Children's home run by Partnerships in Care 1 Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 1 Registered provider: Partnerships In Care 1 Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a national provider of services for children and adults. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children who display self-injurious and risk-taking behaviours. A multi-disciplinary team supports children with their mental health. This home is also registered with the Care Quality Commission.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are making progress while living at this home. As this home is also registered with the Care Quality Commission, this inspection considers the experiences of the four children under the age of 18 years. No children have left since the previous inspection; however, two have now become young adults. Two children have arrived to live at this home since the previous inspection. Their move was planned well, and they visited the home to assist with the introduction before moving in. A child was visiting on the day of inspection and reported that she had received a lot of information about the home and had asked lots of questions during the series of visits. As a result, she felt reassured that she was being prepared for what it Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 2 may be like to live at this home. The children’s guide is currently under review by children and requires updating. Children say that this home is ‘alright’, and some describe it as ‘good’. They enjoy the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

freedom that they were denied when staying in hospital settings. Children say that the staff are helpful and most children report that they have harmed themselves less as a result of the support given by the staff and therapists. Records confirm that most children are progressing well in recovery from self-injurious behaviour. Children engage well with the therapist to ‘stomp out stress’. They take part in a group exercise to support their emotional and physical needs. By writing a business case to have outdoor gym equipment in the garden, the children have successfully obtained agreement from senior managers to have this installed. Children report that they have been less successful in their request to have greater access to wi-fi and the internet as they are blocked from accessing many websites. The manager reports that she is negotiating with the IT support team to improve this. Risk management continues to be strong. Safeguarding concerns are managed in a

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

multi-agency forum, reporting appropriately to social care and the police. This home provides a safe environment for children to explore their emotional well-being and find new ways of coping to manage their difficult feelings. The collective support from the manager, residential staff, therapists and medical practitioners enables children to reduce the harm to themselves. As children feel better about themselves, they are able to engage in activities, education and employment leading to positive outcomes. The educational provision for children has improved now that the provider has created a hub within a local college. This enables children to join in mainstream education with support if required. For those not ready to join mainstream education, they can receive their education at the hub with tutors, and the tutors can deliver education at the home as part of an individual programme. Access to this resource has enhanced the children’s

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

learning and opportunities. For example, connections through the hub have led to one child studying health and beauty with another education provider. Children and young adults receive good support with applications and interviews. As a result, children and young adults have successfully attained placements at college and university, part-time employment and volunteer roles. Children and young adults enjoyed a summer prom event. The manager and staff arranged this to ensure that children and young adults can have similar experiences to other teenagers. The manager has made significant improvements to the monitoring of care practices and records. Since the previous inspection, the manager provides greater analysis of incident reports, identifying any patterns or trends. Incident reports are collated each month and summarised by the manager. These records confirm that, within the last six months, there has been one incident of a child going missing and no incidents where children

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

have been restrained. The incident reports confirm that Ofsted receives appropriate notifications of serious incidents. This is an improvement from the previous inspection. Additional monitoring by the manager considers the frequency of staff supervision and their training needs. The frequency of staff supervision has improved since the previous inspection. Staff report that this supervision is regular and supportive for them to reflect on their practice and to look at their professional development. Not all staff received Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 3 supervision in December due to the festive period; however, the manager is ensuring that staff receive supervision in early January to meet this need. The manager is reorganising individual staff files to ensure that they contain records of training and certificates, appraisal, supervision, annual leave and sickness. Previously, these records

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

have been held in different places. By pulling these records together, this will aid supervision to focus on these matters in addition to reviewing practice issues. The improved monitoring systems have contributed to good-quality reporting under regulation 45. The manager reports to each quality standard with an overview, an evaluation identifying any impact on the experiences of children, followed by action points. The structure of this reporting provides a good focus on the strengths of this home and areas for development. Leaders and managers have provided additional administrative support to staff recruitment. This has enabled the manager to have more time to focus on her management role. As a result, new staff have been appointed. There is now only one vacancy and, consequently, there has been a reduction in the use of agency staff. Recruitment is ongoing to develop a bank of staff to call on to cover sickness and

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

holidays. The accommodation remains suitable and children like the lounge areas and their own bedrooms. The ground floor toilet has restricted access due to the type of lock fitted. As a result, this room remains locked, detracting from the homely appearance. A replacement lock is required, as well as redecoration of this room, to improve the environment. The requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection are now all met. There are two recommendations from this inspection with regards to reviewing the children’s guide and to change the type of lock on the ground floor toilet and to redecorate.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 4

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Recommendations

 The design of the home should include any necessary adaptation to meet the needs of children with disabilities or specific health issues. In particular, change the type of lock on the ground floor toilet and redecorate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, and paragraph 3.24)  As part of reviewing and revising where appropriate the Statement of Purpose, the registered person should review and update the children’s guide as necessary, and make sure children are given an explanation of changes. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, and paragraph 4.23)

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: 1247390 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partnerships In Care 1 Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Imperial Place, Maxwell Road, Borehamwood, WD6 1JN

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Inspector

Clare Davies, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1247390 6 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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