Children's home run by Headway Adolescent Resources Limited in Monmouthshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC470290 1 SC470290 Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources 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 six children‟s homes in south-west England and Wales operated by this private provider.  The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for no more than three children or young people who may have social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.  In addition to planned placements, the home may, subject to risk assessment, take children and young people who need to be placed in an emergency.  The manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2013.

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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: 11 September 2018

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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: SC470290 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2018 Full Good 03/10/2017 Full Good 01/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC470290 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 health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans; understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding; take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(2)(a) and (c))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that children who have unmet healthcare needs receive a prompt medical assessment, and ensuring that the staff receive any training required to meet these children’s needs. 15/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1) (a)-(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that risk assessments and placement plans are kept updated regularly. Risk assessments must include any recently identified health 30/09/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC470290 4 issues, with clear strategies to reduce the risk.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children are in full-time education whilst they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides an attractive and relaxing place for the children and young people to live. There is a large and well-kept garden, where one young person is using the greenhouse to grow fruit and vegetables for the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff, children and young people celebrate their activities together. Some children and young people recently enjoyed a beach holiday together with staff. The photographs around the home remind them of these happy memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage children and young people to enjoy good-quality time with their families. They are sensitive to children and young people’s acute awareness of being looked after and help them to understand that life within their families moves on. Staff show considerable empathy for the children and young people and understand why they sometimes exert control over their lives in unhelpful ways.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are helped to establish the skills they will need as they mature and prepare to move on from the home. As a result, older young people have clear plans for the future and understand what they need to do to achieve them. This has given those young people increased confidence, resilience and self-respect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children and young people are healthy and enjoy a well-balanced diet. They participate in cooking and one young person has cultivated fruit and vegetables for the home in the greenhouse. This is a very positive achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child, who was placed relatively recently, is choosing not to eat a healthy balanced diet. There is an urgent need to seek medical advice to safeguard this child’s health and well-being. Although he is currently refusing to see a doctor, the staff are aware of the child’s needs. They have made progress in persuading the child to attend some other Inspection report children‟s home: SC470290 5 health-related appointments, which is a step in the right direction.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has worked hard to engage the placing and host local authorities in making satisfactory arrangements for their children and young people’s education. The educational outcomes for one child, who is placed within his own local authority area, are very positive. However, two recently placed children and young people from out of county have had less positive educational outcomes. These children and young people receive 10 hours and three hours per week of home tutoring, which is not sufficient.

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

Risk is generally well managed in this home. For example, after a child climbed out of a window, restrictors were fitted to the window. However, these were removed as soon as the child showed that he could be trusted not to do this again.

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

One young person went missing several times in June and early July, but there have been no recent incidents. Staff followed clear protocols and escalated concerns appropriately at the time, to help keep him safe.

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

The registered manager sends notifications to Ofsted when necessary. There are very few incidents in the home and none which required notification. This meets the requirement set at the last full inspection.

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

The children and young people are happy and settled. There is no bullying. Some initial inappropriate behaviour when a new child was introduced to the home was managed well.

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

Excellent relationships between staff and the children and young people mean that even though this home accepts emergency placements of children and young people in crisis, careful matching and skilled individual work means that physical intervention is rarely necessary. Consequently, there have been no restraints since the last inspection.

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

The company has a good system in place for safe recruitment. There have been no child protection referrals since the last inspection, and the manager is clear about how to respond in the event of a disclosure. Health and safety are well managed and recorded to help protect children and young people from fire and other hazards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s experienced, qualified leaders and managers are ambitious for children and young people. They lead their dedicated team to achieve high standards of child-centred practice, and monitor the children and young people’s progress to help them to reach their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children and young people are matched carefully, and if it becomes apparent that the Inspection report children‟s home: SC470290 6 home cannot meet an individual’s s needs, the registered manager identifies this quickly and works with the local authority to review the placement. This enables the child or young person to move on in a positive way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals value the fact that the home has had a consistent staff team over a sustained period. This has helped staff to build relationships with the children and young people. Professionals also value the fact that staff do not readily give up on children and young people, even during very difficult periods.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and good-quality training, with annual appraisals to help them to make progress in their work. The team meets monthly with the home’s clinical psychologist. These meetings help the staff to focus on specific practice points and to work with the children and young people creatively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a very good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Consequently, the home is well run and carefully maintained. Any maintenance problems are actioned quickly, to ensure that the children and young people’s physical environment is pleasant and attractive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a well-constructed statement of purpose and children’s guide, which describe the service provided in an accurate and readable format. This enables children, young people and professionals to understand how the home operates and how they can raise any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a diverse, well-qualified and well-trained staff team. As there are newly emerging concerns about one child’s specific health and dietary needs, the team would benefit from further training in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s records are generally good, but the placement plans and risk assessments should be updated as circumstances change. For example, one child’s risk assessment had not been updated with clear risks which have arisen since he was placed at the home, and his placement plan contained some out-of-date contact information. A requirement has been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s leaders and managers have excellent relationships with local schools and other agencies. When there are barriers to communication, for example when children’s social workers are absent for a long period of time, the manager escalates concerns through the local authority’s management structure. This is not always effective, so during the inspection the registered manager was advised to contact the local authority commissioners to establish consent for important work to take place with a child.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC470290 7 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: SC470290 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Masonic Hall Offices, School Hill, Chepstow, Gwent NP16 5BZ

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Inspector

Heather Chaplin, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC470290 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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