Children's home run by Hamelin Trust in Basildon

Inspection report children's home: SC018039 1 SC018039 Registered provider: Hamelin Trust

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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, which is run by a charitable organisation, provides a short-break service offering support and care in a homely, fun, safe and relaxed environment where children can develop their life skills and build on their self-esteem. The registered manager has been in post since September 2015.

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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: 13 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2017 Full Good 07/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/08/2016 Full Good 14/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC018039 2

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, provide oversight of incidents to establish trends in behaviour, and give additional guidance on practice to prevent incidents recurring. 22/09/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make and sustain positive progress in most aspects of their lives. This can be attributed to the robust and individualised care plans. A social worker said, ‘They [the staff] offer a fantastic service, and most of all, the children absolutely love going there. They [the children] have big smiles on their faces.’ The staff have depth of knowledge about the children in their care and provide individualised responses to meet the children’s complex needs. The children benefit from carefully planned introductions and tea visits to the home. The managers and staff team make a great effort to support the transitions, and give particular attention to detail in each child’s transition plan. Consequently, the children’s individual needs are well met and they soon settle into their overnight stays and short breaks. Children’s day-to-day experiences when they come to stay at the home are fun and Inspection report children's home: SC018039 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

enjoyable. They enjoy a fantastic range of activities at the home and in the community. Activities include music sessions, attending clubs, and trips to theme parks and the cinema. In addition, children benefit from the local resources, and they enjoy walks to the park and games and activities at the home. Pictures and photographs throughout the home and in individualised albums depict past and recent events and help children to retain treasured memories which they will take with them into adulthood. A parent was full of praise for the work undertaken with their child, and said, ‘The manager and staff have been absolutely fantastic.’ Children benefit from a child-centred and caring ethos. The staff are well equipped and committed to meet the children’s needs. The manager and the staff team consistently focus on the emotions behind the children’s behaviours and not on the specific behaviours themselves. This reflective approach is successful in helping the children to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

progress. The home environment is well presented. The home has a lovely feel to it and there are visible displays that help children to understand their environment. The managers and the staff have developed various techniques to help children communicate and engage in making everyday decisions. The staff are innovative and creative in developing resources for the children’s benefit.

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

Staff have a good understanding of risk due to the comprehensive assessments, which are complemented by informative behaviour management plans. Risk assessments, including individual plans for incidents of going missing from the home, are regularly reviewed and updated in response to any incident, so that staff can promote children’s safety. There have been no incidents of children going missing since the last inspection. Sanctions are not used. Staff ratios are high and children are always supervised at the home and in the community. Staff adhere to safe working practices. They are up to date with their knowledge about safeguarding and child protection procedures. This includes knowing what to do if they are concerned about another staff member’s conduct. Safe and suitable staff care for the children. Physical intervention is only used to keep children and staff safe. Staff know the children well, and are skilled in observing the signs of escalating behaviour. Staff use a range of

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

de-escalation techniques that are appropriate to children’s individual needs. Consequently, children enjoy a calm, peaceful atmosphere. The manager ensures that the health of the children is promoted positively and that the staff have a good oversight of their healthcare needs, which supports the children’s emotional well-being. Medication is stored safely, and medication management is good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a strong, nurturing and experienced manager who holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. She is supported by the deputy manager, and they work well together to provide effective leadership to a stable staff team. The managers instil in the team a shared ambition to provide high-quality care, which promotes positive outcomes for children. There is a clear commitment to ongoing Inspection report children's home: SC018039 4 improvement throughout the home. Managers prioritise staff development. They recognise that this has an impact on the quality of service that children receive and the progress that they make. Staff receive a range of comprehensive training, including online programmes and face-to-face delivery from internal trainers and external providers. Most staff have attained their level 3 diploma in the care of children and young people in residential care. Staff without the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

award are undertaking it within the regulatory timescale. Individual staff members report feeling well supported by the manager and said that they welcome the opportunity to hold responsibility for specific areas to support children and develop themselves. In addition to formal reflective supervision, staff report that managers are available for informal practice discussion. Formal supervision involves discussion about children and particularly focuses on the child’s needs. Staff said that the manager is nurturing of the staff team and ‘regardless of what happens, creates a stable environment because she has a good understanding’. The manager has a very clear understanding of children’s progress, with a focus on future attainment. Progress is monitored and summarised on a monthly basis, which provides a focus on the next steps to achieve the children’s ‘hopes and dreams’. When possible, such planning involves family members and helps to develop consistency for

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

children both at home and during their stays. Recording is clear and provides up-to-date pictures of children’s lives. However, on some occasions, the manager has not identified potential triggers for one child, and therefore not provided staff with additional guidance on practice to prevent incidents recurring. The manager has met the one requirement raised at the last inspection to good effect.

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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: SC018039 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 19, Radford Crescent, Billericay, Essex CM12 0DU

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Frances-Anne Callaghan

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Inspector

Cathy Russell: social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC018039 6 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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