Children's home run by Prior’s Court Foundation

Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 1 SC069336 Registered provider: Prior’s Court Foundation Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This school provides care and accommodation for up to 67 children and young people who have autistic spectrum disorder and/or learning disabilities. It may provide accommodation for children and young people who receive up to 52-week placements. It is therefore registered as a children’s home. It operates as an independent, co- educational residential special school with charitable status.

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Information about this children’s home

Children and young people are accommodated in 12 on-site residential houses. The school is set around a restored country house, within a large area of parkland.

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Information about this children’s home

The organisation also provides residential services for young adults, which are registered with the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 22 to 23 November 2017

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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 outstanding

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Leaders and managers employ current research to develop practice and to design new facilities, resulting in many services being of the highest possible standard.  Managers and staff are fully committed to the care and support of all children and young people, including those who present the greatest challenges to their carers. As a result, the home has maintained placements that might otherwise be expected to break down and some children have been helped through very difficult times to make significant and unexpected progress.  Managers and staff hold exceptionally detailed knowledge of children and young people, which enables them to provide care and support that is tailored precisely to individual needs. As a result, most of the children’s and young people’s anxiety levels decrease over time and their capacity to achieve increases.  There is an exemplary learning culture in the school: when concerns have been

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Key findings from this inspection

expressed about any aspect of care, there has been a thorough response from managers. They ensure that an enquiry into the circumstances results in lessons being drawn out and put into practice to avoid a similar situation occurring again.

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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 recruitment and retention of staff has been a long-term challenge that has persisted, despite initiatives to address it. It has recently become more acute, and is having an impact on the workloads of workers and, to a degree, on the experiences of children and young people.  Leaders and managers have focused on the development of services, which has raised standards across the board. However, there are pockets of poor practice and unsatisfactory accommodation that have not had the same attention, so that some of the children’s and young people’s experiences have fallen behind.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/07/2016 Full Outstanding 02/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 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

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered person is required to:

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(2)(c)(i)) 31/01/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to participate in those activities (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5). In particular, to ensure sufficient staff are available to enable children and young people to regularly experience activities in the community.  In a restraint situation, staff should use their professional judgement, supported by their knowledge of each child’s risk assessment, an understanding of the needs of the child (as set out in their relevant plans) and an understanding of the risks the child faces. Professional judgements may need to be taken quickly, and staff training and supervision of practice should support this. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.53)

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Recommendations

 All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). The registered person may extend the time period if the member of staff hasn’t worked in the role for a prolonged period, such as sick leave or maternity leave, or if it is not reasonable to expect the member of staff to complete in this timescale due to the nature of the hours they work. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  No more than half the staff on duty at any one time, by day or night at the home should be from an external agency. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.17)  The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that supervision and performance management of staff

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Recommendations

safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to children’s Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 4 homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The responsible person must make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate for the effective monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures (The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, page 10, paragraph 11(1)). In particular, information about the involvement of staff and visitors should be included in records of emergency evacuations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The school has recently opened four purpose-built houses to replace older accommodation. No detail has been too small to consider in their design, with the focus being on the potential impact on the lives of young people. The result is that the new houses are highly likely to improve significantly the quality of life of those who live in them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have been keen to measure how young people’s lives change once they have taken up permanent residence, by collating information about the number of incidents, medical errors and how quickly they make progress. This is compared with what is known about them previously. Initial data, although limited at this stage, is encouraging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A programme of refurbishment of other houses is underway, which will continue into 2018 as some repairs have to wait until children and young people can move out of rooms to be completed (for example, to replace windows). Children and young people inflict a considerable amount of wear on the fabric of the houses. If damage presents a risk, maintenance staff promptly make repairs; however, other remedial work has to wait, even if the area that needs repairing is unsightly. The poor condition of kitchens and bathrooms in some houses has had to wait to be rectified for several months before repairs have been agreed. This means young people’s experience has been that such conditions ‘will do’ for them. One young person has repeatedly pulled down curtains in his room and windows have not been obscured by other means. Although his room is not overlooked this detracted from his privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The level of staffing vacancies is a concern highlighted by staff and parents, and is recognised by managers as a problem. Managers have not been able to consistently maintain staffing at the levels that have been assessed as necessary for children and young people, despite staff and managers undertaking additional shifts. On one shift agency workers outnumbered permanent staff in one of the houses. Trips out for children and young people have had to be cancelled due to low staffing numbers, which were exacerbated by a lack of minibus drivers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Nevertheless, there are plenty of facilities provided on campus for children and young people to use. Activities across a range of arts, physical exercise and cultural experiences are available for them, either as individuals or in groups. The children’s and young people’s experiences are enhanced through the stimulating events that they share in, Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 5 and through the development of their personal interests and abilities. One parent remarked in the Ofsted survey that her child ‘gets involved in activities we never thought she would be able to’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and their families are generally well prepared for admission to the school; recently improved impact risk assessments ensure that potentially detrimental effects on existing residents are addressed. This means that the great majority of transitions into houses, whether from elsewhere in the residential provision or from outside, are smooth and successful. On the few occasions this has not been the case, managers have responded by introducing strategies that assist or facilitate a move to a more appropriate house.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are extremely well prepared to move on from the school. Preparation for one young person to move to a young adult provision included joining activities with other prospective and current residents, a social story about the transition and choosing the colours of the walls for his new room, as well as a comprehensive planning checklist for staff. This represents sound practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Assessments and case studies testify to the progress that children and young people have made over the time since their admission. Much of this is remarkable, particularly the improved communication. Staff help children to manage new experiences and reduce their anxiety so that significant behavioural incidents have been all but eradicated. Social skills have improved so that some who could not tolerate being with others have established strategies for managing group situations with greater ease. Many have made unexpected educational progress and others have developed skills that mean they take pride in the contribution they can make to the school, and even to the wider world of work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Such progress results from the detailed attention paid by staff to what works well for children and young people, how they respond to particular situations and tailoring approaches that build on their strengths and address difficulties. This is well documented in placement plans, recently written up as ‘my essential lifestyle plan’, that include the attributes of staff that work best with each child or young person, as well as strategies for helping the child or young person when they are in different emotional states. These, together with individual learning plans and daily living skills assessments, give a comprehensive view of children’s and young people’s needs, aims and circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, a member of staff was observed to depart from the behaviour support plan for a young person and attempt to contain ‘winding up’ behaviour by isolating him in a room and holding the door handle to prevent him leaving. Senior managers confirmed that they did not regard this as acceptable practice, and took steps to address the matter as soon as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Significant work has been done to meet parents’ requirements for their children to exercise culturally relevant food preferences. Evidence was seen during the inspection of specific foods being provided for young people. Menus are varied and healthy across the school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Generally, staff have excellent information on which to base the care they provide, and Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 6 do so with considerable skill, judgement and empathy. The detailed understanding staff and managers throughout the residential provision have of individual children and young people is exemplary, and creates an environment that enables them to thrive. One parent commented, ‘My son is really happy; they have had a few hiccoughs, but the school is brilliant and he has progressed well.’

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

Collaboration across the residential, therapeutic and educational provisions contributes significantly to children’s and young people’s achievements. Managers are able to draw on a range of disciplines to make assessments and plan work with each child that maximises the use of the considerable resources available. Risk assessments are robust; the secure site, high levels of supervision and well-managed trips ensure that children and young people are protected from potential external dangers.

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

Senior managers respond vigorously to safeguarding concerns within the school, taking swift action to protect children and young people. They work closely with other agencies, including the designated officer of the local authority, and conduct thorough internal investigations when things go wrong. Lessons are learned and ongoing monitoring ensures that staff comply with recommendations for improved practice. A culture of members of staff being able to challenge each other and those senior to them is strongly encouraged. Information about who to contact if adults have concerns is prominently displayed and staff spoken to knew the procedures to follow.

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

Staff have undertaken checks of children and young people when there have been concerns about them sustaining injuries, and have recorded these up to three times a day. When checks are undertaken so frequently, the information lacks helpful detail, such as the size of marks, but any worrying observations are immediately reported.

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

New employees are selected using safer recruitment practices. They are then provided with a well-designed and delivered induction programme, so that once new staff start work, they have been thoroughly checked for their suitability and provided with the knowledge and understanding to safeguard children and young people.

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

Observations of children and young people with the staff who care for them indicate that they are comfortable in the staff’s presence, and that they trust the staff to help them. Those able to voice a view say that they feel safe.

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

Some children and young people can become highly anxious and distressed, putting themselves, other children and staff at risk of significant injury. Staff were observed to treat them with a high degree of compassion and skill, judging when it was appropriate and safe to interact with them and to introduce stimulating experiences. Managers and staff maintain a careful balance between safety considerations and providing enriching activities. One example is the use of a five-point harness to take an unpredictable young person out in a minibus, as has been agreed with his placing authority and parents. This ensures that he is unable to attack staff if he becomes volatile, but means that he is able to attend medical appointments and enjoy trips. Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 7 There are excellent health services on site. Qualified general nurses, and nurses who are trained to care for children and young people who have learning disabilities, provide

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

expert care, in addition to support and education for residential staff. Excellent links with a very wide range of health specialists and professionals ensure that young people receive the best health input when it is needed, including emergency medical care.

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

Staff administer medication safely and all errors or near misses, which are low in number, are managed well and acted on. However, during the inspection an unlabelled bottle of seasonal medication was found stored with one young person’s supplies. It had not been administered, but stock controls had not identified its presence. There is an ambitious plan in place for further reducing the number of errors. The introduction of the new electronic recording system will further assist in the analysis of errors and accidents.

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

Health and safety matters are well organised and action is taken in response to external inspection recommendations made by the fire and environmental health services. Fire risk assessments are detailed, highlighting risks and how they can be mitigated. However, records of fire evacuation drills do not routinely record the involvement of staff in houses, which means it is not possible to identify when staff last took part in a drill or if visitors were present and how they responded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a far-reaching vision for the school that is focused on improving the experiences of children and young people when they are living here, and improving their life chances once they leave. This takes current research into account and includes major investment in the provision. The board of trustees provides effective oversight, for example by attending a recent induction course and assessing its effectiveness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recently opened houses are an example of the ‘state of the art’ provision the school provides. The new complex also includes additional facilities yet to be brought online, comprising a laundry training room, an arts/entertainment room and a gym.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An ambition to improve opportunities for young people to gain skills and contribute to the life of the school through work experience is being realised through plans for an on- site bakery and a horticultural project. A commendable feature is the way in which thought has been given to how every child and young person can participate in these, so that all will benefit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The therapy provision, which offers therapies including speech and language, clinical psychology and occupational health, is of a very high standard. The school has developed innovative programmes to meet the complex communication and well-being needs of the young people and to support staff, including delivery outside of school-day times. Young people have immediate access to specialist input in times of crisis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The school is developing its phlebotomy and immunisation provision, which will to lessen young people’s anxiety, as children and young people will not have to travel to surgeries or hospitals to have regular blood tests and inoculations; instead, nurses (with whom Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 8 they have established relationships) will be able to deliver them on site.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The extensive, groundbreaking advances that leaders and managers have either put in place or envisage require a management structure that will oversee their effective implementation. An overhaul of management roles has included devolving responsibilities to house managers. However, some of the house managers and their staff express concern about the level of support that they receive from senior managers when they undertake new responsibilities. A small number are struggling to fulfil the expectations of the role, because of a lack of knowledge or capacity to do so. Oversight by line managers has not always identified this, and therefore remedial action has not taken place. In addition to the impact they have on children and young people, staff vacancies have exacerbated managerial difficulties, with formal supervision for staff and team meetings not being at the expected frequency. The quality and recording of these has been

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

problematic in a few houses. Senior managers are aware of the majority of these weaknesses, and have developed plans to address them. These include, for example, a new recruitment strategy for attracting potential employees from outside the sector and the creation of a care skills manager role that will include practice development. Managers have made progress on the proportion of staff who have been employed for two years or more obtaining their level 3 qualification. However, one in five has still not completed it and the proportion is set to rise, as approximately a third of those coming up to two years in post are projected not to have completed the course. The standard of training for staff is otherwise very high, including level 5 training for all house managers who do not hold this qualification. Staff and managers have built excellent relationships with the great majority of other agencies and families, ensuring all-round support for children and young people. One

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

parent commented, ‘We work as a team to support my son with regular exchange of information. The staff are very good at listening.’ However, some professionals and parents reported that communication could have been better, especially with senior managers over sensitive issues. Where interactions have become difficult, school staff work to repair them and seek to improve communication to avoid a negative impact on children and young people. The school will challenge other agencies if it seems that they are not meeting the needs of children in a timely way in. Managers and staff go out of their way to provide information and assist with necessary processes to help achieve this. A procedure for all staff working with individual children to sign that they have read and understood plans and assessments is not universally used. Staff do not routinely ask parents or social workers to sign to demonstrate that documents have been shared and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

agreed, even when a significant contribution has been made to them by family members. Managers and staff promote tolerance and understanding of autistic spectrum disorder through training, modelling good practice and sharing this with families. One parent Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 9 summed up the approach, writing in the Ofsted survey, ‘My son is superbly supported and the staff are nothing short of heroic at times. Their knowledge of autism is excellent, as is the support they give us as parents. I can think of no better placement for my son.’ The work goes beyond the gates with the development of very positive relationships with groups in the community, especially for work experience placements. The school seeks to influence public opinion via social media and released a song recorded with students to promote World Autism Awareness Day. Internationally, the school has contact with organisations in North America and China, with which it shares good

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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: SC069336 10

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Prior’s Court Foundation

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Robinson

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Inspectors

Chris Peel: social care inspector Liz Driver: social care inspector Emeline Evans: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC069336 11 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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