Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire County Council in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC036737 1 SC036737 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire 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

This is a local authority children’s home that provides residential and short-break services for up to 16 children and young people who have disabilities and complex healthcare needs. This home is currently providing a service for up to 12 children.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

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

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC036737 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/07/2018 Full Outstanding 16/11/2017 Full Outstanding 17/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC036737 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

This home is led by an inspirational and conscientious management team. Managers are role models for outstanding, child-centred practice. Children’s lives are enhanced through the positive experiences and opportunities provided in this home. Children make good, and sometimes exceptional, progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home has a welcoming atmosphere. It is well maintained and resourced, providing a child-friendly, safe environment. Children benefit from very good quality facilities. For example, a soft play room has been designed and developed, following consultation with children and staff, to provide a safe and stimulating space for children with limited mobility.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from well-researched, carefully planned play and learning opportunities. They become more confident as they learn new skills and build strong relationships with their peers and carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff and managers are familiar with each child’s network of family and professionals. This ensures that they have a comprehensive understanding of children’s health, education and developmental needs. For example, care plans are informed by contact with family, social workers, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, the community nursing team, relevant consultants and education settings. This very collaborative approach ensures that children make exceptional progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A social worker confirmed that staff know each child’s needs very well. Children receive an outstanding service because staff are skilled at anticipating children’s changing needs. They proactively share assessment and evaluation with families and professionals and influence consensus about children’s needs. As a result, significant changes are made to care plans. For example, children with improved sleep patterns have been able to change to less intrusive sleep systems. For other children, it has been possible to reduce their medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A real strength of this home is the way that staff develop the communication skills of children so that they can influence decisions about their plans and their daily experiences. Staff have the skills and knowledge to use a range of communication methods. Detailed communication plans are developed. Some plans use photographs to illustrate children’s preferred communication style. Because children are better able to influence their routines and experiences, their confidence and self-esteem are greatly enhanced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is supporting a new project, involving a small team of youth workers, to promote children’s engagement in the local authority children’s council. This demonstrates the staff’s creative approach to overcoming any barriers to participation faced by disabled children. As a result, children are able to have a strong voice in decisions that affect them and their community. Inspection report children’s home: SC036737 4

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

Managers ensure that full information about each child’s vulnerabilities and risks is shared with staff through comprehensive care plans and risk assessments. Staff continuously ensure that risks are understood, managed and reduced.

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

The manager, with colleagues, has developed a bespoke training package that supports staff to safeguard disabled children effectively. Managers and staff are acutely aware of the additional risks and vulnerabilities that disabled children face. Safeguarding guidance provided to staff includes information about new and emerging risks in the community and lessons learned from research about recent safeguarding incidents or near misses.

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

Staff induction includes training and guidance on how to provide intimate personal care safely and sensitively, taking account of each child’s preferences and respecting their dignity. Staff induction records provide evidence that staff have developed skills in this important area of care.

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

There are few incidents in the home that impact on children’s safety. Managers and staff follow child protection procedures diligently. All incidents, particularly those relating to physical intervention, are carefully reviewed by managers. Any potential improvements in practice are identified and discussed with staff. For example, following a pattern of low-level physical interventions with a particular child, staff recognised that behaviours were associated with increased anxieties leading up to a transition. Staff proactively shared information with the relevant social worker and adapted transition plans. This resulted in a successful move to a longer-term placement.

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

Effective planning and detailed individual risk assessments mean that children safely enjoy a range of activities and social opportunities. Children respond well to activities because they are confident and feel safe. During the inspection, staff shared the careful planning that had taken place to ensure that a child was able to travel on the train to London and enjoy a musical at the theatre for the first time. Both the train journey and the musical were on his personal ‘wish list’. He had not been able to participate in a similar trip at Christmas due to ill health, but the staff planned it with him again as soon as he was well enough.

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

Staff maintain well-recorded chronologies of children’s progress and carefully analyse this information. The registered manager refers to this process as ‘building an accurate picture’. Staff quickly identify potential concerns and share these concerns with social workers. In some cases, multi-agency meetings are convened. This means that staff intervene in a timely way to prevent child welfare and child protection concerns escalating. Proactive support is provided, or interventions agreed, to fully address all potential concerns.

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

Staff have received training and understand their responsibilities in relation to allegations against adults who work with children and whistle-blowing procedures. Because safeguarding is discussed in every supervision session, staff do not become complacent Inspection report children’s home: SC036737 5 about their responsibility to report all concerns that they may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff and managers work with partners effectively, ensuring children’s progress is at the centre of their work. They are champions and advocates for disabled children to overcome barriers to participation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The experienced and highly skilled registered manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the service. A range of quality assurance mechanisms enable her to accurately evaluate the difference that the service is making to children’s lives. These mechanisms include medication audits, supervision audits, health and safety checks, care planning meetings and reviews. The child’s voice is captured using individual sessions, assessment of responses and interaction, questionnaires for child and family, and a child-friendly review booklet that is completed for each planning meeting. The independent visitor reports are fully considered, and their recommendations are acted on quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The highly effective deputy manager takes a lead for training and development. There is a well-organised and ambitious workforce development plan. This ensures that staff have the relevant qualifications and competencies. There is a robust induction programme. The deputy manager sources a range of good-quality training that supports staff to confidently meet a range of complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff and managers are consulted about emerging challenges to ensure that staff have the skills to respond. For example, the manager identified that there were more families experiencing the impact of mental health difficulties. She researched this issue and consulted with staff. The training lead identified and evaluated relevant training. Staff now access this training so that they are better able to support families. Staff are enthusiastic and embrace training and development opportunities because training is made relevant and addresses emerging issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Another member of the management team takes the lead for identifying and meeting the communication needs of individual children. She is part of a communication working group within the local authority. She has disseminated training within the home, across the residential sector and to fieldwork colleagues. A recent development is consulting with children about the recruitment of staff. A small group of children will now be involved in the recruitment process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager also encourages staff to develop their own areas of expertise. One member of staff has developed skills and knowledge in the use of sensory diets with children. All children have a sensory diet as part of their individual plan. The home is resourced to support these plans. Children can receive care in a quiet soothing environment or a stimulating fun environment, according to their needs and preferences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff and managers are very positive about team meetings. There is a well-organised structure that helps staff to reflect, learn and develop their practice. Staff participate Inspection report children’s home: SC036737 6 fully by presenting topics and workshops.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers in this home share best practice with residential colleagues and social work teams within children’s services.

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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: SC036737 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7QP

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Inspector

Cathey Moriarty, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036737 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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