Children's Home run by Roundhouse Care in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC478852 1 SC478852 Registered provider: Roundhouse Care 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 home is operated by a private provider and is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people who have social and/or emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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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 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: 1 February 2018

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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: SC478852 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2018 Full Outstanding 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/11/2016 Full Outstanding 30/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC478852 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)) 15/02/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the behaviour management strategy is kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34) Specifically, ensure that staff record, and the manager reviews, any rewards.  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, of staff safeguards children and minimises 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: outstanding

Staff know the young people exceptionally well. They encourage young people to try new experiences and to become independent and confident individuals. For example, young people enjoy activities such as attending gymnastics and going swimming. One Inspection report children’s home: SC478852 4 young person hosted a charity event at the home which raised money for a national charity. These experiences help young people to develop their interests and to play a central role in their local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are committed to helping every young person in their care to achieve academic success. When a school is not helping a young person to achieve, the staff act swiftly to address any difficulties. For example, the staff advocated for a young person to attend a different school. The new school was better able to meet the young person’s needs. Staff work closely with schools and support young people to gradually increase their attendance. They help young people to search for college places when the time is right. This excellent support enhances young people’s achievements and life chances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff encourage young people to lead active lifestyles and to eat healthy meals which are prepared from scratch. Staff and young people share meals and talk about their day, and plan evening activities. Young people and staff are increasingly aware of environmental issues and are proactive in recycling waste and reducing the use of plastic.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people’s emotional health is carefully monitored, and staff are enthusiastic about the benefits of attending therapy and the support this can bring. Staff are skilled in recognising young people’s anxieties. Their care and nurturing helps the young people to manage their feelings. One social worker said, ‘Staff recognise [the young person’s] anxiety and they use relaxation techniques such as stroking her hair or her hand to relax her. [Name of young person] is flying in all areas. From her starting point, her progress has been excellent; she is unrecognisable.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support young people to develop friendships with school friends and celebrate special events. For example, one young person celebrated her birthday at the home with friends from school. The same young person is able to go to friends’ houses to share meals and socialise. At Christmas, each young person received their own advent calendar that had been handmade by the staff with special personalised gifts inside. This caring attitude increases young people’s self-esteem and social skills and helps young people to have positive memories of their time living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff help young people to express their views by having day-to-day discussions and regular planned meetings. Staff actively encourage young people to talk to their independent advocate and to speak with the independent visitor. Despite the good practice, young people’s care plans do not always capture these important opinions and views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

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

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff give young people exceptional care. Staff work creatively to help young people to make safe decisions. They involve young people in managing their own risks and ask young people what would help. For one young person, this involves her asking the staff to use a ribbon to tie onto the gates of the home. This helps her to stop and think about her actions long enough for staff to intervene. This creative approach means young people no longer go missing and are safer as a result. Inspection report children’s home: SC478852 5 Staff deal with bullying and unkind behaviour from young people swiftly and effectively. They promote positive relationships in the home by talking with young people individually and together. When necessary, staff will seek the help of other professionals to talk to young people about the consequences of their actions in a way that encourages personal responsibility and understanding of the feelings of others. This

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

additional support helps young people to understand the importance of tolerance and kindness in social relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have excellent working relationships with the local police, who help and support the young people. The police visit the home and get involved in activities with young people as well as giving advice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have an excellent understanding of the importance of safeguarding and the need for vigilance so that young people remain protected from harm. Staff act quickly to deal with any risks as they happen. They talk with young people about their behaviour in a way that helps them to become increasingly safe. However, on a couple of occasions staff have not swiftly informed the young person’s social worker about a significant incident. This delay can compromise young people’s social workers being involved in key discussions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff follow well-developed strategies that help to keep young people safe when accessing social media. Staff are highly skilled in understanding the risks that young people can face in using the internet. To help keep them informed, staff receive training in understanding the risks of child exploitation, radicalisation and gang culture. As a result of this training, staff are highly vigilant when young people are using the internet and mobile phones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Recruitment practice is mostly safe. However, one bank member of staff does not have photographic evidence of their identification on file and has not yet had mandatory training in first aid.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager leads by example. Her vision for the home is aspirational and she is focused on young people’s individual needs, their progress and their happiness. The registered manager understands each young person’s care plan and will challenge other professionals when necessary. She talks passionately about the young people in her care and is proud of the difference the exceptional care by her staff has made to the lives of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive excellent support from the registered manager. They have regular team meetings and reflective practice sessions that enable them to discuss the care of young people as well as their own practice. The registered manager knows her staff exceptionally well. Staff have regular well-planned supervision and annual appraisals where they talk about their development. The registered manager identifies training for them to attend that is specific to individual young people’s needs. This includes training Inspection report children’s home: SC478852 6 in completing life story work with young people and awareness raising of the current local risks associated with criminal exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that the integration of the company’s therapeutic model of care helps strengthen the approach of all staff in looking after the young people in their care. The staff team has regular meetings with therapists trained in the model of care where they talk about how they can support one another as well as the young people. Staff said that these meetings are very helpful.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Any shortfalls in staffing are covered by a small pool of additional staff who are well known to the young people. Therefore, young people are cared for by a consistent staff team who know them very well and who they are familiar with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager addresses racism and allegations of racism with young people and staff and she uses other agencies to help her to do this, when appropriate. She understands the individual and unique needs of the young people in her care and works closely with other agencies to ensure that young people’s needs are continually met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager understands that contact with family members is important to young people’s sense of identity and emotional well-being. She encourages the staff to go the ‘extra mile’ to help young people to have meaningful contact with their loved ones, when appropriate.

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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: SC478852 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ventura House, Ventura Park Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire B78 3HL

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC478852 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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