Children's home run by Island Choices Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 1 Registered provider: Island Choices Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children and young people. It was registered on 30 November 2016. Prior to this, it was registered as part of the organisation’s sister home approximately one mile away.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home was registered with Ofsted in 2016. She is also the registered manager for another of the company’s homes, located very close by.

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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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/04/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people receive a good quality of individualised care provided by an able staff team. The young people feel safe living in a home where the staff are nurturing and deliver care in a highly sensitive way. Young people gain life-skills for independence and are given opportunities to learn to manage their emotions appropriately. Their risk- taking behaviours reduce, and they are well prepared for adult life. Overall, young people make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people build strong and trusting relationships with the staff, who know them well. Staff understand the impact on the young people of their previous experiences, of the impact on their behaviour and on their ability to maintain healthy relationships. The staff support young people to improve their relationships with their families where these have previously been difficult. Staff know young people’s vulnerabilities and can identify triggers to risk-taking behaviour, so that strategies can be put in place to minimise untoward incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in relation to their health, emotional and psychological needs. A range of professionals work with the staff to support the young people in addressing their past, current and future needs. A more challenging area for the young people is education. Despite huge input from the staff and external agencies, including the local authority, education attendance is still proving a challenge for some young people. For others, they have achieved excellent education outcomes with high levels of attendance. The staff do not give up on young people who find education a challenge, and remain in very regular contact with the agencies to ensure that all education avenues are considered. The deputy manager has used her expertise, skills and knowledge to provide the young people with a range of in-house learning. The online courses provide young people with additional knowledge and practical skills they

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

will require in the future as young adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans capture the young people’s progress very well; this is an area the manager is continually looking to develop. Care plans are updated monthly and include young people’s input. Individual monthly development plans allow each young person to know what challenges and skills will be promoted in the coming month. The atmosphere in the home is one of positivity, with constant praise given to the young people, for small and big achievements. For example, there is a board with statements such as ‘(Name of child) you have done great getting back for your curfew’ and ‘(Name of child) well done for getting up for education’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have a voice in the running of the home and decisions made about them. They are confident about making their voices heard and being taken seriously by the staff. Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 4

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

Young people say that they feel safe at the home and are comfortable speaking with staff if they feel worried or upset. The staff forge very positive relationships with the young people and take the time to listen to them and deliver common-sense advice. The home’s safeguarding and complaints policy has recently been updated to reflect changes in legislation. The staff work in accordance with legislation and where required make appropriate referrals to the safeguarding agencies. The manager is suitably trained and qualified to oversee all aspects of safeguarding. Concerns identified by the staff are acted on. These include actual or potential exploitation.

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

Detailed risk assessments and behaviour management strategies have resulted in risk- taking behaviour decreasing significantly over time. The staff work hard to understand young people’s individual risks and how they can minimise these. By developing trusting and nurturing relationships, staff can identify new risks and manage potential and actual risks in a timely way. The close working relationships the staff have with external agencies, such as the police and drug and alcohol teams, also contribute to the effective management of risks. Risks, such as going missing and drug misuse, have decreased in frequency. Effective planning, and joint decision-making with social workers agreeing return times, have resulted in a decrease in the number of incidents of going missing. Staff actively search for young people, while liaising with the police when young people stay out after agreed times.

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

The location of the home has proved beneficial for some young people as they have limited locations to run away to. Good multi-agency working enables young people to be found and returned quickly to the home should they go missing. The staff are very aware of the risks to young people in the local and wider area.

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

The staff are confident in their roles in reporting safeguarding or child protection concerns. Good practice ensures that any cause for concern or allegation is managed well. Young people are helped to understand the risks and how to stay safe. Staff are very aware of the need to allow the young people to be independent and to take appropriate risks while keeping themselves safe. Staff manage this balance well. Key- worker sessions allow staff to guide young people to stay safe.

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

The young people are protected by careful recruitment procedures. Regular health and safety checks ensure that the physical environment of the home is safe and protects young people from harm, or the risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is the registered manager for two homes, located close to each other. She is supported by a strong team of senior staff, including an exceptional deputy manager, who is both passionate and ambitious for the children. The registered manager has good oversight of the home and Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 5 has developed effective systems, which enable her to monitor, review and analyse the practices in the home. She responds positively to recommendations made at inspection and to the monthly independent visitor reports. She has shown that she can manage both homes effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides very good support to the staff and knows the young people well. The young people warm to her presence in the home. The main message delivered by the registered manager is for the staff to focus on achieving the best outcomes for young people. All staff receive regular, good-quality supervision to support this. They undertake a range of training to support their roles. Training for the staff is of a high standard, and is well organised and the manager is persistent in seeking the most appropriate training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is developing systems to evaluate the effectiveness of training delivered to the staff by introducing competency testing for areas such as medication administration and safeguarding. The staff enjoy their work and the time they spend with the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes to the staff team in the last year, and the home is fully staffed. There is a gender mix imbalance, with mainly female staff employed. The registered manager is aware of this and is actively addressing this when recruiting. The manager’s and staff’s commitment to the young people and their willingness to support each other have resulted in a strong team supporting young people effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager monitors the quality of the service effectively through monthly checks on young people’s progress and six-monthly evaluations of the home and care practices. As a result of a recommendation made at the inspection of the sister home, six-monthly reviews of the home now include the views of the young people. In addition, the registered manager uses the detailed monthly reports from the independent visitor to improve the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All young people are treated as individuals in a fair and non-discriminatory manner that embraces the objectives of the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are no requirements or recommendations made as a result of this inspection. The home functions at a very good standard with the manager and staff continually developing its practices and procedures further. Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 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 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: 1241939 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 67 Argyll Street, Ryde PO33 3BY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: William Stanbridge

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Inspector

Liz Driver, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1241939 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit

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Inspector

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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