Children's home run by Central Bedfordshire Council in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 1 SC391464 Registered provider: Central Bedfordshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and operates this setting. The service provides care for up to eight children who have a learning difficulty and who may also have a physical disability. The premises are organised into three living areas: short breaks, permanent placements and a self-contained flat. The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in June 2016.

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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: 12 February 2019

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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: SC391464 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2019 Full Good 30/08/2017 Full Good 12/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 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 ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child is instigated or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 31/10/2019

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Recommendations

 As set out in Regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) In particular, undertake overseas checks when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built trusting relationships with the staff during their short breaks and in their residential placements. Children have the opportunity to spend time with their friends and take part in activities in a safe, caring, learning environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s individual communication needs. They gain children’s views in Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 4 several ways, including the use of symbols. The staff recognise subtle communication cues from non-verbal children, which enable them to act on children’s wishes and feelings. This was observed throughout the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regularly reviewed, individualised, child-centred placement plans guide the staff effectively to work with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place emphasis on children attending education. The staff work closely with local education providers to support children to attend and transition to and from school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide variety of activities at the home and in the community. The activities are tailored to children’s individual needs and abilities to ensure that they benefit from a range of opportunities. Staff gain feedback from children to ensure that children have enjoyed the activity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s achievements. The staff record children’s achievements and add to each child’s memory book that children can take with then when they leave.

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

Staff give the children the structure and routines that they need to provide them with consistency and help them to feel safe.

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

Due to some children’s limited understanding, staff rarely use sanctions. Instead, staff regularly praise and reinforce positive behaviours to help children understand when they have behaved well.

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

Staff have undertaken training in safeguarding, including safeguarding disabled children. They have a good understanding of who to report concerns to. The manager dealt well with two safeguarding concerns. However, these concerns were not notified to Ofsted. Failure to notify Ofsted prevents Ofsted from having timely oversight of safeguarding concerns and outcomes.

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

Children have comprehensive individual risk assessments. These are reviewed regularly and updated after an incident, which supports the staff to work consistently and to keep children safe.

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

Children do not go missing from this service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working between the manager and professionals is effective. As a result, the manager and other professionals involved in the care of the children share information between them, which enables them to work in the best interest of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have undertaken the organisation’s mandatory training. The staff either hold or are working towards a relevant level 3 qualification within the required timescale. Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 5 The manager has sought information from external agencies to inform the location risk assessment and has included ways in which risks can be mitigated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that supervision helps them to reflect on their practice. However, not all staff have had regular supervision to support them to work with the children and develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The local authority undertakes recruitment checks and verifies references. However, for staff who have lived or worked abroad, there have been no overseas checks. This shortfall means that the suitability of some new staff is not fully explored and checked.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection.

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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: SC391464 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Central Bedfordshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, Central Bedfordshire SG17 5TQ

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Inspector

Trish Palmer: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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