Children's Home run by The Beeches UK limited in Peterborough

Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 1 SC466786 Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A private organisation runs this children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to four children and young people who have a learning disability.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in September 2018.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/05/2017 Full Good 10/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Good 09/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 3

p.2

Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that the outside of the property is free from hazards that pose risks to young people.  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the young people in the home’s care.

p.3

Recommendations

(‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The experiences of the young people who live at the home are positive. They make good progress and benefit from high ratios of staff who care about their well-being and meet their needs. There are strong relationships between the staff and young people, which are forged through honest and consistent communication that is appropriate to individuals’ understanding.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and training. All of the young people are in full-time education. Attendance at education is high. The young people are achieving well and making progress. The staff take the young people to and from their education and have regular communication with all of the professionals involved. Staff attend parents’ evenings and school events as well as any meetings concerned with the young people’s education. Professionals from the school and the young people’s families appreciate the high level of input that staff at the home have in young people’s learning.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy a wide and varied range of activities with the staff. High levels of staffing mean that the young people have individual activity plans that reflect their interests. One young person attends piano lessons, and another is a member of a local football club. Participating in such groups develops individuals’ skills and enhances social opportunities. Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 4 The young people see their families and friends regularly. Staff work hard to involve friends and families and, as a result, have good relationships with them. Families feel involved in the lives of the young people. Contact between the young people and their friends and families is positive.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The views and opinions of the young people are gained through conversations, consultation and feedback forms, group meetings and one-to-one sessions. Communication takes place in a variety of imaginative ways, such as using electronic aids, pictures and symbols. This inclusive approach means that the young people are involved in planning their care and making decisions.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The strong and trusting relationships between the young people and the staff, and the creative ways of communicating, mean that the young people say if there are issues and make known if they wish to make a complaint.

p.4

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

The staff realise the importance of effective multi-agency working. They create strong, positive relationships with families and professionals. Feedback is consistently positive. A young person’s social worker said, ‘The staff prepare [the young person] for their reviews well, and the reports are always of high quality. The staff show a great understanding of her needs, which they meet consistently. The staff work well as part of a multi-agency group and have a targeted approach to ensuring that her needs are met.’

p.4

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

The staff de-escalate unwanted behaviours to good effect. Physical interventions are used rarely and as a last resort. Positive incentives are used to good effect, and sanctions are not used. The young people said that they feel safe at the home. There have been no incidents of young people going missing since the last inspection.

p.4

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

There have been a number of changes to the staff team since the last inspection. Safe- recruitment processes are comprehensive. This mitigates the risk of unsafe staff being employed to work with young people.

p.4

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

The young people’s risk assessments are current and updated regularly. They assess and mitigate risks to young people effectively. However, the home’s location risk assessment does not assess risks in the local area in sufficient detail. Open water areas in the local parks that the young people go to are not considered and crime statistics in the local area are not up to date.

p.4

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

The home has undergone extensive improvements recently. It is very well presented throughout, and a nurturing and homely feel prevails. The home sits in a well-sized garden that the young people can use. However, there were a number of items of rubbish and other hazards in the garden. The manager made immediate plans to have these hazards removed, as they posed potential risks to the young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2018. She is child focused and has the necessary qualifications, experience and skills to manage the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive extensive training. They are trained in safeguarding practice and are clear about their roles and responsibilities. The staff receive regular, reflective, practice- led supervisions and appraisals in accordance with company policy.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported and valued by the home’s management. The young people are discussed in detail during individual supervisions and monthly team meetings and are at the forefront of activities at the home. The young people value the staff. A young person said, ‘It’s peaceful here. I really like all of the staff and I feel safe living here.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people’s files are updated regularly. Managers oversee risk assessments, behaviour management plans and all safeguarding documents. Records of key-working sessions are thorough. These evidence participation by the young people and demonstrate progress made through targeted discussions with staff.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New admissions to the home are assessed in detail against the individual behaviours of the young people who already live at the home. The home specialises in providing long- term placements. Those young people who leave the home do so in a planned and structured way, usually when they are 18.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have effective processes for monitoring and auditing and produce comprehensive internal reviews. An independent person visits the home every month. The reports offer appropriate challenge and generate action plans for the management to address. However, the reports have, at times, lacked detail and do not always provide a clear summary that states whether the young people are being safeguarded effectively and their well-being promoted by the home. This compromises the protection that this process is designed to afford.

p.5

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.

p.5

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 6 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: SC466786 7

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 14 Poland Street, London W1F 8QD

p.7

Inspector

Ricky D’Arcy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC466786 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.

p.7

Inspector

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 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 .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8