Children's home run by Active Ark Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 1 Registered provider: Active Ark 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 owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children or young people, irrespective of gender, who have social and emotional difficulties.

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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: 28 February 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/05/2018 Full Good 07/03/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 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

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 31/08/2019

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in the home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full time education as soon as possible. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child’s needs under regulations 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15) Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 4  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide

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Recommendations

to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, there is only one child living at this home. Her placing authority had been seeking a secure placement to meet her needs. However, since her move to this home her risk-taking behaviour has significantly reduced to the point where she no longer requires a secure placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although staff share very positive relationships with this child, they have also had several challenges recently that they have dealt with effectively. Good placement planning has helped staff have a clear understanding of the child’s needs and how these are to be met. A police officer commented, ‘Staff have dealt with situations professionally, used their own initiative and contacted us before things have escalated.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to contribute her views and make choices about her day-to-day living arrangements in the home. Staff have helped her to meet with an advocate to support her voice being heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are appropriately met. This includes arranging attendance for routine health checks and maintaining a physically active lifestyle and a healthy diet. The child enjoys shopping with staff and being involved in baking and cooking at the home. Staff praise her efforts and she is proud of her achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite being in placement for nearly eight months, the young person is not attending a local school and not engaging in alternative home tuition offered. This has not been robustly challenged. Consequently, the delay in securing a more permanent solution is hindering her from making significant progress in education. However, the placing authority’s virtual headteacher commented, ‘The manager and staff have been proactive in looking for alternatives to support her learning.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of their role in promoting the child’s learning. They have successfully encouraged her to engage in and complete some accredited vocational learning. They have also supported her to work on developing her independence skills. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 5 This has positively contributed to her confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote family contact effectively. This has included transporting the child to family and friends in her home area and supporting those visits. In addition, because the child is the only one at the home, the manager has facilitated the option for family members to stay at the home for weekend visits. This has been beneficial to the child who is able to spend good-quality time with her parents and sibling.

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

Staff prioritise the child’s safety and have been effective in helping her to manage and reduce aggressive and self-harming behaviours. Risk assessments are comprehensive and provide staff with the guidance needed to keep the child safe.

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

Overall, professionals who were consulted during this inspection were confident about staff’s ability to protect the child. A youth offending team worker commented, ‘I can’t fault them on the support they have given her. They revisit her safety plan regularly. She is safe there.’

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

Staff have worked in good cooperation with the police to protect the child who arrived at this home with a history of missing episodes. They anticipated a recent increase in missing episodes and effectively implemented a safety plan, identifying actions to prevent and minimise further episodes. This met with guidance provided for staff in the home’s missing child policy. A police officer commented, ‘Staff are doing everything they can. Overall, she’s not going missing as much.’

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

Independent return interviews do not occur after every missing episode and, when they do, delays are usually incurred. Despite the manager raising her concern about this with the placing authority, the home is still experiencing difficulties in organising and completing these within the required timescale. This means that a valuable opportunity to acquire information that may be helpful in reducing the likelihood of further episodes is missed or delayed.

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

Recruitment practice was not sufficiently rigorous in one isolated case for managers to be certain of the applicant’s good conduct. Although checks were made with the Disclosure and Barring Service and references from previous employers obtained, further checks and references for periods while the applicant was working abroad were not made. This shortfall in practice does not appear to have affected the standard of care provided in this home. However, it is a deviation from the home’s usual good standard of safer recruitment practice

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since August 2017, when this home was first registered with Ofsted. She is working towards a suitable leadership and management qualification and is on track to complete this later this year. She strives to achieve the very best outcomes for children. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 6 Staffing of the home consists of a small core team that is supported by staff shared across other homes within the group. This is sufficient to meet the needs of the child currently placed and to maintain a good continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the manager has successfully acted on all previous requirements and recommendations made. Most significantly, this has resulted in an overall improvement in the home’s internal and external monitoring arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager values the knowledge and experience she is gaining from the home’s external scrutiny. She is responsive to advice given and using this positively to inform and develop her own internal monitoring processes. Consequently, she is showing greater skill and confidence in evaluating practice and understanding how this is contributing to children’s outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands and promotes the principles of working together practice. Good relationships exist between the home and a wide range of agencies and professionals. Communication is frequently described as ‘good’, and staff as ‘very helpful’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoken to during this inspection said that they enjoy their work. They feel supported by their manager and staff colleagues. They have regular supervision, staff meetings and frequent opportunities to attend training. This promotes individual staff professional development and ensures that care practice meets the standards expected in the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Significant events involving children living at the home are routinely reported to Ofsted, but not always within the required timescale. These delays somewhat reduce the otherwise good transparency that exists between the home and Ofsted.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 7 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Active Ark, Unit E, Baron Way, Kingmoor Business Park, Carlisle CA6 4SJ

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Inspector

Gillian Walters, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1263126 9 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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Inspector

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