Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 1 SC439956 Registered provider: Active Ark Limited

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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 children’s home is one of several homes run by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child or young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager also manages another home within the company. The homes are in close proximity to each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 25 October 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2017 Full Outstanding 16/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/10/2016 Full Good 17/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 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

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of a fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, make sure that contractors and other visitors working at the home are aware of the arrangements should the fire alarm sound. 09/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 09/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)) 09/11/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young person has made exceptional progress since coming to this home. He is settled and enjoying excellent relationships with the manager and staff. The staff’s relaxed and open approach helps the young person to feel secure and trusting of them. The young person commented, ‘I’ve been happy here. I wish I could stay until I’m 30. The staff are great; I get on really well with them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Care planning and support are highly personalised. Staff fully involve the young person in all aspects of care planning and review. This includes staff meetings concerning his ongoing care and support needs. Because of this, the young person is confident in Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 4 expressing his views and positively influences his care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are proactive in encouraging the young person to follow a healthy lifestyle. The young person is healthy and fully understands the importance of maintaining routine healthcare appointments, a good diet and regular exercise. He takes pride in his appearance and is committed to continue orthodontic treatment following his move from this home. He is confident and has good self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Despite earlier difficulties engaging the young person in education, staff have been successful in supporting the young person with some work experience and, more recently, in securing a place at college. He has 100% attendance so far and aspires to leave college with a recognised qualification and trade.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff offer a wide range of activities in and around the local area. These include indoor activities such as swimming, cinema and bowling, and outdoor pursuits including quad biking and hillwalking. The young person has enjoyed many of these and built up a good social circle, making several good friends in the area. They are a positive influence compared to previous friendships he had prior to coming to this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home environment is very homely and welcoming. The young person’s friends are encouraged to visit and made very welcome when they do. This has contributed to the strong sense of family and belonging that the young person now feels. Because of this, he has chosen not to return to his placing authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young person and staff have worked successfully together to plan for his move to independence. Gaps in his knowledge and experience were identified, to make sure that he had every opportunity to work on and gain the skills he would need to live independently. At the time of this inspection, the young person’s move was imminent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young person spoke highly of his time in this home and the support he has received. He takes with him many positive memories of the home and staff. He said, ‘Everything I have, it’s all from them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Professionals equally spoke very highly of the support provided by the manager and her staff team. The young person’s social worker commented, The manager and her team have been very supportive in helping the young person to move on. They have offered continuous support. They liaised well with us. I can’t fault them. The manager is brilliant.’ His independent reviewing officer noted, ‘The young person has forged a life for himself and can only be commended for his positive progress.’

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

The young person is in no doubt that staff have prioritised his safety and kept him safe in this home. The quality of the relationships that exist between the young person and staff has meant that he has felt able to trust staff. Staff have provided him with good opportunities to reflect on his previous lifestyle choices that placed him at risk. Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 5 Risk assessments take good account of the young person’s previous history and behaviours that have placed him at risk. They provide helpful guidance to staff, identifying concerning behaviours and triggers that indicate risk, as well as detailing the necessary action to take to reduce and eliminate risk where possible.

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

Staff have successfully involved the young person and implemented rules and boundaries which provide him with a clear expectation concerning his behaviour. Due to the positive relationships that exist, the young person has respected these rules and mostly adhered to boundaries set. Restraint has not been required in this home.

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

Apart from staying overnight on one occasion at a friend’s home without seeking permission, there have not been any missing-from-home incidents. This is a major success, as prior to placement he was known to be frequently missing from home and school. In addition, staff are confident that there has been no misuse of drugs during his time in this home, despite previous concerns.

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

The young person is more resilient and has gained considerable insight about the choices he makes, particularly how these affected his life prior to coming to this home. He has matured and recognises the opportunities he now has. The young person commented, ‘It wouldn’t work if I went back there; I wouldn’t have a life.’

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

The young person is protected from any hazards by a comprehensive range of health and safety procedures, risk assessments and checks regularly carried out by staff. This includes regular fire drills to ensure that the young person and staff are familiar with the procedure for evacuating the home in the event of an emergency.

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

However, during this inspection it was identified that visitors to the home and contractors are not routinely advised about the home’s fire safety arrangements. Because of this, there is no certainty that visitors or contractors will know what to do in the event of an emergency while working in the home. This could compromise their safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been two changes in management since the last inspection in October 2017. The registered manager of the home at the time of the last inspection moved on to manage another home within the company’s group. The subsequent registered manager left the company.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s current manager is well qualified and experienced. She has previously managed children’s homes in Scotland that were owned by the company. She has recently been registered by Ofsted as the home’s new registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and her staff team have a clear understanding of the young person’s needs and wishes. They have high aspirations and have supported him to learn the skills he requires to achieve his independence. The staff team members are competent and enthusiastic. They said they receive good support, such as regular Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 6 supervision, training and team meetings that enable them to carry out their roles. However, staff are not receiving annual appraisals which would identify their strengths and any areas for professional development. Without this, managers cannot be sure whether they are reaching their full potential and providing the quality of care young people require.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young person’s social worker commented, ‘They are a very committed staff team. They have ensured the young person remained safe and protected. Staff have shown commitment and the ability to stick to the task despite any issues that have arisen. His needs have been at the fore and communication has been very good.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has proved to be a good advocate for the young person in this home, who expressed his wish to remain in the locality of the children’s home. In the absence of an independent advocate, the registered manager challenged his placing authority to consider an alternative plan and successfully negotiated with a range of professionals to arrive at a sustainable plan that supported his transition into adulthood. In a short period of time, she has successfully developed strong links with those partner agencies that are of benefit to all children and young people who may live in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s internal monitoring arrangements are well developed. They allow the registered manager to have a good understanding of practice within the home and the progress made by the young person. However, the registered manager is not confident that the current external monitoring arrangements are sufficiently robust. She is currently reviewing arrangements with the home’s responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, the home is good at notifying Ofsted of any incidents that concern young people living in this home. However, during this inspection it was identified that prior to the new registered manager joining the home, there were incidents involving the police that Ofsted should have been made aware of. This did not adversely affect the care provided to the young person, but it failed to promote transparency with Ofsted.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 7 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Armstrong Watson, Birbeck House, Duke Street, Penrith CA11 7NA

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Inspector

Gillian Walters, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC439956 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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