vulnerable to exploitation are protected by staff. This includes staff monitoring all young people‟s use of social media.

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

The manager notifies key partners and parents about significant events in a timely manner. This makes sure that any action required to keep young people safe is suitable and appropriate. Inspection report children‟s home: SC488406 5 Regular safety checks are completed on gas, electrical and fire safety systems to ensure that they all remain in good working order. When appropriate, young people have personal evacuation plans. A fire risk assessment is undertaken annually.

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

The manager has ensured that the home‟s location risk assessment is reviewed on an annual basis. This means that staff have local intelligence regarding the risks within the local community.

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

Potential employees are subject to an assessment of their suitability to work with young people. Safe recruitment and vetting practice means that young people are protected from adults who may wish to harm them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has been in post since February 2017, and is qualified to a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The manager has completed her application to Ofsted to become the registered manager and awaits her certificate. All staff members either hold their level 3 diploma in residential childcare, or are working towards their award within the required timescale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

In response to the requirement made at the interim inspection, the manager has developed effective systems to ensure that young people‟s files now consistently contain all of the required documents. This ensures that young people receive consistent care in line with their agreed care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is child-focused and passionate about her role. She understands young people‟s individual needs. Staff say that they feel very well supported and they speak highly of the manager. Regular good-quality supervision provides the opportunity for staff to explore their professional development and to reflect on their individual practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff discuss young people‟s progress in team meetings. This means that staff can prioritise the needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager keeps the home‟s statement of purpose under regular review. Staff benefit from a seamless progression from their induction to achieving an appropriate qualification for residential childcare. The manager also makes sure that staff access specialist training when required. Staff recently had Lego Therapy training to support a young person who has specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff work very closely with key partners to ensure that young people‟s needs are identified and met. Social workers have very positive views about staff. They are clear that young people‟s progress is because of the strong relationships that young people have with staff, and the firm boundaries that are in place. Staff work hand in hand with social workers to ensure that local authority plans and targets are adhered to and regularly reviewed. A social worker recently said, „Staff have dealt with a constant influx of challenging situations with one young person and I have seen that they have stood Inspection report children‟s home: SC488406 6 their ground and given him the boundaries that he needs. I am very appreciative of this “can do” attitude.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership is strong and inclusive. The manager leads by example. This leadership starts by putting young people first in the running of the home. For example, the manager routinely spends individual time with each young person. This helps the young people to feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff consult young people about all aspects of their care. There is an upbeat and relaxed atmosphere in the home. The young people‟s meetings create an environment where young people can talk about their experiences and express their views about the day-to-day running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Dedicated staff and the manager advocate strongly on behalf of young people, and challenge placing authorities when they consider that young people are not being listened to, or are not receiving the support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has high aspirations for young people and is very clear about her responsibilities.

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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: SC488406 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Applegreen Children‟s Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Mountfields House, Squirrel Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3GE

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Inspector

Lisa Walsh, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC488406 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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