Children's home run by Blue Elephant Childcare Limited

Inspection report children‟s home: 1278020 1 Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Ltd

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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 is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people. Short-term placements and a needs assessment are offered for children in crisis. The home is owned and managed by an independent organisation. The organisation has this one home, which was registered in July 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified registered manager oversees the home and was registered with Ofsted in July 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 November 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 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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Date of last inspection:

First full inspection since registration.

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Overall judgement at last inspection:

First inspection since the home was registered.

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Overall judgement at last inspection:

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1278020 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not applicable Inspection report children‟s home: 1278020 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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person‟s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, the registered manager; and

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 44(1)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5)(7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 15/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1278020 4

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Recommendations

 All children‟s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  Staff should be familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person must ensure that supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Suitable sufficiency and consistency of staffing allows young people to develop trust in the adults looking after them. Since the home opened in July 2018, two young people have found stability and acceptance here, which has enabled them to make significant progress. Both young people have previously had lots of placement moves and one young person has lived in more than 20 different homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Without exception, stakeholders commented positively about young people‟s progress in this home. A parent stated, „The staff have been able to a manage behaviour a lot better than other placements, I wish this placement had come along a long time ago.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning concentrates on providing assessment of needs and therapy alongside improving young people‟s opportunities for the future. Activities that raise self-esteem, and a variety of experiences broaden young people‟s skills and knowledge. Attending secondary school, playing golf, going to a music concert and visiting London are among many first-time experiences for young people. Young people are able to keep in touch with and spend time with friends. Meaningful family relationships are reinstated, and contact is facilitated where possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive appropriate support to improve their emotional and mental health. They have access to child and adolescent mental health services alongside the support of a clinical psychologist employed by the home to offer support and assessment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers make the most of the opportunities available to introduce young people to the home prior to them moving in. This has included visiting the young people in previous placements and facilitating moves. Plans to prepare young people to move Inspection report children‟s home: 1278020 5 on from this home are considered as a part of the initial placement. This avoids delays following assessment of need as this home offers short term placements to young people. Good arrangements have been made for a young person approaching adulthood to transfer to adult mental health and care services. Staff are supporting the young person to make appropriate choices regarding accommodation and support options.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are happy in this home. They have found suitable ways to express themselves and manage their feelings and they feel listened to and cared for. The inspector received a well-written essay from one young person describing how much she has changed and how great the staff are.

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

Young people have been provided with the acceptance and support they need to become increasingly safe in this environment. Presenting risks are understood and well managed by the staff team. Positive relationships with staff have had a significant impact on reducing and managing behaviours that have placed young people at serious risk of harm.

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

Good multi-agency working contributes to providing the services needed by young people to help reduce and address behaviours that place them at risk of harm. Support is focused on understanding behaviour that occurs in response to historic circumstances and providing therapy and positive experiences.

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

Behaviour management centres around young people developing trust in the staff, who are attentive and supportive. Young people report that they feel safe, listened to and understood. Both young people expressed that they want to stay in this home for as long as possible. Sanctions are not used, nor has it been necessary to use physical intervention to manage behaviour.

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

Incidents of the young people going missing have reduced in number significantly since they moved into the home. In addition, when such incidents have occurred, young people have been found and returned quickly. Independent return home interviews have taken place following the three missing incidents since the home opened. Reasons for going missing have been discussed and changes to the care plan implemented to avoid a repeat of missing incidents and to keep the young person safer.

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

Staff receive suitable training to safeguard the young people in their care. This includes training and support in dealing with self-harm, county lines and drug dealing. Staff have the valuable support and guidance of a clinical psychologist who visits the home at least once a week.

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

Monitoring of the home by an independent visitor is ineffective. Only one visit has taken Inspection report children‟s home: 1278020 6 place since the home opened. Despite the fact that this visit took place more than four weeks before this inspection, a report of the findings had not been supplied to the manager or to Ofsted.

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

Records kept about young people are not consistently up to date. Some records lack clarity where the manager has not noticed inappropriate auto-corrections made by the computer, or spelling mistakes.

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

Not all staff receive regular supervision. Supervision content is variable and often lacks sufficient focus on children‟s experiences, plans and feedback.

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

The manager is dedicated to and ambitious for the young people. Her positive work ethic is infectious. She is supported by a qualified and well-trained team whose members demonstrate to young people that they care for them and want the best possible outcomes for them, both now and in the future.

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

The responsible individual has negotiated and secured additional support services for young people as part of a contract with the local placing authority. This multi-agency work contributes to the success of placements.

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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: 1278020 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Henstridge House, Berry Down, Combe Martin, Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 0NU

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Inspector

Janice Hawtin: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1278020 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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