Children's home run by Nottinghamshire County Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC044291 1 SC044291 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire 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 is a local authority children’s home that is registered to care for three 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 outstanding

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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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC044291 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/06/2017 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/08/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC044291 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(iv)) 28/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff need to have the knowledge and skills to understand each child’s education and training targets and their next steps for learning. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.11) This is with particular reference to targets and information held in young people’s education and healthcare plans.  Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19) This is with particular reference to ensuring that young people contribute to their risk assessment and risk management plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people living in this home receive good-quality, individualised care. Staff know young people’s needs and their histories well. Admission processes are good. Admissions are well planned and support young people to build relationships with staff and peers, which helps them to settle. There are clear expectations about education attendance from the start. Managers and Inspection report children’s home: SC044291 4 staff prioritise education and celebrate achievements. All young people have appropriate educational arrangements in place and they are making progress. Some young people have made exceptional progress from their starting points. Effective liaison with education providers, individual weekly planners and structured routines support good attendance. As a result, young people are overcoming barriers that have previously held them back. They are responding to opportunities to progress to further education and training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regular, planned key-work sessions take place with young people on a monthly basis. These sessions are linked to the agreed targets in their placement plans. Sessions include discussions about health needs, emotional well-being, relationships and choices. Staff are creative in their use of tools and resources and they communicate effectively. Practice in the home would be further strengthened if key-work sessions and targets were informed by education and healthcare plans, where appropriate. Young people are encouraged to develop independence and life skills from the start. They are given increasing responsibility, depending on their age and ability, for transport arrangements, cooking and budgeting. Young people are encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends. Staff ensure that safe contact arrangements are in place. Professionals report that staff make good-quality contributions to assessment and

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

Staff have relevant safeguarding training. They are aware of current risks in the community and the risks associated with the use of digital technology. Staff are alert to signs of harm to young people. The main concerns about the risk of harm to young people living at the home currently are associated with their substance misuse. Young people have been influenced by their peers. A high number of incidents have related to substance misuse, such as young people being missing from the home, aggressive behaviour and low mood. A range of strategies have been used to prevent and/or reduce substance misuse. Staff have taken advice from specialist services. Multi-agency meetings have taken place to review individual needs and plans. Young people have been referred to specialist services. This has resulted in a reduction in some young people’s substance misuse and a reduction in the number of incidents. However, concerns remain about keeping young people safe due to substance misuse. A

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

more joined-up approach with partner agencies is required. During the inspection, the manager escalated the concerns to police and senior managers. As a result, a multi- agency strategy meeting is planned to review what has been tried and to agree a way forward. There are also lessons to be learned regarding the information shared about young Inspection report children’s home: SC044291 5 people prior to their admission. This is being addressed by the manager. There are very few incidents involving the use of physical restraint. Staff are trained and are effective in de-escalating behaviours and redirecting young people. When young people have been missing from the home, this is usually for short periods and is generally associated with young people not returning to the home on time after being out. Staff follow procedures and are proactive in searching and following up with contacts. Young people take part in return home interviews with social workers. This

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

informs the assessment of risk. Young people have opportunities to share their views and to make a difference. They contribute to their records, to debrief discussions following any incidents, to the development plan for the home, and they are involved in the recruitment process for new staff. Young people have individual risk assessment and risk management plans. These plans are detailed and current plans are clear about the harm and vulnerabilities that substance misuse exposes young people to. It is recommended that young people are encouraged and enabled to be more actively involved in developing and reviewing their risk management plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and assistant manager of this home are experienced, skilled and committed to improving staff practice and outcomes for young people. They are visible, ‘hands on’ managers. They are sensitive to young people’s histories and have developed the culture of the home as a nurturing and non-judgemental environment. The manager is a lead trainer for the physical intervention and restraint method that the local authority uses. This home is well organised and has excellent quality assurance and monitoring processes in place. Information gathered is analysed and evaluated on a monthly basis with the team. Trends and emerging risks are identified. There are child-centred discussions in team meetings about problem-solving and improving outcomes. Staff and managers are aspirational for the young people. Staff report that their contributions are encouraged and valued. Despite the challenges, which include responding to difficult incidents and behaviours,

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

staff report that team working is excellent, that they feel supported and that morale is good. This is evidenced by sustained low sickness rates and low turnover of staff. The managers are tenacious in challenging partners and harnessing multi-agency working to support young people’s plans. Managers encourage decision-making by staff. The inspector observed a shift handover which demonstrated good leadership and preparation skills. Staff had a detailed knowledge of young people’s needs. The shift was planned to reduce the potential for safeguarding concerns while providing recreational opportunities for young people. The manager robustly and effectively performance manages staff, adhering to policies Inspection report children’s home: SC044291 6 and procedures.

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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: SC044291 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Bridgford House, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 7UN

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Inspector

Cathey Moriarty, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044291 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 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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