Children's Home run by Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy in Norfolk

Inspection report children's home: SC065792 1 SC065792 Registered provider: Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a charitable organisation. The home specialises in the treatment of children who present with severe emotional and behavioural problems as a result of attachment difficulties that are usually rooted in early life trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 26 November 2015.

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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 outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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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: 28 November 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: SC065792 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2017 Full Outstanding 31/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/09/2016 Full Outstanding 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC065792 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy a fantastic standard of care from staff. Children are extremely positive about their experience of living at the home. They enjoy living in a very well-maintained, comfortable and homely environment. The staff provide a wonderful atmosphere that is warm and welcoming, and children thrive in the environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s emotional well-being is seen as a priority by the skilled staff team. Children receive therapeutic care based on a systemic therapy model that is exceptionally well coordinated. Regular consultation between the staff and the therapy team ensures that children’s behaviours are seen in the context of their troubled histories. The therapeutic and compassionate approach is a strength of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children develop significant relationships with staff. As a result, children make outstanding progress, due to feeling supported and listened to. The staff are fully committed to and do not give up on the children. The staff work closely with schools and other agencies to ensure that children have opportunities to succeed. Children are making exceptional progress in education and volunteering opportunities. For example, some children have 100% school attendance, and another child volunteers at the local cat sanctuary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have goals and are successfully working towards them. Children recognise their own progress and are looking forward to their futures. One child, who thought that they would spend their life on benefits, is now working towards becoming a midwife. A professional said, ‘Since [the child] has lived at the home they have come on in leaps and bounds. The staff have enabled the child to think of their future. There is a very high standard of care given to the children at the home. It’s fantastic.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy excellent experiences at this home. The care and support provided is outstanding. Staff have consistently high aspirations for all of the children. Children enjoy a range of very positive experiences that enrich their lives. Children are provided with opportunities that enhance their social skills and considerably develop their self- confidence. Staff encourage the children to engage in regular and varied activities. These activities include organising and participating in charitable fund-raising events, mud-sliding, hill-climbing, and trips to places such as Stonehenge and eating out at a restaurant in London’s Chinatown.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Since the last inspection, this home has continued to blossom, and children continue to flourish and thrive. Children are fully involved in the decisions that are made about them. Children’s views are at the heart of the home.

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

Children are fully safeguarded in this home. Staff know the children exceptionally well and understand the risks that are relevant to them. Staff understand their roles and Inspection report children's home: SC065792 4 responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. They speak with confidence about the actions that they would take if a child was at risk. Close partnership working and highly impressive care plans and communication with a number of professionals have ensured children’s safety.

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

Risks to children are understood from the outset of the placement. Risk assessments and care plans are outstanding and are effective in providing guidance to ensure that children are safe. Risk assessments are responsive to presenting behaviours and enable children to have increasing levels of freedom. This means that the children can safely experience new challenges and develop new skills. Educating and teaching children to keep safe is a core activity at the home that is built on good, strong relationships between the staff and children.

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

Behaviour is exceptionally well managed. Staff support children to understand and manage their own behaviour. Positive behaviour is encouraged and rewarded. This means that physical interventions decrease over time. When physical intervention is used, children are debriefed fully and staff hold a dedicated weekly meeting to discuss physical restraints and update plans when appropriate.

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

Staff practice is underpinned by the home’s reflective therapeutic model of care. Staff engage with children to help them to explore and reflect on their behaviours. Children grow in self-confidence and emotional resilience as they gain a deeper insight into the reasons for their behaviour. Children engage well with the staff. Together, the staff and the children find strategies that minimise the children’s emotional distress and negative behaviours. Children improve their behaviour and build better emotional resilience. Staff are reflective and seek to continuously improve their practice.

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

Staff support children to feel safe and secure and to communicate their feelings. Children talk to staff and explore their issues. There have been no safeguarding incidents and no children have been missing from care. When the manager was asked why children do not go missing, he said, ‘If they [the children] walk, we walk with them.’

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

Children are supported to chair and set the agenda for their own meetings to ensure that meetings are forums in which they feel able to express themselves. Staff respond quickly to any disputes and issues, which avoids conflict. The staff team promotes an honest and open culture. Children get along with one another very well, they spend time with each other and support one another in their own ways. Staff promote a strong ethos of respect and valuing others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is supported by a deputy manager and together they provide effective oversight that ensures that the staff team maintains exceptional standards of care for children. The registered manager is tenacious, and passionate about providing excellent care. He has high expectations of himself and of his staff team. He is uncompromising in improving the lives of children and he expects all children to have the best experiences, outcomes and futures. Inspection report children's home: SC065792 5 The registered manager leads a committed, skilled and knowledgeable staff team. Staff speak highly of the manager and are driven by the same enthusiasm that the manager has. Staff said that they are very well supported by the managers, and that they have regular supervision and reflective practice sessions that enable them to discuss the care of children as well as their own practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have a fantastic range of training opportunities. In addition to mandatory training, they undertake a range of courses relevant to specific children’s needs, including all forms of exploitation. Staff clearly demonstrated how they use training to inform their practice with children. This includes implementing the organisation’s therapeutic approach. Staff are passionate about building positive, trusting relationships and meeting the children’s emotional needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager understands the strengths and areas for development of his home. He continues to ensure that the home achieves its aims as set out in his development plan. The registered manager and deputy manager scrutinise all aspects of the service to ensure that it continues to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff work closely with other professionals and families. This close partnership working ensures that children’s progress continues to move forward. Staff and managers regularly review the information held on the children’s files and ensure that all records are maintained superbly. Everything is organised and to hand.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent monitoring and review systems. These systems ensure exceptional oversight of the progress that children are making. The manager is committed to making continued improvements and is forward-thinking regarding the development of the home.

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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: SC065792 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 210 Borough High Street, London SE1 1JX

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Inspector

Cathy Russell: social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC065792 7 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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