Children's home run by Care Focus Limited in Mid Suffolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC047894 1 SC047894 Registered provider: Care Focus 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 home is one of a group run by an independent provider. The children’s home specialises in the care of girls aged 11 to 18. The children have experienced trauma. They often have complex social backgrounds and show through behaviour that they experience significant emotional difficulties. All are at risk of, or have experienced, child sexual exploitation and/or going missing from care.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager took up post in November 2017 and registered with Ofsted in 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC047894 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/04/2018 Full Good 05/07/2017 Full Good 20/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC047894 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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)) 01/10/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36) In particular, facilitate debriefings following every floor hold.  Ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) In particular, provide appraisals for waking night staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC047894 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is individualised. Children make excellent progress from their starting points and develop life skills to help them to prepare for next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Every day is well planned and structured. The provider ensures that the staff’s approach with the children is based on the principles of social pedagogy. This helps the children to feel valued and helps the staff and the children to quickly develop positive relationships. Every child has access to and receives individual therapeutic support. This additional assistance is enabling. It helps to improve mental health and build resilience and helps the children to understand the reasons that they live at this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have previously been excluded from school or have missed significant periods of their education are regularly attending school and are learning. The care staff frequently support children in the classroom, which is located in the home. Some children sit GCSEs. Children are encouraged to write a curriculum vitae, to make applications for college and to think about their skills, interests and future employability. One child has a paper round. All of this helps to improve prospects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from taking part in a plethora of stimulating activities at the home and in the local community, such as gymnastics, climbing, and attending scouts. These activities encourage children to have fun and to take age-appropriate risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work very positively with other agencies. Communication is clear and transparent. Local authority social workers see the progress that their children make and acknowledge that the staff go over and above to offer help. A placing social worker said, ‘As well as helping our child, the staff offer support to the family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly see or speak with their family, in line with their local authority plan. This helps children to maintain their identify and to rebuild significant relationships. A parent said, ‘My daughter has been transformed. I think that the staff are amazing.’

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

Children feel safe. They share any issues, worries or concerns quickly. The staff, managers and leaders respond positively.

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

Every child has regular opportunity to have their say about the running of the home. Regular community meetings and routine family mealtimes ensure that there are several points of contact across the week for discussion, conversation and sharing of ideas and opinions. The manager makes time regularly to be with the children, to seek their views and to hear feedback about the running of the home.

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

Staff treat children with kindness and respect. They do a good job to manage conflict Inspection report children’s home: SC047894 5 appropriately and to maintain supportive dialogue when the children are in crisis. Incidents have decreased, and the use of physical intervention has reduced significantly. However, records show that there is not a consistent approach to facilitating debriefing on every single occasion of physical intervention and, in particular, when a ground hold is used. This does not ensure that there is enough scrutiny to ensure that the measure is proportionate.

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

The staff, leaders and managers have high expectations of the children and are proud of their individual achievements. A structured points system underpins the approach to behaviour management. Incentives, targets and rewards are highly effective in helping children to make good choices and to modify their behaviour.

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

The risk to children who have significant histories of concern has substantially reduced. For example, children do not go missing. Nonetheless, because of the children’s histories, staff are prepared, and grab bags are within immediate reach should staff need to leave to pursue a child. The children see the grab bags and are fully aware of the expectation on staff. The children said that the way in which the home is organised reduces the likelihood of them attempting to go missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2018. She is undertaking a relevant level 5 diploma. She works closely with senior managers to ensure that each child receives good support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been some turnover in staff since the last inspection. Many of the new staff are new to working in social care. However, this has had a minimal impact on the current children, who are settled and established. Few staff have a required level 3 qualification, but some have been enrolled and are working towards it. Nonetheless, two staff have not achieved a level 3 qualification within the required time frame. This regulation is repeated from the last inspection, as not all staff are suitably qualified to fulfil their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a structured induction that includes two days of therapeutic training that is delivered by the provider. This training helps the staff to understand the provider’s aims and objectives. All staff access a range of training and additional learning opportunities. Currently, the provider is seeking accreditation with the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. For some staff, the manager seeks feedback from the children to contribute to the staff member’s annual appraisal. However, for other staff, the frequency of annual appraisal is inconsistent. This does not ensure that the manager maintains oversight of every staff member’s continued suitability to fulfil their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a very good relationship with each of the children. She has the support of the staff team and she is in regular discussion with the teaching staff, who come daily to the home during school term time. The home is consistently represented at children’s local authority review meetings. This ensures that staff understand the context to Inspection report children’s home: SC047894 6 children’s plans. The managers and leaders are good advocates for the children and work well with placing authorities to help to prepare children for their futures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Using embedded systems, the managers and leaders monitor and track individual children’s progress. Adjustments made to plans ensure that the placement remains individualised and focused on achieving positive outcomes to help children progress towards success in independence.

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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: SC047894 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3rd Floor, 24 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4YX

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Inspectors

Rosie Davie, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC047894 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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