Children's home run by Ar Curam Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2483718 1 Registered provider: Josh’s Place

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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 home is owned by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to five children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager was registered on 8 November 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 29 to 30 May 2019 Overall experiences and progress of children and young people good

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Information about this children’s home

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Information about this children’s home

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: This is the homes first inspection

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Information about this children’s home

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2483718 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff make it their priority to form secure and trusting relationships with children and young people. Staff are creative in their approach and often spend time doing outdoor activities with children and young people. One young person said, ‘One of the things I like doing most here is walking.’ By building secure relationships, children and young people develop a source of comfort, security and trust which helps them to learn social and emotional skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are in good health, and routine health appointments are well attended. Staff support children and young people to engage with specialist services to meet their emotional needs. Staff receive support from a clinical psychologist who has delivered training and consultation to the team in relation to the needs of individual children and young people. This enables staff to support children and young people to regulate their emotions and helps to provide a safe, nurturing environment in which children and young people feel safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to promoting education even when children and young people are reluctant to engage. One teacher commented, ‘[Name] is very anti-education and the plans they have are for the long game. They are really creative in getting her to engage in education.’ This ensures that children and young people are given the best possible chance to gain qualifications that will help them to achieve their career goals and ambitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are good at advocating on behalf of children and young people. When staff believe that services to support children and young people are not being effective they are able to professionally challenge to ensure that children and young people receive support in a prompt manner. One professional commented that staff were ‘very quick to appropriately challenge and chase up areas of delay… I am very impressed with the home.’ This ensures that children and young people receive services that are well planned by professionals who are working together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The process of moving into and out of the home is well managed and is an area of strength. Careful consideration is given by the manager and his team as to the impact any new admission will have on the lives of the children and young people already living in the home. Children and young people are given the opportunity to visit the home before they move in, and this provides them with the opportunity to settle into the home quickly. As a result, children and young people are less likely to experience unplanned moves from the home.

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

Children and young people live in a home that is safe and homely, and provides them with the space to take part in a range of activities that build skills and confidence for later life. Inspection report children’s home: 2483718 3 The risk assessments are detailed, with clear strategies that staff follow. This enables the staff to support children and young people to keep safe. Children and young people are encouraged to be involved in the writing and review of their risk assessments. This ensures that the risk assessments are accurate and also enables the child or young person to see progress they are making while living at the home.

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

The number of missing from home episodes have reduced significantly since the home opened. When children and young people go missing from home, staff go looking for them, telephone them and speak with friends and family in an attempt to locate them. For one young person, staff regularly travelled a significant distance from the home to find the young person. This sends a message to the child or young person that they are valued and cared for.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted in the home using verbal praise. This encourages the children and young people to regulate their behaviour because it makes them feel good about themselves, rather than because they receive a gift for good behaviour.

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

The use of social media and the internet is carefully managed. Access to the home’s Wi- Fi can be managed in accordance with each individual child’s or young person’s risk assessment. Where there are concerns about an individual child’s or young person’s access to social media, agreements are made between staff and the individual to ensure that they can keep themselves safe inside and outside of the home.

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

While incidents of bullying are rare, the manager and staff are quick to respond when they do happen. When asked about an incident of bullying in the home, one social worker commented, ‘Staff managed this really well. [Name] kept me in the loop. There were bullying risk assessments in place. [Name] was helped to form positive relationships and she feels really safe at the home.’

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

The administration and recording of medication given to children and young people have not always been as good as they could be. In particular, the reasons why non- prescription medication has been administered have not been recorded, and this could lead to underlying medical conditions not being treated. No harm has come to any child or young person because of this, and the manager has plans in place to address this shortfall.

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

Children and young people know how to complain. The number of complaints has been very low. One young person was able to explain to the inspectors how to make a complaint. The complaints process is explained in the children’s and young people’s guide. A link is available in the guide so that a child or young person can scan with a smartphone and communicate directly with the manager. Information is also available to explain how to complain to other professionals. This ensures that children and young people can feel confident to report any concerns they may have to the right person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Inspection report children’s home: 2483718 4 The manager is inspirational, experienced and well organised. Standards of individualised care for children and young people are high. The manager’s commitment and motivation are shared by a team which has a focus on delivering the best possible outcomes for the children and young people in its care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home was opened in November 2018, and there is evidence that the staff have received thorough pre-employment checks and a comprehensive induction. Supervision of staff takes place monthly; it is reflective and offers individual staff the opportunity to discuss the care that has been offered to children and young people. Training offered to staff goes beyond the mandatory expectations and delivers high-quality, research- and theory-based training to meet the individual needs of the children and young people who they care for. Staff members feel motivated and valued as a result. One member of staff commented, ‘I love working here. It’s a nice place; the atmosphere is lovely. It doesn’t feel like a children’s home, it feels like home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Safeguarding is discussed at each supervision session and in staff meetings, which ensures that staff are given the chance to share any concerns about the welfare of children and young people, which can then be addressed quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The independent person’s report does not routinely contain the views of parents and other professionals about the standard of care being offered by the home. Additionally, the report does not always evidence that health and safety records have been monitored. No children or young people have been harmed, and inspectors were satisfied that health and safety checks have been undertaken by the manager. However, the independent person’s report is an important tool to enable the monitoring of how well the home promotes children’s and young people’s well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and his staff have developed excellent working relationships with other agencies. One professional said, ‘The home is great, very supportive of the reintegration plan… Excellent communication. I receive daily text messages to advise me of any issues for [name] to assist in continuity of care. They are very switched on.’ These relationships ensure that children and young people receive a consistent approach from the adults who care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager knows the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Where there are areas for development, the manager has robust plans in place to address these. Continuous monitoring and development by the manager ensure that the home provides the best possible care for children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: 2483718 5

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

Helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (2) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting upon feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(g) and (2)(h)) 12/07/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. In particular, ensure that the reason why non-prescription medication is administered has been recorded. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15) Inspection report children’s home: 2483718 6

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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: 2483718 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Beaumont Accountancy Services, Enterprise House 202-206, Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, Yorkshire TS1 3QW

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Inspector(s)

Mark Proffitt, social care inspector Rachel Holden, HMI Inspection report children’s home: 2483718 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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