Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 1 SC368982 Registered provider: Oracle Care 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private provider owns and operates this home.

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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 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: Improved effectiveness

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Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are safe and feel safe in the home. They enjoy good relationships with staff and with each other.  Risk assessments are detailed and effective. Staff deliver good-quality one-to- one sessions that help young people to take responsibility for their actions and reflect on their behaviours.  Staff continually promote and encourage young people‟s achievements and celebrate their successes. This instils a learning culture in the home.  Staff ensure that young people maintain regular and positive contact with their families. Staff provide young people with practical and emotional support to further these relationships.  Partnership working between the home and all relevant agencies is positive. The registered manager is committed in her ethos of bringing professionals together to better support young people.  Internal care planning processes consistently include and reflect children‟s views, wishes, thoughts and feelings.

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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

 Staff do not make sure that the use of monitoring and surveillance in the home is appropriately risk assessed or that these risk assessments are reviewed.  The registered manager does not ensure that young people‟s case files include all necessary information and documentation.  Records of fire checks and health and safety checks do not highlight all shortfalls that require attention.  The registered manager could improve the content of the quality of care review report so that it contains more detailed information about the successes and areas for development.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/11/2016 Full Good 15/12/2015 Full Requires improvement 09/09/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 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 may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24(1)(a)) 12/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children‟s home. This is with specific reference to maintenance of suitable fire doors. (Regulation 25(1)(a)) 12/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 12/03/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the home against every part of the Quality Standards every six months – registered persons should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home‟s care, which will be captured in the written report. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in all areas of their development. This is because their day-to-day experiences are consistently positive. Staff fully understand young people‟s backgrounds and appreciate how these influence their behaviours and actions. Staff use this knowledge to devise bespoke internal care plans. Staff deliver personalised Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 4 care through one-to-one key-work sessions. These help young people to reflect on their personal circumstance and to develop the emotional resilience that they need to move forward with their lives. Nevertheless, staff do not ensure that young people‟s case files include all necessary information or documentation. This is a missed opportunity to provide integrated care. Staff provide placing authorities with weekly progress updates, which reduces the possible detrimental impact of this shortfall. Subsequently, social

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

workers are fully aware of young people‟s areas of development. Relationships between young people and staff are immensely positive and based on mutual respect and trust. Staff use verbal praise and encouragement to celebrate young people‟s achievements. This boosts their self-esteem and confidence. One young person said, „I‟m doing very well and all the staff are very proud of me and I‟m very proud of me, too. I feel very happy.‟ Young people‟s views, wishes and feelings are central to the care planning process. Staff make sure that they discuss with young people any changes made to their support plans, and the reasons for these changes. This positive collaboration helps young people to recognise their progress and to make plans for their future. Young people attend the organisation‟s own school. Promoting education is pivotal to the daily routines in the home. Staff work in partnership with teaching staff and placing

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

authorities to remove any barriers to learning that young people face. For some young people, this means reduced class sizes, and for others this means individual learning plans. Young people enjoy school and plan to fulfil their ambitious. One young person said, „I can be anything I want to be. I‟m going to have a really good job when I‟m older.‟ Staff help young people to reach their full potential by providing both emotional and practical support. As a result, young people understand the importance of education and the positive impact that this has on their future career options. Staff support young people to live a healthy and active lifestyle. On admission, young people are subject to initial therapeutic assessments. The organisation‟s own specialist health team undertakes these assessments. Managers, health professionals and care staff use these reports to develop health plans that are reflective of young people‟s

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

emotional needs. When appropriate, young people access therapeutic support services such as play therapy. This comprehensive approach to identifying and addressing young people‟s health needs means that they do not experience delays in accessing relevant services. This promotes young people‟s welfare and well-being. Young people currently living in the home are not yet of an age to formally prepare for independence and adulthood. Nevertheless, staff encourage young people to carry out general domestic tasks, such as cooking and washing up. Young people say that they see this to be „part of family life‟. One young person said, „I like doing the cooking for everyone and don‟t mind doing the table. I‟m not so keen on washing up.‟ These activities create a family atmosphere in the home that helps young people to thrive. The registered manager makes sure that young people maintain regular contact with their families, when it is

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

appropriate for them to do so. Staff provide young people with both practical and emotional support to ensure that they are not isolated from their families. Young people and their families speak highly of this support. One parent said, „We thought that our relationship with [name of young person] would get worse, but it‟s better, so much better. The staff have really helped with that.‟ Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 5

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

Young people are safe in the home and say that they feel safe. There are very few incidents of bullying, although staff remain alert to signs of bullying and intimidation. When bullying between young people does occur, staff are quick to address these issues. Staff work with both the perpetrator and victim to raise awareness of the effect that bullying has on a person‟s self-confidence, self-esteem and well-being. This positive approach helps young people to recognise the detrimental impact of this behaviour. Managers and staff are extremely competent in identifying young people‟s complex and often challenging behaviours. They produce detailed risk assessments that describe strategies and actions for staff to follow in order to reduce risks. These enable staff to continually promote young people‟s safety. However, these risk assessments do not include sufficient reasoning for the use of bedroom door alarms which are in place to

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

monitor young people‟s movements at night. Current risk assessments do not highlight what risks, if any, young people may face in the absence of this surveillance. The use of these alarms is now custom and practice in the home and not necessarily for the purpose of safeguarding young people. Young people thrive on a combination of consistent verbal praise and small incentives and rewards. When it is necessary for young people to receive a sanction for their behaviour, this is restorative in nature. Staff also undertake one-to-one sessions with young people. The quality of these sessions is exceptional. These encourage young people to take responsibility for their behaviour and consider the impact that their actions have on others. Staff undertake training in the use of physical restraint and de-escalation techniques. They only use this measure of control to prevent young people from hurting themselves

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

and/or others. Staff record incidents of physical restraint in immense detail. This enables the registered manager to fully assess and evaluate the appropriateness of the use of physical restraint. This promotes young people‟s safety and welfare. There are no incidents of young people going missing from the home since the last inspection. However, staff remain alert to the potential for this behaviour. Young people are not at risk of child sexual exploitation, grooming or radicalisation at this time. Nevertheless, staff consider these factors during one-to-one sessions with young people and in meetings with placing authorities and other agencies. This attention to detail helps to protect young people from potential harm. Staff undertake regular fire checks and health and safety checks. However, during recent safety checks staff failed to note issues relating to the flush closure of some fire doors.

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

Although the registered manager took immediate action to address this shortfall, this oversight potentially compromised young people‟s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has suitable experience of managing residential services for young people. She holds relevant qualifications for this role, including the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 6 Young people make good progress because the registered manager prioritises their needs. She makes sure that these needs are the focus of routines in the home. This ethos is woven onto the culture of the service, as well as the partnership working arrangements with other agencies and professionals. These relationships are extremely positive and effective. One social worker said, „This service is amazing and the manager is exceptional. I think this is why [name of young person] is doing so well. I would live here myself.‟ The registered manager continually holds others to account for their actions or inactions. This challenge is appropriate and professional and means that

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

young people receive the services and support that they need. The registered manager has an excellent knowledge of young people‟s backgrounds, behaviours and risks. She uses this information to review young people‟s individual progress and the quality of care provided by the service. The registered manager listens to young people and takes account of their views and opinions. Nevertheless, the formal review of the service lacks evaluative detail. This report does not sufficiently identify any patterns and trends that may impact on young people‟s progress and development. As a result, the registered manager is unable to personalise this report to reflect the specific characteristics of this home. Staff are extremely motivated and enthusiastic. The majority of staff are suitably qualified for their role, with others working towards gaining these qualifications. As a team, staff are skilled and knowledgeable, with a number of years‟ experience of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

working with young people. The registered manager makes sure that staff training programmes are relevant and reflective of young people‟s needs. Staff receive regular practice-related supervision. These formal sessions help staff to reflect on their performance and identify their learning needs in partnership with managers. One member of staff said, „I get a lot out of supervision. It helps me to look at what I‟ve learned and how this helps the young people.‟ Subsequently, young people receive care and support from staff who have the skills to meet their needs and support their on- going development.

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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: SC368982 7 Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 54 Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedford MK45 4HS

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Inspector

Jo Stephenson, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC368982 9 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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