Children's home run by Headstart Care LLP in Rother

Inspection report children’s home: SC476587 1 SC476587 Registered provider: Headstart Care LLP Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This service is a private children’s home, providing care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 December 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of last inspection: 1 November 2016

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people develop strong and meaningful relationships with the adults who care for them.  The manager delivers strong, consistent leadership which provides stability and consistency for the young people and the staff team. Inspection report children’s home: SC476587 2  Staff manage the young people’s behaviour well and show insight and patience when assisting them through difficult times. Young people respond well to the rewards and privileges system.  The staff show genuine concern for the young people and centre their practice on helping them to make progress and develop their resilience and life skills.  Young people have achieved excellent levels of attendance at their educational provisions.  Members of staff maintain very good levels of communication with stakeholders such as parents and social workers. This helps to establish a strong ethos of working together.  Some records, such as risk assessments and supervision notes, need to be

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Key findings from this inspection

amended so that they are more relevant and up to date.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2016 Full Good 07/06/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/03/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC476587 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 registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the matters set out in the regulation. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that every sanction is assessed for effectiveness and the views of the young people are sought when sanctions have been imposed. 16/02/2018

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Recommendations

 Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them or the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, ensure that all risk assessments are up to date.  It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision

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Recommendations

sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Specifically, ensure that the records are accurate and have been agreed with the member of staff concerned. Inspection report children’s home: SC476587 4

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

Young people say that they feel safe living at this home. They feel well supported and are comfortable that they have adults, both within the home and independent of the home, with whom they can share concerns.

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

All members of staff are trained in safeguarding matters and know who to contact if they have concerns about a young person’s well-being. They have used the process when needed and this ensures that the young people’s safety is promoted and protected.

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

There are numerous risk assessments which guide members of staff in the steps that they need to take to keep the young people safe. On occasion, these have not been updated quickly enough or have lacked explicit information on how some risks are to be managed. For example, one risk assessment stated that a young person was to have two members of staff to support them in the community when this was no longer needed due to the progress that the young person had made. These shortfalls have not had an impact on the young people, as the staff know them and their specific needs very well, but they represent a recording shortfall.

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

The young people and staff are knowledgeable about the risks associated with the use of the internet. Young people have access to the internet in accordance with an assessment of their vulnerabilities. At this time, access is carefully controlled. However, this is seen as a temporary measure and a plan is in place to increase both time and access as each young person’s knowledge grows. This calculated risk taking means that young people are able to develop their knowledge and take responsibility for their use of the internet with the benefit of staff guidance and advice.

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

There are clear protocols in place which are used if a young person is away from the home without permission. These are followed effectively to make sure that the young people are safe. Members of staff have followed young people and made sure that they have been kept safe and reassured. This has meant that young people have safely returned and have been helped to work through their difficulties. These conscientious and sensitive responses to young people during these incidents have meant that there have been no occasions when young people have been reported to the police as missing.

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

On occasion, sanctions are imposed if young people display negative and challenging behaviour. These are appropriate and the young people say that they are fairly treated. On one occasion, the effectiveness of the sanction was not assessed and the young person’s comments were not included in the report. This represents a missed opportunity for the young person and staff to examine the incident and reflect on the behaviour which led to the imposition of the sanction. The behaviour of the young people shows marked improvement. This reflects a culture Inspection report children’s home: SC476587 5 of respect and the positive relationships which has been established over time. There have been no incidents of physical restraint in the home for over a year.

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

While there are very good records of key-working sessions, there is little evidence that young people have the opportunity to take part in restorative sessions at times of poor behaviour. This represents another missed opportunity for members of staff and managers to show the efforts that they have made to help the young people to make right any misdemeanours, rather than to impose sanctions.

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

There is a thorough recruitment process and all necessary background checks are carried out before new members of staff start work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Good

This is a very well managed home. A management team which works cohesively ensures that the staff team provides excellent support to the young people. Members of staff describe staffing ratios as very good and morale in the team as high. There is a low turnover of staff and this helps to embed stability and strengthen consistency of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Good

The leadership team monitors closely the progress of each young person and adjusts plans and approaches when necessary. This has resulted in each young person receiving highly individualised, nurturing care which helps them to grow.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Good

All members of staff receive regular supervision which helps them to reflect on their practice. They consider how to support the young people and identify any development needs, as well as considering any safeguarding issues. There is a unanimous belief that all staff feel valued and supported. There was one record of supervision which had been completed incorrectly and the date wrongly recorded. While this did not have an impact on the member of staff, it made auditing of progress on a specific matter more difficult, and it was clarified only by reference to another record. A recommendation is made for the registered manager to ensure that this mistake is not repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Good

Staff training is varied and the programme is designed to ensure that all members of staff have the knowledge and skills to meet each young person’s needs. Specialist trainers have been called in to guide and inform the staff in specific areas of practice, when needed. Consequently, care regimes have been implemented consistently, and this enables the young people to make significant progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Good

The manager ensures that close working relationships are maintained with placing authorities and parents. Any incidents of note are swiftly forwarded to relevant agencies and other stakeholders so that any concerns can be addressed. There is a real sense that everyone is collaborating to ensure that each young person’s well-being and progress are seen as paramount. The registered manager is a significant driving force which does not allow for drift or complacency. She relentlessly advocates on behalf of the young people. One social worker said that the team was ‘prolific in their communication’. Case records generally give a good account of each young person’s time at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC476587 6 On occasion, some paperwork has lacked detail and has not been corrected to give a more accurate record. These shortfalls have not had an impact on the progress or safety of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Good

Managers and staff are ambitious for the young people and seek every opportunity to develop their life skills and experiences. This is done sensitively, and each young person’s individual vulnerabilities and abilities are taken into account so that they can make progress and take calculated risks at a rate with which they can cope.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Good

All members of staff take responsibility to ensure that the home is well maintained and a safe environment for the young people. Regular checks of the premises, including fire safety equipment, are carried out.

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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 difference 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: SC476587 7

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Inspector

Paul Taylor, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476587 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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