Children's home run by Absolute Children’s Services Ltd in Staffordshire Moorlands

Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 1 SC481172 Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home for young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It can accommodate up to four young people.

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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 outstanding

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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: 6 February 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

 The young people grow in confidence and self-esteem as a result of the trusting Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 2 and nurturing relationships they have with the staff team.  The young people’s physical, emotional and psychological health significantly improves as they engage with their therapeutic and targeted care.  Young people feel safe and secure and there are very few missing episodes.  The young people learn appropriate coping mechanisms and ways of expressing themselves, leading to a reduction in the need for physical interventions.  The senior managers actively support a skilled and well-trained staff team.  Clear development plans and auditing processes ensure that the young people’s individual needs are well known and planned for.

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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 need to sign and date records, particularly risk assessments, to demonstrate that they have read and understood what is needed to promote consistent care.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/10/2016 Full Outstanding 21/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/06/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  Children should be in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy living in a spacious, comfortable, warm and inviting home. They are able to decorate their bedrooms to express their personal identities. There are a number of shared spaces that provide the young people with the opportunity to spend time together or engage in their own activities. The kitchen and dining area is very much the heart of the home and the young people share all of their meals together with staff. Photographs of the young people and examples of their artwork adorn a number of the walls. The sense of belonging and security engendered by their surroundings empowers the young people to settle and engage with the care provided, leading to significant progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is located in a small hamlet, providing the young people with the opportunity to live in a rural environment but with close proximity to a number of large towns. There is limited public transport but the home ensures that the young people are able to access the leisure activities of their choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The introduction of a new matching and admission checklist ensures that the young people are suitably placed with each other, enhancing their opportunities to succeed. Careful introductions take place prior to a young person moving into the home, which allows them to start to build important relationships with the staff team and form attachments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people report that they are happy in the home, where they have close Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 4 trusting relationships with staff and feel valued. This empowers the young people to engage with the care provided and make significant progress in a number of areas of their lives, most notably in building self-esteem, self-confidence and feelings of self- worth. A young person wrote, ‘I don’t have to put N/A anymore because I have family. They are the best ever.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The regular review and update of detailed care plans reflect the young people’s changing needs and the progress they make. The young people are involved in the preparation and development of their plans, giving them ownership of decisions and enabling them to recognise their achievements. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘She has done very well. There was a change of management last year but the care for [Name] remained seamless and high.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and family members praised the care their children receive in the home and the communication they have with the staff team. The sensitive management of contact arrangements enables the young people to maintain important familial bonds. As a result, the young people also retain the community and cultural links that will help sustain them in their futures. A parent said, ‘They’re absolutely brilliant on every level. Really switched onto [Name’s] needs. I’m very happy.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s physical health has improved as they engage with the healthy lifestyles promoted by the staff team. They can play tennis in the home’s grounds or take care of their pets. The young people are also involved in activities within the community. These include horse-riding and playing in a girls’ football team. As a result, the young people’s self-esteem and confidence improve, as they feel physically better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic support and input that young people receive in the home help them to make significant progress in developing resilience and an understanding of their emotional and psychological needs. They grow in confidence and maturity as they respond to the consistent care messages from management, care staff and therapists. The young people feel valued, which empowers them to learn to like themselves. Consequently, the young people’s future life and social opportunities are enhanced. A social worker wrote, ‘The intention in placing my young person here is that they would assist her in working through and managing her emotional and behavioural needs through a therapeutic approach. I can see that this is happening with the placement via their assessment, plans and progress made.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the young people are involved in education. Two of the young people attend school daily, where they are making good progress. One young person receives home tuition and also attends an alternative provision one day a week. Another young person does not have any education outside of the home. Persistent steps have been taken by the home to encourage the young person to engage with learning and these are now proving successful. As a result, the manager and staff are working closely with local authority virtual school providers to identify an appropriate school. Nevertheless, it is of concern that these two young people are not receiving the requisite 25 hours a week education at this time. A virtual school headteacher said, ‘There has been much more communication since [manager’s name] has been there and he’s keen to get a plan in Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 5 place.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The nurturing staff team members are positive role models for the young people in demonstrating how to interact with each other and make requests. The young people are actively encouraged to share their wishes and feelings in a variety of ways. These include in their targeted key-work sessions, in weekly young people’s meetings and through the complaints process. The young people’s confidence in expressing their views in a positive manner significantly improves as they develop social skills and feel heard. A young person said, ‘I feel listened to now and that makes me feel safe.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are prepared well for transition on to future placements or semi- independent living, in line with their abilities and care plans. The young people are also engaged in a range of inclusive and fun activities of their choice. These provide social interactions that enable the young people to build social and life skills. For example, one young person has ambitions to work in personal fitness and attends a local gymnasium and health club on an almost daily basis.

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

Comprehensive risk assessments inform the young people’s individual behaviour management plans. However, it is not always clear whether the staff have read and understood the information, or when this occurred. This gap in recording the date information has been read is in the process of being rectified and does not have a negative impact on how the staff and management respond to situations.

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

Proactive actions taken by the management and staff members, in partnership with the police and placing authorities, help to protect the young people from the risks posed by child sexual exploitation and online abuse. The young people learn self-protection skills, including when using social media, which helps to safeguard them. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘They are constantly doing stranger danger and stranger awareness with her. That is something they are very good at.’

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

Some of the young people have had extensive past experiences of self-harming, which they continued to exhibit when first placed in the home. As they have settled and engaged with the nurturing care from the staff team, there has been a significant reduction in such behaviours. Good collaborative working with partner agencies ensures that the young people now receive consistent messages in line with their risk assessments, to provide further protection. The therapist said, ‘The staff team is so secure and in tune with each other, even the new ones, that it safeguards the girls.’

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

Only one of the young people has had any missing episodes. The majority of these were in the early days of her placement and took place when away from the home, for example while attending a hospital appointment. As the young person settled and began to form attachments with staff team members, these episodes have reduced and the last one occurred in October 2017. A young person said, ‘I don’t know why I feel safe now, I’m just confident I am safe.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 6 The young people develop positive ways of behaving and expressing any unhappiness and frustration as a result of the good role modelling by the staff team. The consistent application of rewards and sanctions also enables the young people to learn how their behaviours can have an impact upon themselves and others and they take real pride in the progress they make. A virtual school headteacher said, ‘She has changed

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

dramatically since she has been there. She has developed a lot of good and positive relationships and because of those she is safe.’

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

Restorative practice sessions are used well with the young people to enable them to address issues between themselves and with staff. For example, one of the young people was subject to racist language from two of the other young people. The staff team confronted this swiftly and robustly allowing all of the young people to understand how wrong and hurtful such comments were and to help develop a deeper understanding of each other. As a result, the young people feel, and are, protected.

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

The new manager has introduced a new physical intervention system. This is more compatible with the home’s therapeutic ethos and concentrates on deflection and discussion in order to reduce the need for restraint. As a result, physical intervention is rare and only used as a last resort in order to protect the young people from harming themselves or others. The management team robustly audits all such incidents to ensure that both the young people and staff learn from the experience and actions are taken to prevent recurrence.

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

Good safeguarding proceedings, including an appropriate whistle-blowing policy, ensure that all staff team members know what to do to protect the young people. There has been one safeguarding incident involving a member of staff and an ex-resident since the last inspection. The matter was managed swiftly and appropriately in partnership with all relevant agencies, which maintained the safety of the young people in the home. In addition, the staff team has undertaken training to ensure that they would know what to do to help prevent the young people from becoming involved in radicalisation or extremism. The young people are protected by these measures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The suitably qualified manager has over 26 years of experience in residential childcare and was a registered manager in his previous organisation from 2004. He became the registered manager of this home on 18 January 2018.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and deputy manager are committed and enthusiastic and know the young people in their care extremely well. This enables them to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to support the young people to meet their targets. This enhances their future life chances as well as their care experiences now. The manager’s understanding of strengths and areas of development in the home ensures that he is continually making improvements to care practices, for example further work with the staff team regarding equality and diversity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There have been a number of staff changes since the last full inspection, including the Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 7 manager and deputy manager. It is a real testament to the directors and responsible individual of the company that the management of these changes has not had a detrimental impact on the young people’s care or outcomes. Senior managers have ensured that outstanding recruitment practices are applied effectively and that only practitioners of the right calibre are appointed to posts within the home. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘I was quite concerned at the change of manager and the continuity, but they handled it very well without any disruption for the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered individual and human resources director both play an active part within the home and fully support the manager and deputy. The organisation remains ambitious for the young people in its care to achieve to the best of their ability in safety. The senior management’s interactions and overview allow for the continuity of consistent care messages, notwithstanding changes in the management structure and staff team. In order to achieve this, as well as holding its Ofsted registration, the home is also a member of an external quality and improvement accreditation programme for therapeutic communities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A qualified and registered child and adolescent psychotherapist, who receives external clinical supervision, augments the staff team. The therapist’s input not only supports the young people directly but also adds to the knowledge that the staff team has of the emotional and mental health needs of young people in its care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The one requirement raised at the last inspection has been met. The appropriate notification of all significant events to Ofsted now allows the regulator to maintain an overview of care. This provides further safeguards for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The proactive manager works extremely hard to build and maintain positive relationships with professional agencies that benefit the young people. Excellent levels of communication and careful preparation for all relevant reviews and meetings ensure that the young people’s needs and progress are known. This includes challenging other services if necessary to ensure that the young people receive their entitlements. Consequently, the young people receive consistent messages about their care and plans for the future, enabling them to settle and engage with processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The extensive understanding that the management team has of the young people’s developmental needs, and the progress they are making, strongly contribute to their good, and on occasion excellent, outcomes. For example, ensuring that the staff team receives specialist training in specific areas, such as gender dysphoria, mental health and self-harm and suicidal thoughts, helps ensure that the young people’s individual vulnerabilities are understood and can be addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff members report how well supported they feel by the management team and their peers. They have regular, good-quality supervision, both individually and as a staff group, together with the specialist guidance of the in-house psychologist. This allows the staff team to also build up the skills and expertise to support young people living with Tourette’s syndrome. A young person said, ‘I went out with [Name of member of staff] last night and I didn’t tic for 30 whole minutes. I’m really, really proud of that because I Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 8 hadn’t thought that was possible.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Full staff meetings take place on a weekly basis. There is a commitment of attendance not just from the staff team members, but also the management team and directors. There are excellent examples of feedback from the young people’s meetings and how any issues raised are to be addressed to the young people’s satisfaction. There is also an expectation by management that all staff team members are aware of their responsibilities, not just as care workers but as role models.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The comprehensive development plan demonstrates that the responsible individual and directors have a realistic view of the young people’s care needs and how to meet them. Goals, including appointing the new manager and deputy manager, were completed within appropriate timescales, allowing for consistency and good outcomes to be maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The excellent monitoring reports provided by the external visitor are appropriately critical and supportive, contributing towards promoting the young people’s well-being and safety. The manager’s internal auditing processes incorporate the views of the young people, staff and all stakeholders as well as evaluating the impact that research-based therapeutic practice has within the home. Consequently, the leaders and managers have the current information they need to challenge placing and local authorities effectively if there are shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The trusting relationships and good attachments that the young people develop with the staff team demonstrate that the home is meeting its statement of purpose. The comprehensive picture of the care to be provided, detailed within the document, ensures that young people are appropriately placed to enhance their opportunities to succeed. A new staff member said, ‘[This is] an organisation where the directors are so hands-on and supportive. All children’s homes say they are therapeutic and individually based, but until you come to a home like this you don’t see the difference.’

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 9 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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Absolute Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 98 Grove Street, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 8DU

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Inspector

Ann-Marie Born, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC481172 10 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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