Children's home run by Bramley Care Limited

Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 1 SC068272 Registered provider: Bramley Care 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 children’s home caters for children who have sexually harmful behaviours and who require specialist support. Every child must agree to engage with the home’s therapeutic services in order for them to come here. Education is provided at an on-site school run by the organisation. The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in December 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 19 December 2018

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/12/2018 Full Outstanding 29/11/2017 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 3

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Recommendations

 Children should have access to a computer and the internet to support their education and learning, unless there are specific safeguarding reasons why this would be inappropriate. In such cases, the home should consider whether and how it can support the child to access a computer and the internet safely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.19) In particular, the registered person should review whether the IT system’s safeguards impede children in their learning about how to manage safely their online life as adults.  The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for, such as missing or exploitation. They will also consider what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for their analysis and

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Recommendations

conclusions. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the home against every part of the Quality Standards every six months – registered persons should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4) In particular, the registered person should review whether their six-monthly report format supports the process outlined in the paragraph above. The

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Recommendations

registered person should also make any amendments they consider necessary. Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children talk about the excellent and continual progress that they make as a result of living here. One child said that the staff are ‘amazing at what they do to help children to change’. One social worker commented in a monitoring visit report, ‘I was impressed by the home, from the homely… surroundings to the atmosphere, the presentation of the young people and the warmth with which I was welcomed.’ Leaders and managers carefully ensure that the right children come to live here. The assessment process is reviewed after considering each new referral and changes are made to the process if necessary. Children are encouraged to support new children when they arrive. This helps children to understand how the home works soon after they come to live at the home. The strength of this introduction helps children to learn ‘traditions’, such as card games, so that they feel part of everyday life here as soon as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Many children told the inspector how much they value the ways that staff listen to them and include them in everything that happens. This has led to very positive results for children, especially those who previously felt that they had not been listened to. The staff make every effort to ensure that children’s voices are heard by them and by other professionals. This is a very positive aspect of the home. The collaborative, inclusive and respectful culture assists children to continually progress very well. A healthy lifestyle is promoted, and children’s health needs are sensitively managed. Where possible, referrals to health services are made before a child moves in so that these can be met as quickly as possible. Medication is managed well and there are good training standards. A member of staff must meet these standards before they can commence being responsible for administration. Children’s aspirations and education are promoted well. The staff support children to be

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

involved in activities which assist them to develop the appropriate skills for their future careers. Many of the children had chosen a career and were working toward achieving it. Some children had taken exams early and the results were very positive. Children learn everyday living skills in line with their needs and risks. It is positive that the IT security system prevents children accessing inappropriate sites and any attempts to access these are appropriately managed. However, the built-in access guards do not fully support young people to be able to increasingly manage their online lives when such levels of security are not available. The staff understand well children’s complexities and the need to support and sensitively help the families of the children who live here. Staff are very adept at assisting children to build and maintain these important relationships wherever possible. Decisions about when children leave the home are taken in partnership with children, and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

the staff plan for and support these changes well. Staff recognise and talk to each child about the opportunities and challenges they might face, and carefully reflect on the support that they provide. This assists children in ensuring that the change goes smoothly. Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 5

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

Children feel safe here. They develop their understanding of how to keep themselves, and others, safer. This is particularly relevant given the remit of the home, which is to support children who have harmful sexual behaviours. Staff know how to safeguard children and information about safeguarding concerns is generally maintained well. Staff have a wide range of knowledge about safeguarding matters and they are clear about the processes that they must follow if a safeguarding concern arises. There are good, well-documented chronologies about external agencies’ investigations into safeguarding concerns. However, at times the chronologies lack detail about all the decision-making processes and follow-up actions that managers have taken in respect of each safeguarding concern. This diminishes managers’ ability to monitor whether all the necessary steps have been followed. However, no deficits in practice were identified

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

during the inspection. Children respond well to the sensitive ways that the staff talk to them about difficult issues. The records about these discussions demonstrate that staff have a balanced approach, incorporating all areas of a child’s development, and that staff appropriately focus these discussions on what is currently most important to that child. Behaviour is managed well. The daily routines are inclusive. For example, daily meetings between all staff and children are used well to encourage open and honest discussions where mediation is an integral part of practice. Children rarely go missing. If children do go missing, staff manage these instances effectively. Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans are amended and reviewed if a child goes missing and staff take steps to understand the reasons for this behaviour. Children are welcomed back to the home and staff take appropriate action to

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

check their well-being. This approach has played a role in reducing the number of times a child goes missing and has supported long-term decisions about their care. The support from the service’s therapeutic service is integral to the overall care provided to children. Staff and therapists work together to support children well, increasing children’s ability to manage their emotions and develop resilience. One child said, ‘I now ignore people who tease me and I take myself away from difficult situations, so I do not get involved in other children’s behaviour.’ Recruitment practice is continually updated and reviewed so that the right safeguards are in place to ensure that children are cared for by appropriate adults. However, while the managers can describe how they made decisions about internal appointments, the records of how these decisions were made are not fully documented. Managers immediately

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

introduced changes in practice and procedures so that records demonstrate better the processes that have been followed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are clear about the high standards of care that they expect Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 6 children to receive, and this results in a well-led team that works proactively with children to meet their needs effectively. One member of staff said that she found managers to be calm and balanced. This inspired her to be the same. The leadership team understands and values links with external agencies and utilises these to improve practice. The team works with a range of professionals to understand current theory and practice guidance. For example, the leadership team works with an organisation which supports professionals to prevent sexual abuse. Leaders and managers know the home’s strengths and areas of development and continually look for improvement. Leaders are currently further improving admissions procedures, reviewing how well supervision meetings are recorded and developing

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

increasingly and more consistently strong and clear shift-leading. Leaders and managers monitor many areas of service provision effectively to ensure that the home continually operates at a high standard. For example, managers know whether all staff are completing their relevant qualifications in appropriate timescales. They carefully monitor staffing sufficiency to ensure that these adequately meet children’s needs. The managers’ six-monthly reports on the quality of the service cover all aspects of the home’s operation. However, the report format does not allow managers to focus on and undertake an in-depth analysis of areas which they consider to be important. This is a missed opportunity to further support continuous improvement. The independent visitor’s reports also do not consistently analyse issues in detail. The visitor’s reports provide good detail about what occurs for children, but the reports have

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

not highlighted the need to record more clearly how decisions about internal appointments are made. The registered manager has already identified that these reports need further improvement and is taking action to improve these. Staff supervision, appraisal and support are well organised and valued by all staff, including agency staff. Supervision is regular and identifies what staff do well and what should improve. Staff welcome the open approach that managers have in supporting their development and an open culture where challenge is valued. Staff have varied development opportunities, for instance some staff mentor others. Training records are detailed and are kept under regular review. Staff can say how their training has supported them to manage their responsibilities. For example, staff have a good understanding of equal opportunities and can say how this understanding is incorporated into their practice.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 7 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’.

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Children’s home details

Unique reference number: SC068272 Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 8 Provision sub-type: Children’s home

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bramley Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nicholas House, Riverfront, Enfield, Essex EN1 3FG

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Inspector

Ruth Coler, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC068272 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 in care, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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