Children's home run by Arc-HD Services Ltd in Eastleigh

Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 1 SC420410 Registered provider: Arc HD Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to accommodate three young people who have attachment difficulties, emotional distress or emerging mental health issues and associated difficulties. This home is owned by a private organisation that operates another children’s home in the locality.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/06/2018 Full Inadequate 24/10/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who–

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to–

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b), (2)(b)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, replace the taps with domestic-style fittings. 30/7/2019

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) In particular, ensure that the duration of each restraint hold is recorded.  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 4 11.4) In particular, consider the impact that the existing group of children will have on a new child.  Regulations 35–39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s experiences are good. They are looked after by a skilled staff team that knows them well and understands their complex needs and vulnerabilities. This has led to young people building strong and effective relationships with staff and means that incidents of self-harm and going missing have reduced. Since living at the home, young people are making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s moves into and out of the home are well managed. Staff visit young people before they move in to develop an understanding of their needs. Staff consider the risk that new young people may have on the home, but the same rigour is not applied to the risk that the home may present to new young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff continue to support young people after they have left the home, as they understand how important the continuity of relationships is. Young people benefit from these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive specialist support from the home’s therapeutic team and from specialists in the community. Staff incorporate the advice and guidance from specialists into the young people’s plans and their day-to-day work to provide holistic support for the young people. Through this approach, young people develop an understanding of themselves, and their self-esteem increases. This development work is important in helping to prepare the young people to re-enter education when they are emotionally ready to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide young people with a wide range of activities. One young person has recently been on holiday with staff. The young person chose the destination and the activities and helped to plan the entire holiday. Activities provided are fun and help young people to develop self-confidence and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide young people with a comfortable, welcoming home in which to live. Since the previous inspection, the roof of the conservatory has been replaced to make this a more comfortable and usable space. The shower room has been refurbished and now provides young people with a domestic-style shower. At the young people’s request, a gazebo has been put in the garden, which is a favoured place to relax. Further work is required to replace the taps on the sinks and bath, which are not of a domestic style. This work is due to take place, and the requirement for this will stand until the work is completed.

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

Young people feel safe and are kept safe. Safeguarding practices are good and protect young people. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and evidence these in their practice. Most safeguarding records are clear, with one exception where a record of a discussion lacked sufficient detail. The designated safeguarding lead Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 6 recognised this and acted to prevent a recurrence.

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

Young people’s behaviour is well managed. Staff use a reflective and restorative approach with young people. Individualised behaviour support plans provide good guidance for staff to follow to support young people. These plans are frequently reviewed to ensure that they remain current. Over time, the help that staff give to young people enables young people to understand and manage their feelings and behaviour.

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

Restraint is used only to keep young people safe and as a last resort. The number of restraints has reduced. The manager has changed the recording format for restraints to clearly state that the discussion with young people after they have been restrained must be carried out by staff who were not involved in the incident. This now provides an independent assessment of the event.

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

Staff work effectively with young people who self-harm. Staff have an in-depth knowledge of each young person’s complex needs, and they recognise and act on young people’s triggers and changes in behaviours which could lead to self-harm. When young people are feeling anxious, staff provide good emotional support. Young people are developing coping strategies to manage their feelings and anxieties. Because of the quality of the relationships between staff and young people, incidents of self-harm have reduced.

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

Staff manage risk effectively. The work that staff members do with young people to help them to keep themselves safe online is having a positive impact. Staff talk with young people regularly about their online use and help them to complete online workshops on staying safe. Young people are now more aware of the risks, and they are keeping themselves safe and reporting any concerns or worries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leadership and management require improvement, as the monitoring systems are not fully effective. Neither the leaders, managers nor the independent visitor identified all of the areas for improvement found during this inspection. Managers recognised that the independent visitor was not challenging their practice effectively or helping them to develop the home. A new independent visitor has now been appointed to provide this necessary challenge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Restraint records require improvement. The current recording formats do not allow for the duration of each restraint to be documented. This does not make for ease of monitoring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

At the inspection, managers took immediate action to ensure that staff stopped using their personal mobile phones for work purposes. Staff now have a safer and more professional system in place to keep in contact with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Young people’s individual records are well organised. The information in them is current and provides staff with good guidance on how to support and care for each young Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 7 person. Staff are not consistently dating and signing documents, as required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is appropriately managed by a skilled and experienced management team. Currently, the registered manager is supporting another home. The deputy manager is managing this home and is due to apply to register with Ofsted. These management arrangements are suitable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Young people receive care from a well-trained and experienced staff team. Staff receive regular, good-quality supervisions and annual appraisals. These sessions are reflective and help staff to develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Consultation with young people is effective and forms part of day-to-day life at the home. Staff know that this work is important to all areas of the young people’s care, as it promotes their understanding, enables them to be part of the decisions made about their lives and means that they are included in the development of the home. These are skills that help to prepare the young people for the next stage of their lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 8

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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 difference 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: SC420410 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Arc HD Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wessex House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh SO50 9FD

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC420410 10 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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