Children's home run by Positive Steps (Care Services) Limited in Peterborough

Inspection report children’s home: SC061770 1 SC061770 Registered provider: Positive Steps (Care Services) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A private organisation runs this children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to four children whose primary need is a learning disability. The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted on 24 January 2011.

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 good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 24 October 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC061770 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/10/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/05/2017 Full Good 11/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC061770 3

p.2

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.3

Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

p.3

Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all fire doors meet fire safety regulations. 20/07/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

p.3

Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1)(7)(a)) 27/07/2018

p.3

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) In particular, ensure that the staff receive training specific to the needs of the children who live at the home, such as managing self-injurious behaviour. Inspection report children’s home: SC061770 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences are positive, and they make good progress. The children benefit from high staffing ratios and care from staff who prioritise the children’s well-being and meet their needs. The staff forge strong relationships with the children through honest and consistent communication that is appropriate to the children’s level of understanding.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children attend school full time. The staff maintain a clear emphasis on the importance of the children’s education. They take the children to and from school. The staff communicate regularly with education professionals, and they attend parents’ evenings and school events. A deputy headteacher from one school said, ‘The managers always attend school meetings. They are very accommodating when we visit [the home]. The staff support us with extended school activities at weekends too. They are brilliant.’ The children all have very high attendance at school and make good progress in their education.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a wide range of activities with the staff. These include swimming, local walks, cinema trips and eating out. High staffing ratios mean that children have individual activity plans that reflect their interests. One child is a member of a swimming club and another is a member of a table tennis club. This participation enables them to develop their skills and it enhances their social peer groups.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have regular contact with their families and other significant people. The home arranges and facilitates this. The staff work hard with families and, consequently, have good relationships with them. This means that families are more involved in their children’s lives and contact between children and their families is positive.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff gain the views and opinions of children through regular house meetings, key- working sessions, consultation and feedback forms. Consultation happens in a variety of creative ways, such as using pictures and symbols. This inclusive approach means that the children are involved in the planning of their care. The strong and trusting relationships between the children and staff mean that children will communicate if there are issues that they wish to raise as a complaint.

p.4

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

The staff de-escalate unwanted behaviours to good effect. Physical interventions are only used as a last resort.

p.4

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

The staff realise the importance of effective multi-agency working. They create strong, positive and lasting relationships with families and professionals. Feedback is consistently positive. A parent of one of the children said, ‘All of the staff are brilliant. They are very kind, and they are all very fond of [the child]. You can tell that they really care about Inspection report children’s home: SC061770 5 him even though he can be very challenging at times.’

p.4

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

Due to some of the children’s challenging behaviours, the home has sustained damage. Despite this, a nurturing and homely feel prevails. However, essential fire safety measures were lacking, with four fire doors that do not work properly. The manager made immediate plans to have them repaired as this poses a risk to children and staff.

p.5

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

There have been a number of changes to the staff team since the last inspection. Recruitment processes are comprehensive. This mitigates the risk of unsafe staff being employed to work with children.

p.5

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

The staff receive extensive training. They are trained in effective safeguarding practice. Staff are clear about their roles and their responsibility to safeguard children. However, specialist training such as managing self-injurious behaviour is not provided for the staff. This can leave staff lacking knowledge and may prevent them from responding in the most effective way to a child presenting such behaviours.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was registered with Ofsted in July 2011. She is child-focused and has the necessary qualifications, experience and skills to manage the home. The staff are well trained. They receive practice-led supervisions and appraisals in line with company policy. Any staff who have not achieved the necessary level 3 qualification are enrolled on the course.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported by the home’s management. Regular team meetings ensure that the children are discussed in detail and are at the forefront of activities at the home. Feedback from external professionals is very positive. One social worker said, ‘[The managers] always attend meetings for [the child]. They are brilliant. The staff have a great understanding of his needs. Communication is great. They always email to let us know what is going on, whether it is good or bad. He is definitely making progress. He is a totally different child to when he moved in.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s files are detailed, concise and updated regularly. Risk assessments, behaviour management plans and key-working records are thorough and evidence children’s participation. New admissions to the home are assessed in detail against individual children’s behaviours and the main areas of risk. Children who leave the home do so in a planned, structured way, usually when they are 18 years old.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager produces a comprehensive internal monitoring and review report of the quality of care that the home provides. Monthly external monitoring visits are of a good standard, and offer appropriate challenge and generate action plans for the manager to address. However, Ofsted has not received these monthly reports in a timely fashion. Failure to provide Ofsted with these reports affects Ofsted’s ability to effectively monitor the service. Inspection report children’s home: SC061770 6

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.6

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: SC061770 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Steps (Care Services) Limited

p.7

Inspector

Ricky D’Arcy: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC061770 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.

p.7

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8