Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC067757 1 SC067757 Registered provider: Benjamin UK Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children aged between 12 and 18 years.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 1 April 2019.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC067757 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/04/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/05/2017 Full Good 11/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC067757 3

p.2

Recommendations

 It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

New children moving into the home do so in a planned way. Prior to moving in they are offered the opportunity to visit and/or spend time with the staff and the registered manager to hear what it’s like to live there. This includes being given the rules and boundaries of the home, to ensure that new children know what is expected of them. This approach helps to relieve children’s fears and anxieties.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have created a warm and nurturing environment that children refer to as their home. Children grow up in an atmosphere where they feel valued and respected. Staff treat them as individuals and strike a good balance between the children’s need for independence and privacy and keeping them safe. As a result, the children are given the freedom to learn important life skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take a keen interest in children’s lives and routinely discuss how children plan to spend their time. Staff actively encourage them to build and sustain friendships in and out of the home. As a result of the trust that exists between staff and children, along with agreed guidelines being put in place, children can meet their friends online and in the community. This has helped children to develop their independence, confidence and self-esteem.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff benefit from regular input from the therapy team. Child-focused meetings and direct work with children are used effectively. For example, guidance is provided to staff, and help is provided to children to prepare them for the future, both practically and emotionally. This has led to positive moves for children to semi- independent living.

p.3

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

Since the last inspection, there has been a very proactive response to keeping children safe. This followed a short period of time when children were being bullied. While the staff were monitoring the situation, there was a delay in dealing with this in a more formal way. The registered manager has learned lessons from this, and new processes Inspection report children’s home: SC067757 4 and staff training mean that if this were to occur again, issues would be dealt with more quickly.

p.3

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

Staff’s understanding and management of risk have improved greatly. All children now have clear plans in place to guide staff practice. In addition to this, the registered manager has developed new forms to make this information more accessible to staff.

p.4

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

Over the past year, there has been a significant reduction in incidents of children going missing from the home, as well as a reduction in the number of incidents requiring police involvement. The staff have worked hard with the children to help them learn how to change their behaviour and get them to engage in more positive activities. As a result, children are generally settled and have responded well to the support and advice from staff.

p.4

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

Children are encouraged to take age-appropriate risks. Several of the children have expressed an interest in riding a moped or motorcycle and therefore have been supported to do the compulsory basic training course first. Children have also used money they have earned from the incentive scheme to purchase the appropriate safety clothing. This ensures that children will be able to ride safely on their own while practising for a full test.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very committed to developing the home. He is continually looking for ways to improve the quality of care provided and has already made significant improvements over the past year. His collaborative approach has motivated the staff to work together and put the needs of the children first, so that everyone feels like one big family.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior managers have worked hard to address staff’s gaps in knowledge by providing a range of additional training and interventions. These improvements are evident in staff’s practice, both in terms of their direct work with children and in written records. As a result, all children have made progress and benefit from long-term, stable placements.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff, including managers, benefit from regular support and training. Supervision and appraisal meetings provide an opportunity to discuss career development. This has enabled some more experienced staff to move to more senior roles recently. However, records of these meetings do not consistently evidence the quality of these discussions and on occasion lack clear aims and objectives.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have effective working relationships with a range of external professionals. This includes the local police, who maintain regular contact with the staff and children. The communication and information sharing are managed sensitively. As a result, the police show great understanding of the children’s vulnerabilities and work together with staff to ensure that they are treated fairly.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a significant reduction in complaints from neighbours over the past year. Inspection report children’s home: SC067757 5 The registered manager has worked hard to improve relations and is very keen to maintain these relationships. Children are also supported to be considerate and understand the impact of negative behaviour on the community.

p.4

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.

p.5

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: SC067757 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Church Farm House, Station Road, Aldbury, Tring HP23 5RS

p.6

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Deysel

p.6

Inspector

Amanda Harvey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC067757 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7