Children's home run by All Round Care Limited

Inspection report children‟s home: 1277049 1 Registered provider: All Round 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

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 February 2019

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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

Date of last inspection: first inspection since registration

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none since registration Inspection report children‟s home: 1277049 2

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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 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

(a) children are effectively safeguarded; and (b) the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. 31/05/2019

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Recommendations

 For some children who have experienced severe trauma, have mental health difficulties or have been excluded or out of education for significant periods, it may be necessary to address and work through their past experiences and present needs before they can positively participate in learning activities and formal education. Staff in children‟s homes will play a key role in supporting these children in line with their personal education plan or EHC plan and recommendations from education and health professionals. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 26, paragraph 5.3)  Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child‟s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child‟s needs (see regulations 5 (c). Staff should act as champions for their

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Recommendations

children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  Children must feel safe and be safe. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, and feel protected from significant harm. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 43, paragraph 9.9) Inspection report children‟s home: 1277049 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a friendly, relaxed environment. The two young people who live in the home have settled well. Staff encourage them to personalise their bedrooms with a theme of their choice. A young person said, „I am going to have my room decorated with Minnie Mouse. I‟m looking forward to it.‟ This affords young people with a sense of belonging and increases their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspectors met the young people during this inspection. They were observed to have positive relationships with the staff. They enjoyed each other‟s company and had a good rapport. Young people are proud of their home and described it as „lovely‟ and „homely‟. A young person said, „I wouldn‟t mind if I had to live here until I am older. Staff are brilliant, and I love being here. I can‟t say anything bad about it. It‟s great.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Wherever possible, young people have a planned transition into the home. Before moving in, managers meet the young person and tell them about the home. The home‟s children‟s guide gives young people a good picture of how staff will care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know young people well. They understand how young people‟s past experiences can have a negative impact on their behaviour. Staff know that young people who have previously had several placements find it hard to invest in the home. Staff nurture young people and ensure that care is consistent. This has assisted young people to take part in activities, and to engage with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult the young people on their care and this is reflected in their care plans. Staff support young people to help with the weekly food shopping and to help prepare meals. These skills will help them in their adult lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff reward young people with praise and encouragement. This approach increases young people‟s self-confidence and self-worth. Managers and staff identify barriers to learning. The manager has arranged meetings with education professionals and the placing authority where she raised her concerns around educational attendance. The manager values young people‟s education attendance and engagement and intends to finance a tutor for a young person.

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

Staff give young people‟s safety high priority. Staff supervise them at the home and teach them how to keep safe when in the community. This has resulted in a reduction in young people engaging in unsafe behaviour when spending time in the community.

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

Young people rarely go missing from this home. This is a significant decrease for young people who have a history of going missing. Staff are aware of the procedures to follow when young people go missing. They search for them and report them missing to the Inspection report children‟s home: 1277049 4 police and placing authorities.

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

Independent interviews are not always offered to young people following their return to the home. This is a missed opportunity for the young person to talk to someone independent from the home and share any worries or concerns.

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

Routine and boundaries provide stability and security. Staff know that sometimes visitors to the home can cause young people anxiety. Staff reassure young people and encourage them to greet visitors. Young people are polite and respectful to staff and visitors

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

Risk management plans consider the young person‟s known behaviours. Staff know what causes the young person‟s behaviour to escalate. Staff use distraction methods to decrease the young person‟s rising anxiety. This strategy helps to defuse a possible incident. It ensures that young people and staff are safe. A member of staff said, „I use a lot of comedy with [name] and usually this works.‟

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

Staff teach young people how to keep safe online. Young people engage in an online training session. Key-work sessions show the conversations that staff have with young people around the potential dangers. A young person‟s care plan permits him to continue to use the internet at night. The strategy put in place to safeguard the young person is not strong enough to ensure the safety of the young person. The manager is keen to discuss alternatives with the placing social worker.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was registered in July 2018. She is well qualified and experienced. The manager is enthusiastic and motivated. She has the support of an experienced deputy manager. Both leaders are committed to providing good-quality care to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have high aspirations for the young people. They receive good-quality supervision and appraisal. Staff meetings are regular. These meetings provide an opportunity for staff to review the young people‟s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor makes monthly visits to the home. The visitor does not give an opinion on whether young people are safe. The visitor‟s reports also do not express a view on whether staff promote young people‟s well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors the quality of care that is provided to young people. She is keen to improve this by gaining regular feedback from parents. This will provide information that can guide the staff to make any changes to young people‟s care. She intends to involve young people in the staff meetings. This will give them the opportunity to give staff feedback about their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has raised her concerns regarding the lack of education for a young person. A chronology of calls and emails to education staff and the placing authority demonstrates this. The manager now intends to escalate this issue to a higher level. A recommendation has been made to reflect this. Inspection report children‟s home: 1277049 5 The home has a stable staff team whose members are consistent in their approaches and responses. This means that young people receive the same message from all the staff. This is designed to reduce challenging and aggressive behaviour towards staff. A young person said, „The staff stick together and say the same things to us. I think it‟s so that we don‟t keep asking them all the same thing.‟

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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: 1277049 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: All Round Care Limited

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Inspectors

Jo Hornby, social care inspector Catherine Fargin, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1277049 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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