Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Barnsley

Inspection report children’s home: SC363630 1 SC363630 Registered provider: Castle Homes 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

The home is operated by a private company. The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children or young people whose life experience means that they may have social and/or emotional problems.

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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: 20 February 2019

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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: SC363630 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2019 Full Outstanding 23/05/2017 Full Outstanding 02/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC363630 3

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Recommendations

 Managers are responsible for proactively sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, the home would benefit from recording staff supervision sessions and team meetings in a way that demonstrates their role in the delivery of children’s placements plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children who live in this home have continued to receive a very high standard of care since the time of the last inspection. They are offered a settled and stable home environment in which to grow up. They evidently benefit from strong and resilient personal relationships that staff build with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children have poor past experiences and communication can be challenging as a result, but the home’s staff group is tenacious in supporting them and helping them to feel secure. This enables them to build their confidence and to make good progress socially. At the time of the inspection, the children were on school summer holiday and enjoying a wide range of outings and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A particularly sensitive aspect of life at the home recently has been the management of complex family contact arrangements, both practically and because of their emotional impact on the children. The home has managed these arrangements extremely well. This enables the children to relax and enjoy their contact with parents or wider family group, knowing that they are being safely supported by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A particularly strong aspect of the home’s practice is its detailed record keeping, though minutes from team meetings could focus more on children’s progress. This enables staff to take a consistent approach to caring for the children, which is highly valued by the children. One social worker who works in close partnership with the home described it as: ‘amazing!’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

As a result of the committed and dedicated care the children receive, they have made exceptional progress from their starting points educationally. The children have excellent levels of attendance and attainment, and recently completed some of their GCSEs a year early. Inspection report children’s home: SC363630 4

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

Since the last inspection, the home has made significant further progress. Strong personal relationships have developed between the staff and the children who live there. The improved relationships and trust between the staff and the children means that safeguarding incidents have reduced to zero.

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

There have been no missing-from-home episodes since the last inspection. There is no evidence that the children are at risk of criminal exploitation. The children are increasingly aware of the need to keep themselves safe, including online, as a result of the excellent relationships and the interventions that staff have used to work with the children. This is exceptional progress.

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

There have been a very small number of sanctions due to negative behaviour. The staff have worked hard with the children, and as a result they are generally well behaved. The children are not bullies, nor are they bullied.

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

Two staffing matters have been appropriately brought to the attention of the local authority’s designated officer, and the home acted correctly in reporting them. The home’s manager is proud of the part that staff whistleblowing played in identifying and dealing with inappropriate behaviour by former members of staff towards vulnerable children. It demonstrates that there is an appropriate culture of safeguarding in the home.

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

Given the children’s previous life experiences, the absence of safeguarding notifications is testimony to the very high level of trust that the children have in the home’s staff group.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a highly experienced and long-standing registered manager who is suitably qualified. The manager ambitious for children and has high expectations of her staff who benefit from her learning. The children are pushed to achieve the very best and receive very individualised care. The manager embodies the child-centered ethos and values of the home. At the time of the inspection, a new deputy manager had been appointed from within the company. The new deputy is also a qualified manager and a very experienced childcare practitioner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has a stable staff group. This means that the children can settle here and form strong bonds and relationships, which are key to delivering the home’s excellent practice. The manager has also formed strong working relationships with other professionals to ensure they receive the best care. The manager and the staff team provide the right supportive environment for children to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When new members of staff do join, they are recruited safely and offered a comprehensive induction package to ensure that they are fully familiar with, and able to Inspection report children’s home: SC363630 5 provide, the home’s high standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are offered a comprehensive training programme, and this can be tailored to meet their specific learning needs, which can be identified either through supervision or annual appraisal. Staff meet regularly as a team to ensure that information is effectively shared. Records of supervision sessions and of staff meetings would benefit from being less of an update of, and opinion on, the children’s recent behaviour, and more of a check on their progress against planned outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager understands the home’s strength and weaknesses and has a desire for the home to continuously improve. The registered provider employs independent visitors who visit regularly under regulation 44. The manager is committed to learning from their reports, where appropriate. One example is in how the home captures the children’s positive comments, which can often be made casually. The manager ensures that feedback from children promotes learning for the staff team. The children’s wishes and feelings are integral to the way the home is run.

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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: SC363630 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Armstrong

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Inspector

Ian Young: HMI Inspection report children’s home: SC363630 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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