Children's Home run by Buckinghamshire Council in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1277453 1 Registered provider: Buckinghamshire County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The staff at this home look after up to five children who have challenging behaviours due to a variety of underlying causes. The home was registered last year, in July 2018. This is its first inspection. The manager has been registered since 12 July 2018.

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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 : not applicable

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1277453 2

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Recommendations

 It is important that registered persons meet the Regulations having regard to the needs of children placed in the home and the role and aims of the home as set out in their Statement of Purpose. This Guide identifies specific regulations where a home’s approach may need to be different because of the purpose of the home and/or the needs of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 6 and 7, paragraph 1.12) In particular, the registered person should ensure that the planned review of the home’s statement of purpose provides clarity about the unique features and nature of this home.  Staff skills for safeguarding should include being able to identify signs that children may be at risk, and support children in strategies to manage and reduce any risks. Staff should encourage children to express their views about whether they feel safe

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Recommendations

both within and outside the home. Staff should support children to understand how to ask for help to stay safe and that the home is an environment which supports this. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10) In particular, the registered person should review whether all staff have a good understanding of issues relating to drug dealing in the community, such as cuckooing.  The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them

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Recommendations

record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) In particular, the registered person should ensure that the staff consistently check all detail in a document they change is up to date and monitoring systems identify and eradicate spelling and grammar errors.  When establishing the home, the registered person must ensure that it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, 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. Providers should refer to the non-statutory advice

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Recommendations

about the location assessment process: ‘Children’s homes regulation amendments 2014: Advice for children’s homes providers on new duties under regulations that came in to effect in January and April 2014.’ (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) In particular, the registered person must ensure that the location assessment takes account of areas in the local area which are of concern, especially where children who have free time might go. The registered person should ensure that staff know the details of the location assessment well. Inspection report children’s home: 1277453 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences from the time they move in. Staff carefully plan children’s admissions and creatively help them to settle in well. They build a comprehensive understanding of a child’s needs by talking to a range of people who are already a part of the child’s life. This information is taken into account when making decisions about whether this is the right place for a child to live. Progress that children make is carefully monitored and recorded. Detailed and up-to-date monthly reports highlight how the aims for individual children are met. The reports are easy to read and provide a good, up-to-date picture of a child’s achievements and areas of need from when they come to live here. This enables staff to track and monitor whether the aims are the right ones for a child and reflect on how their support helps a child to progress. Staff develop very positive relationships with children. Staff are curious about how to help

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

children to progress and develop a sense of belonging at the home. For example, one member of staff has proposed using a card system, Talking Mats, to support children to recognise and understand their emotions better. Another has found ways to involve children in the community and for the local community to know and feel welcome at the home. Children’s health and well-being are promoted successfully and planned for well. One child who finds it difficult to sleep has been supported to get appropriate medication. Children are encouraged to take part in regular exercise, and smoking is discouraged. The local authority, who runs the home, recognises the benefits of regular, therapeutic professional support for children and the staff team. Specific and dedicated support from therapeutic practitioners will commence in April 2019. Healthy eating is promoted. However, in one instance, action taken impinged on children’s development of independence, with some

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

snacks being locked away in the laundry to prevent a child having too many. This was rectified during the inspection and no other incident of restricting children’s freedom of access was noted. Education is valued. Staff support children’s learning effectively. One child had a delay before an education placement was arranged. Managers persistently challenged this and ensured that interim arrangements were in place to keep the child engaged in learning. This action ensured that he was ready for school and helped him to settle quickly when a place became available. Managers also learned from this experience and now ask that school arrangements are agreed prior to admission to the home. Children’s views are consistently sought and used effectively to inform their care plans and influence the running of the home. Children are involved in staff recruitment. One young person said the reason she liked it here is that she is listened to and her views respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s ability to empathise and develop tolerance of others is carefully considered in the discussions held. Staff use their partnerships with other agencies effectively to help children to understand the legal and moral implications of their behaviours. Contact arrangements are supported well. Parents are very positive about how the staff Inspection report children’s home: 1277453 4 support their relationships with their child. One described their child’s main carer as a ‘diamond’.

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

Children’s safety and security are promoted by staff who act quickly and appropriately if they have a concern. Responses to bullying, whether between children in the home or at school, are effective. Clear age-relevant plans to keep children safe online help children to learn about the benefits and risks of the internet. The staff have a good understanding of current safeguarding issues, such as knife crime. They think carefully about how to approach such subjects with children so that this does not increase their vulnerability and fears. The team has managed risks of sexual exploitation well by engaging children in recognising and managing risk safely. The assessment of the local area (the location assessment) covers issues in the immediate area where the home is situated. However, it does not include details of other areas children may visit when in the community on their own. No child currently has free time,

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

but this will change in the future. Staff have varying levels of knowledge about drugs misuse in the local area. Not all staff are aware of terms such as ‘cuckooing’. Staff support children to behave well. The staff are good role models and support children to find different ways of managing difficult situations. Incentives are individual and help children to know what behaviours are expected and which are not. Records of discussions between staff and children clearly link to children’s overall needs and provide good opportunities for children to discuss issues which worry them. Risk assessments are well written and are regularly updated to reflect what actions staff should take quickly if risks increase. Assessments relate well to children’s needs. Children are fully involved in writing their assessments. They know their contents and understand why risk assessments and safety plans are in place. This demonstrates a motivated and

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

professional staff team that holds children’s welfare at the centre of its practice and focus on making positive changes to a child’s life. Children rarely go missing and are rarely restrained. Effective plans reduce the likelihood that restraints will be needed. In one instance, staff changed their practice of immediately following one child when he left the home. This successfully altered his behaviour; he has not gone missing for some time. Staff’s knowledge about how to restrain is kept up to date so that they remain able to know what to do if restraint is necessary. Health and safety are managed well. The person in charge has a well-developed knowledge of, and commitment to, promoting a safe environment for children to live in. The health and safety files are well organised and there is appropriate evidence of the remedial action taken after an assessment is made or a concern is noted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strong leadership team has carefully and successfully steered this new home through its first year of operation. Leaders and managers have met the aims outlined in the home’s statement of purpose well. Their leadership has resulted in children receiving well- Inspection report children’s home: 1277453 5 considered and appropriate care and has established a resilient, committed and diverse staff team that works together effectively. Planning and monitoring systems are embedded well in all aspects of practice. Leaders and managers are implementing innovative ideas which enhance their understanding of how to meet children’s needs. For example, managers have adopted a review of each child’s placement when they leave, to learn and improve practice. Action plans following any reviews are implemented effectively and result in positive change. Leaders and managers have created a culture of learning and respect. Staff’s views are

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

valued, and ideas are encouraged to build and change services. Staff are encouraged to take opportunities to stretch their abilities, such as a secondment to another home. One member of staff said the managers treat them in the same way that they are expected to treat children, which he really likes. He has worked in several places and normally after a year wishes to move on, but ‘not this time’. Appropriate numbers of competent staff meet children’s needs well. Plans to increase staffing numbers since the time the home opened have worked well. This has ensured that as the numbers of children have increased so have staffing levels. The experience, qualifications and skills of the staff group complement each other well and provide a good foundation for the home. Staff are positive about their supervision, and have development plans that are regularly reviewed. Supervision includes the opportunity to have regular sessions with a child and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

adolescent mental health services (CAHMS) worker. One member of staff said this had been especially helpful in building a team response following an incident where a child was racially abusive. The approach by leaders and managers to working with other agencies creates open and inclusive relationships. Professional challenge to and from other agencies is welcomed. All agency workers who spoke with the inspector were positive about how staff worked with them. One local police officer was certain that the partnership he had developed with staff had improved children’s understanding and views of police. The quality of written reports and records is variable. Some records, such as monthly reports, are comprehensive. However, other records contain errors, and it is not always clear who some records are written for. For example, admissions paperwork for children was sometimes written in adult language and did not reflect the child-focused ethos which

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

has been established. The home’s statement of purpose did not contain details of what children’s needs the home could meet. However, this omission was rectified immediately when pointed out during this inspection. Managers confirmed that they have started to develop a child-focused care plan. They will review other paperwork to ensure that this is focused at the right audience, and will continue to develop staff’s written skills.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1277453 6 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: 1277453 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP20 1UY

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Inspector

Ruth Coler, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1277453 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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