Three Gables

Inspection report children’s home: SC065553 1 SC065553 Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by the local authority. It can accommodate up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural 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 good

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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: 24 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is good because:  Young people have very good relationships with staff. These relationships are consistent and nurturing, and help young people to feel settled and make progress.  The managers and staff understand the importance of education and training. Staff persevere when young people are resistant to education. They try hard to Inspection report children’s home: SC065553 2 help young people to overcome any barriers to education or training.  The emotional and psychological needs of young people are a key focus. Young people receive good support in this area.  Young people are treated with respect. This helps them to embrace their individuality and develop their own identity.  Young people’s confidence improves as they take part in a wide range of recreational activities.  The young people say they feel safe. They are safe because staff manage risk well.  Young people receive the help, support and guidance that they require to help

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Key findings from this inspection

them manage their own behaviour to an acceptable level. When behaviour becomes unacceptable, the actions of staff are appropriate.  Staff feel supported by the managers. Staff receive professional supervision that helps them to provide the best possible care for young people.  The manager has a good and in-depth knowledge of each young person’s care and placement plans. He has very good relationships with young people and he is focused on helping them to do well in the future.

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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

 Managers should ensure that staff have equipment available to them to provide quick emergency aid should a young person harm themselves.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/05/2016 Full Good 10/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC065553 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy very good relationships with staff. Young people say that they are well cared for. They also feel safe. One young person wrote, ‘I love staff. They really try hard, and I think that’s important.’ These positive relationships provide some young people with their first experience of dependable care from a trusted adult. A member of staff stated, ‘I like to make sure they are smiling.’ This provides a good foundation from which young people can, and do, make progress. Managers and staff work hard to improve young people’s educational experiences and achievements. Although some young people have struggled to maintain attendance on further education training courses, staff have demonstrated perseverance and flexibility in their efforts to help them. One young person, despite many challenges, has enrolled at a local school and is attending and making progress. Another young person, who was

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

struggling with school, is now attending an alternative education provider and is making good progress in his chosen subjects. This young person received good support from staff in partnership with the virtual school. Young people receive the help they need with their emotional and mental health needs. The manager and staff have developed very good partnerships with agencies that can provide more specialist services to help young people. The child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and the psychologist working with the organisation have provided highly effective support to one young person. This has included:  regular consultation meetings with care staff  focused work to ensure that safe care plans detail the main risk factors  bespoke support that has helped to decrease the frequency of self-harm  help to provide positive affirmation of the young person’s identity  help for the young person to develop and maintain relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker said, ‘I could not have been happier with the care being provided by the home. The relationships go above and beyond what could be expected.’ A CAMHS worker, talking about the staff, said, ‘I can’t fault them.’ Staff understand the emotional impact that visits home can have on young people. The Inspection report children’s home: SC065553 4 staff are alert to changes in the young people’s presentation, and will make themselves available to spend time with them if necessary. Staff provide practical support with transport, and try to maintain positive relationships with family members. In this way, they ensure that arrangements for young people to spend time with their families are enjoyable, positive and safe. Young people’s self-confidence improves because staff encourage their involvement in recreational activities. One young person has continued to attend sea cadets and go sailing. He now sees a potential career in sailing. Young people enjoy going to the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

cinema, swimming, cycling, walking and photography. Activities of this nature are fundamental to the care provided. This is because the manager and staff know that they help young people to improve their confidence and self-esteem. The voice of the young people is central to the running of this home. Young people meet with staff in meetings called ‘R-time’. These meetings focus not only on the day-to-day running of the home but also on how young people and staff are feeling. The meetings encourage meaningful discussions about behaviours and incidents. They also help to develop the young people’s ability to empathise with others.

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

Young people living in this home say that they feel safe. The staff keep young people safe by having a clear understanding of the risks and concerns facing each young person. Staff understand the detailed safe care plans that are completed by the manager in conjunction with social workers. Plans are updated following any incidents. The staff meet with a psychologist each month to review the safety and welfare of each young person. During these sessions, they complete a safety and well-being analysis. Strategies to manage higher-risk situations are developed as a result. Staff implement these strategies well so that young people become safer. Staff maintain clear behavioural boundaries for young people. When the behaviour of young people falls below expectations, staff respond proportionately. This helps young people to develop a great awareness of the implications of their behaviour. The manager and staff carry out individual sessions with young people which help them to understand

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

how they could have behaved differently. Staff work with young people to understand the triggers to poor behaviour, and provide them with alternative strategies to manage anger, distress or frustration. Young people behave better over time. Young people have at times displayed behaviours such as aggression towards staff and self-harm. The manager and staff have dealt with these incidents well. If situations deteriorate, staff take the correct action to keep young people safe. Physical intervention is rare and undertaken as a last resort. The manager ensures that restraint records are clear and detailed, and he scrutinises incidents to ensure that they were managed appropriately. Those young people at heightened risk of self-harm receive the support they need. Consequently, incidents involving self-harm have decreased. This practice could be further improved by the provision of bespoke equipment for staff to use in an

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

emergency. The manager ensures that new staff receive the appropriate level of vetting. Pre- employment checks include identity checks, criminal records checks and reference checks. Staff also complete relevant training to enable them to keep young people safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC065553 5 The staff understand what action to take should they have any concerns about the behaviour of colleagues. They place the safety and well-being of young people first. The manager ensures that medication administration systems are effective, and managers regularly check administration records. Staff receive training and guidance about medication. Medication systems now receive oversight by the independent visitor, which provides a further safeguard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced registered manager leads the home. He has a qualification in social work and a degree in management studies. He is about to undertake the Diploma Level 5 in management. The manager and senior staff work effectively together, and they receive good support from senior managers in the local authority, particularly from the operations manager. The manager has a good grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. For example, he has identified that the physical presentation of the home could be better, and has secured funding to improve this. The manager values the views and ideas of other professionals, staff and young people, and he uses the monthly reports provided by the independent visitor to good effect. His own quality assurance review is also a valuable improvement tool. New staff benefit from a comprehensive induction programme that equips them to work with young people. Induction includes:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

 key training programmes  working alongside more experienced colleagues  time with young people in order to build relationships. One relatively new staff member said, ‘I found staff and managers so helpful.’ Staff say that they feel supported by their managers. Staff receive regular professional supervision, which provides them with the guidance and oversight they need to provide good care. Staff also enjoy regular group supervision meetings, which help to develop strong relationships within the staff team. This benefits young people. The manager has an in-depth knowledge of each young person’s care plan, risk profile and needs. He spends time with young people and has developed good relationships with them. The manager has dealt with one complaint since the last inspection. This was from a member of the public regarding the behaviour of some young people. The manager responded well to this, as did senior managers in the organisation. Leaders are keen to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

maintain positive relationships with neighbours and the wider community.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC065553 6 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: SC065553 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3AG

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Inspector

Phillip Morris, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065553 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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