Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC366090 1 SC366090 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group 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 privately owned children’s home can accommodate up to two young people who have social and/or emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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outstanding

How well 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 young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 24 October 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/10/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC366090 2 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Outstanding 04/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC366090 3

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Recommendations

 Regulation 40(4) requires the registered person to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)–(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e))… homes must assess each case individually taking into account any patterns of behaviour or unusual behaviour which may indicate an increased risk to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s home’s regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraphs 14.11–14.12)

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Staff are committed to helping every young person to achieve academic success. This starts with helping young people to sustain good school attendance. The staff work extremely closely with schools and colleges to support each young person to make educational progress. They support young people with their homework in the way a good parent would and 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 young people: outstanding

Young people take part in a wide and varied range of social, leisure and educational activities. Staff continually encourage young people to try new things and to make the most of opportunities and facilities in the local community. This helps young people to develop new hobbies and interests, grow in confidence and develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Staff manage young people’s moves in and out of the home exceptionally well. They encourage young people who are new to the home to display family photographs and to bring familiar toys with them for comfort. Staff have information about young people’s backgrounds, including their likes and dislikes. Staff decorated the bedroom of one young person in her favourite colour before she moved into the home. This attention to detail enabled the young person to feel cared for from the moment she arrived.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Young people are encouraged to have part-time work, which greatly enhances their independence skills and their social skills. When young people leave the home, the staff celebrate young people’s success. One parent said:

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Staff have been great with him. He has challenged them a lot. They have encouraged him, they have brought him over for contact, they have kept him safe – more than I could have done. They have tried hard to prepare him for independence. Inspection report children’s home: SC366090 4 These positive endings build positive experiences into young people’s life stories and add to their sense of identity and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Staff understand how important young people’s families are to them. When it is appropriate to do so, and considering young people’s wishes, the staff work closely with families and placing authorities to facilitate regular family visits and social occasions. These opportunities help young people to maintain these relationships and ensure that they are not isolated from their families. They also help young people to reintegrate back into family life when this is part of their care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Young people arrive with complex needs. Staff quickly build positive relationships with young people and use these relationships to encourage them to begin to engage in therapeutic sessions. This can include accessing specialist health services, such as child and adolescent mental health services, and/or receiving help from the organisation’s therapist team. Staff also help young people to attend routine medical appointments and assessments, to be active and to eat healthy food. Some young people arrive at the home with a history of smoking cigarettes and tobacco. The home operates a bespoke smoking-reduction programme, with the aim of helping young people to reduce the amount that they smoke over a period of time. This holistic approach to young people’s health enables them to progress emotionally as well as physically.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

When safeguarding incidents occur, notifications are usually sent to the relevant people and authorities. However, this was missed on one occasion.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff have an excellent understanding of the importance of safeguarding and the need for vigilance so that young people stay safe. Well-informed risk assessments, that are specific about what action needs to be taken, help staff to keep young people protected from harm. They guide staff on how to best support young people when their anxieties increase, and highlight the strategies that young people find useful to help them to manage their own behaviours and risks.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff manage behaviour within the home in a way that is unique to each young person. Young people benefit from clear routines and boundaries which staff consistently promote. When appropriate, staff use incentives and rewards to help young people to learn to manage their behaviours. This approach encourages young people to make good choices and to consider how their actions impact on others.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff recruitment is safe. The registered manager makes sure that she completes and verifies necessary checks to confirm the suitability of staff to work with young people. This helps to protect young people from possible harm or abuse.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff have strong working relationships with the local police to help to support and protect young people. Regular updates from the police ensure that staff are kept well Inspection report children’s home: SC366090 5 informed about any criminal activity, including gang-related activity, in the local area. This soft intelligence is used to update risk assessments. Staff work closely with the police to manage young people’s risks and to avoid unnecessarily criminalising young people. As a result, staff successfully keep young people safe.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff are competent in identifying triggers for and antecedents to young people’s challenging behaviours. Therefore, the use of physical restraint is rare and only occurs as a last resort.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has the skills and experience necessary to manage the service effectively. She is enthusiastic and passionate in her resolve to provide exceptional care and support for young people. Her vision for the home is aspirational. It focuses on young people’s happiness, and on helping them to achieve in their education and develop emotionally and socially.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager understands the impact on young people of their complex histories and behaviours. She challenges and advocates for young people when they are being inappropriately treated or unfairly labelled. Because of this exceptional support, young people develop trust in the registered manager and they accept support from her and the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular, good-quality formal supervision. The registered manager uses these meetings to help staff to reflect on and assess their practice and to consider their learning needs. The registered manager has introduced research-based practice into supervision and into team meetings. Staff also receive training which addresses young people’s individual, and often complex, health and welfare needs. This means that staff become knowledgeable about the young people, and have the specific skills, knowledge and qualifications to meet each young person’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Monitoring practice within the home is exceptional. The registered manager uses a range of internal audits to monitor young people’s progress. She immediately responds to observations and recommendations from partnership agencies concerning patterns and trends in young people’s behaviour. Consultation with young people and their families further supports this process. The service continually evolves to meet young people’s changing needs because the registered manager can recognise patterns and trends. She successfully evaluates these to identify areas for improvement.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of young people. They watched how professional staff work with young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they Inspection report children’s home: SC366090 6 talked to 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 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: SC366090 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Reflexion Care Group Ltd, Black Birches, Hadnall, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 3DH

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC366090 8 achieve excellence in the care of 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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