Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report children‘s home: 1269505 1 Registered provider: Benjamin UK Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private organisation runs this home, which provides accommodation, education and therapeutic care for up to four children who may have had traumatic experiences which have left them vulnerable. The registered manager resigned from their post in March 2018. A new manager was recruited in July 2018, but is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 25 to 26 September 2018

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‘s home: 1269505 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 children‘s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children‘s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that each child—

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives; and

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Requirement Due date

has access to the home‘s children‘s guide, and the home‘s complaints procedure. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, make children aware of all of the ways that they can make a complaint, and ensure that they can access complaint forms. 26/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‘s home a statement (―the statement of purpose‖) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1)(3)(a)(b)) 12/10/2018 Inspection report children‘s home: 1269505 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should provide a nurturing and supportive environment that is homely. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

In particular, repair the broken step at the side door of the property.  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home‘s manager. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened in early August 2018, children‘s overall experiences have been positive. The staff work hard to create trusting relationships with the children and their families through open, honest and consistent communication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are clear about the importance of education. All of the children attend school full time. The staff take the children to and from school, and use positive incentives to encourage attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children feel safe and listened to. Their views and opinions are gained at weekly house meetings, through talking with the staff and during structured key-work sessions. The children feel included in decision-making about and planning of their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from a range of activities that reflect their individual interests. These include horse riding, gymnastics and ice skating. The staff ensure that the children‘s health needs are met. The children make meal choices from a broad and healthy menu, which they help to shop for, prepare and cook. Children are stimulated, develop their skills and learn about healthy food choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children regularly see their family and friends. The staff take the children to these visits and encourage these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The positive relationships between children and staff increase the likelihood that children will speak about issues if they arise. However, the children do not have sufficient knowledge about how they can make complaints. In addition, the complaint forms are not freely available. This limits children‘s options if they want to make a complaint.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is attractively decorated and well presented. There is a welcoming, homely and nurturing feel. However, the side doorstep of the property is broken. This detracts Inspection report children‘s home: 1269505 4 from what are otherwise a very pleasant home and grounds.

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

Newly recruited staff undergo a comprehensive induction schedule. They receive training to equip them with the skills and knowledge to safeguard vulnerable children. Staff are clear about their responsibilities to safeguard the children.

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

There are clear ‗missing from home‘ procedures for each child. There has been one episode during which two children left the home without permission. Staff were proactive and followed them when they left the home. The children soon returned safely. There have been no reported episodes of children going missing from care. For one child, this is significant progress. This means that the risk level for this child has been reduced greatly.

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

The staff are developing skills at de-escalating unwanted behaviours. There have been no physical interventions.

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

The staff use positive reinforcement well to encourage good behaviour. The staff use a token system through which children can earn rewards and additional pocket money.

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

The staff create positive relationships with external professionals and the children‘s families. Feedback is positive. A social worker said, ‗I have been very impressed with the home. [The child] has settled in quickly and is attending school. The staff have dealt with some of [the child‘s] more difficult behaviours very well.‘

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has previous experience of managing staff in children‘s services. He is enrolled on a relevant level 5 diploma and has applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive practice-led supervisions. The staff feel supported by the home‘s management and benefit from training. The staff are able to reflect on their practice during supervisions and regular team meetings. Children are at the forefront of activities at the home and are a focus of team meetings and discussions with the organisation‘s therapist.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from families is encouraging. A child‘s mother said, ‗[My child] speaks very highly of the staff and gets on well with them. [The staff] deal with her unwanted behaviours very calmly and do not overreact.‘

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff use an electronic recording system. The manager ensures that safeguarding records are clear, concise and up to date. The electronic system alerts the manager once staff have read updated records. This enables the manager to be assured that staff are aware of safeguarding issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly external monitoring visits provide challenge. The reports identify actions for the Inspection report children‘s home: 1269505 5 manager to address to improve the quality of care. However, the home does not have a workforce development plan. The home‘s managers are working together to develop this to build staff expertise and improve staff retention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home‘s statement of purpose gives an accurate reflection of the services that the home provides. However, the most up-to-date statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the current staffing levels. In addition, the latest version was not submitted to Ofsted as required. This failure to provide this information means that Ofsted does not have current information. Inspection report children‘s home: 1269505 6

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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 difference 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: 1269505 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Church Farm House, Station Road, Aldbury, Tring HP23 5RS

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Deysel

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Inspector

Ricky D‘Arcy: social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: 1269505 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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