Children's home run by Accalia Care Services Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: SC486886 1 SC486886 Registered provider: Juvenis Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This private home provides care for up to three young people who have behavioural needs. The registered manager has been in position since October 2017 and is suitably qualified and experienced. The home opened in October 2016.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC486886 2

p.1

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.

p.2

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.2

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure—

p.2

Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)) In particular, ensure that all young people have a personal education plan and staff use this plan to help monitor the young person’s progress. 31/08/2018

p.2

Recommendations

 Ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) In particular, when staff have worked with children and/or vulnerable adults the reasons for them leaving this employment are verified.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. They are positive about the care that they receive and the progress that they make. For example, young people talk clearly about how settled they have become and the improvements that they have made in areas such as reducing their misuse of drugs and going missing less often. Inspection report children’s home: SC486886 3 Staff consult with young people and ensure that they are involved in contributing information to their written plans. A social worker has complimented the staff on how well a young person had been prepared for and supported in a meeting and about how well the staff have improved the young person’s awareness of the reasons that they are in care. Staff ensure that transition arrangements into and from the home are well organised, which also shows good care planning arrangements.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to keep in contact with their families. Written plans set out clearly what the contact arrangements are for each young person and staff provide appropriate support.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a good range of activities. They feel that any activity is possible, with one stating, ‘If you want to do something then you work out a plan [with staff] to be able to do it.’ This enables young people to try new things and to have different opportunities and experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide young people with regular meals, opportunities to participate in different activities and support young people to attend health appointments. As a result, staff promote young people’s good health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people make progress with their learning and attend school or college regularly. One young person does not have a clear education plan and this makes it difficult for staff to monitor and review that this young person’s progress is in line with her plan. Staff advocate well for young people. For example, a social worker highlighted the positive way that staff have challenged an education provision to make sure that the young person returned swiftly to school after a period of exclusion.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are aware of who they can talk to if they are unhappy about things in the home. Staff respond well to complaints; records of complaints are detailed, and young people get to know the outcome of their complaint. Young people feel listened to and valued. Furthermore, regular key-work meetings allow young people to discuss any worries or concerns that they may have as well as how well they are doing at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people develop good independence skills, with support from staff. This includes learning how to use public transport, cooking and budgeting. This helps young people to develop confidence and prepare for their next steps.

p.3

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

When safeguarding concerns arise, managers and staff deal with these swiftly and professionally. Records are detailed and show how staff have worked well with different professionals to protect children. Staff are familiar with the content of young people’s risk assessment and managers ensure that the guidance contained in the risk assessments is followed.

p.3

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

Regular health and safety checks, including fire safety checks, ensure that young people live in a safe environment. This promotes their welfare. Inspection report children’s home: SC486886 4 Staff respond well when young people go missing from the home. They are diligent in looking for young people, searching the local area and contacting people who the young people may know, in an effort to find them. Staff also work well with social workers and the police to ensure a coordinated response.

p.3

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

Young people can talk to an independent visitor on their return to the home about why they went missing and what happened when they were absent from the home. This person is someone they know well, and this provides an additional safeguard that promotes young people’s welfare.

p.4

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

Young people told the inspector that rules within the home are strict but fair. Good behaviour management plans help staff to respond appropriately to challenging behaviours. Staff understand the triggers for young people’s behaviour and know what strategies to use that work well. Records of sanctions and incidents of restraint are detailed. The manager evaluates each incident and staff and young people have the opportunity to talk about what happened.

p.4

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

No bullying concerns have been raised and young people get on well together. A well- organised monthly discussion is undertaken with all young people, examining wider social issues. Topics discussed include welfare benefits, what foodbanks are, how to overcome adversity and the importance of using activities to promote emotional well- being. This work encourages young people to think about important issues and to challenge negative stereotypes.

p.4

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

Recruitment procedures are completed well in the majority of cases and help to keep young people safe. There is one instance where a written reference was not verified sufficiently. A recommendation is raised to address this shortfall.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a wide range of experience within residential care of young people. Since starting at the home, she has made significant improvements in the quality of care given to young people. She has high expectations of herself and staff and is ambitious for young people.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Excellent monitoring by the independent visitor and the manager examines all aspects of the care provided. The visitor talks to young people, staff and other stakeholders each month to inform their evaluation of the home’s function. The manager fully understands the strengths of the service and areas for continued development. A detailed development plan includes ideas from both staff and young people to improve the service further. This shows that the home is committed to ongoing improvement.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Relationships between the staff, families and professionals involved with the home are strong, with regular communication. Young people’s families and professionals consistently give very positive feedback about the service. A social worker said, ‘Great leadership skills in a home that is very child-centred.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC486886 5 Managers undertake comprehensive assessments of each young person coming into the home. This ensures that the home and staff are able to meet young people’s needs and that each new young person will most likely be compatible with those already living in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are exceptionally well supported by the management team. A strong training ethos ensures that staff are well equipped to meet the needs of the young people. This starts from a detailed induction and continues as staff become more experienced. Regular supervision and annual appraisals focus on staff development to ensure that staff continue to improve and provide good-quality care to young people.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A stable and consistent staff team provides young people with continuity of care. Monthly team meetings examine the development of each young person and include looking at research to enhance the staff’s awareness of residential practice.

p.5

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.

p.5

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: SC486886 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Juvenis Care Services Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keys Court 82–84, Birmingham B12 0RT

p.6

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leaford Williams

p.6

Inspector

Andrew Hewston: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC486886 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7