Children's home run by Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd

Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 1 Registered provider: Positive Outcomes Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated, three-bedded home looks after young people aged nine to 17 who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours. Ofsted registered the manager for this service in 2016, and he is suitably qualified.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection : none Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2018 Full Inadequate 23/05/2017 Full Good 24/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 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 health and well-being standard is that–

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when health appointments are cancelled these are followed up and rebooked. 30/11/2018

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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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(b), (2)(h)) 04/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a 04/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 4 home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual–

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(b), (5)(a)(b), (6)(a)(b)) The registered person must ensure that all employees have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 04/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the last full inspection, the home was judged inadequate. Since this time, the manager and staff have worked hard to address the significant shortfalls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people now live in a warm, cosy, safe and nurturing home environment. All maintenance jobs are now completed in a timely fashion. Staff now know all the young people well and have formed positive relationships with them. One young person told the inspector, „Staff are friendly and easy to talk to.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enable young people to maintain safe and positive contact with their friends and family. Maintaining friendships supports young people‟s development and gives young people a sense of belonging and being valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make progress in all aspects of their lives, considering their starting points. When young people experience problems in school and their education placement breaks down, staff are proactive in looking for an alternative provision. Staff are aspirational for young people and persevere to help them to understand the importance of education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have supported one young person to lose a significant amount of weight. This has improved the young person‟s overall general health, their self-esteem and their confidence. Young people attend all routine health appointments. However, on one occasion staff did not provide enough support to enable one young person to seek specialist advice. This caused a delay in the young person getting access to advice to promote their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people can participate in weekly young people‟s meetings. These meetings give them the opportunity to express their wishes and feelings. Staff and the manager are quick to follow up young people‟s requests. This helps young people to feel valued and to contribute to the day-to-day running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a variety of activities in their community, such as going swimming, going to the cinema, having a holiday to Spain and going to the safari park. This helps with their self-esteem and social inclusion.

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

Staff have now received relevant training to help them to protect young people. As a result, staff now understand young people‟s risk-taking behaviours and vulnerabilities better. Consequently, staff can identify any safeguarding concerns to keep young people safe.

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

There have been no incidents of restraint since the last full inspection. Staff have good relationships with young people and use de-escalation techniques to prevent incidents from escalating. Staff use sanctions that are restorative in nature and help young people Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 6 to understand and improve their behaviour. However, staff do not always record these sanctions in line with regulation.

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

When young people go missing from the home, staff make every effort to contact the young person by following them to try to get them to return home safely. Young people have return to home interviews with an independent person. This enables them to talk about why they felt it necessary to go missing. This information is now used to inform risk assessments and strategies to reduce risk. The home‟s locality risk assessment has been updated since the last inspection and now includes all known risks and has multi- agency input. Staff are now clear about local risks and can put safeguards in place to minimise risks to young people.

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

Staff‟s safe recruitment practice prevents unsuitable people from working with young people. There have not been any complaints since the last full inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has made good progress in addressing most shortfalls from the last full inspection. However, improvement is still required in how the manager monitors the quality of care. For example, the manager failed to identify that staff had not made a follow-up appointment for a young person regarding their health. In addition, the manager has not addressed inconsistent record-keeping, such as rewards not being recorded, some behaviour management support plans not being updated and one young person‟s risk assessment containing conflicting information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has now put in place a clear policy regarding young people‟s access to the staff office. Young people‟s and staff‟s confidential information and belongings are now accessed only by staff who are authorised to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager works well with partner agencies, and will challenge other professionals when required. This ensures that young people receive the necessary support to enable them to thrive and make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Both permanent and casual staff now receive regular supervision, during which they review young people‟s progress and consider their individual professional development. However, some staff have not had their yearly appraisals. This is a missed opportunity to discuss staff self-development and to provide feedback on individual staff‟s performance. Staff benefit from a range of training opportunities to help them to develop the skills and knowledge that they need for their role. However, one member of staff has not completed her level 3 diploma in residential childcare in the required timescale. As a result, the requirement raised at the last monitoring visit is repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is now submitting the home‟s statement of purpose and quality of care review report to Ofsted within the required timescales. The independent monitoring of the home is now sufficiently detailed. This enables Ofsted to have an overview of the home and the quality of care being given to young people and to identify any regulatory concerns. Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 7

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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: 1227330 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Outcomes Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Churchill House Queen Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 1SN

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1227330 9 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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