Children's home run by River Valley Care Limited in South Oxfordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: 1214396 1 Registered provider: River Valley Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to two children who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 2019 and holds her level 5 qualifications in leadership and management.

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: 23 October 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1214396 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/10/2018 Full Good 22/11/2017 Full Good 05/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1214396 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

p.3

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure.

p.3

Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one young person has moved into independent living. His social worker told the inspector that he was at the home for 16 months. During this time, he thrived educationally, emotionally, physically and independently. This was the most settled he had ever been.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite staff working hard to try to help young people to do well in their education, education outcomes are varied. For example, one young person is flourishing in his Inspection report children‟s home: 1214396 4 education placement on a farm. However, another young person is struggling to engage in school.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to aspire and to achieve their individual goals. Consequently, young people are ambitious.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are helped to make lifelong memories. For example, staff have made it possible for one young person to be able to travel on an aeroplane for the first time.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help young people to stay in touch with their families and friends. For example, staff will collect family members from the local train station and drive them to the home. As a result, young people sustain important relationships with people who are important to them.

p.4

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

Young people are safe and protected from harm. Young people do not go missing from home and with help from staff are able to reflect on the positive changes they have made to staying safe since moving into the home .

p.4

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

Staff receive training on safeguarding. This includes acquiring knowledge about risks associated with radicalisation, extremism and child sexual exploitation and about the „Prevent‟ duty.

p.4

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

Staff are good at identifying antecedents to young people’s challenging behaviours. This helps staff to use diversion techniques to distract young people and to help them to refocus their attention. Consequently, staff rarely use physical restraint. However, when physical restraint is necessary the records do not show that staff have received a debrief within the necessary timescale . This is a missed opportunity to help staff to reflect on their practice.

p.4

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

Young people live in a safe and secure environment. There are effective health and safety systems in place. These measures help to ensure that young people‟s safety is not compromised.

p.4

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

When appointing new staff, the registered manager has not consistently followed safe recruitment practice. For example, not enough checks are carried out to find out the reason a person left their previous employment when they had worked with children and/or vulnerable adults.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has clear aspirations that help to ensure that young people continue to make progress in all areas of their development. Inspection report children‟s home: 1214396 5 A strength of the registered manager is the way in which she helps her staff to write child-centred reports. These reports help young people to understand their journey and the reasons why staff have to take certain action to keep them safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a range of training courses to help to develop their knowledge, skills and professional practice.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses reflective supervision to help her staff to understand their individual strengths and areas for development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are complimentary about each other and about the level of support that they receive from the registered manager and responsible individual.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are equally complimentary about the level of communication that they receive from the staff. This good communication ensures that young people receive the right help at the right time.

p.5

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: 1214396 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: River Valley Care Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Stables, Chestnut Farm, Cuxham, Watlington, Oxfordshire OX49 5ND

p.6

Inspector

Louise Battersby, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1214396 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 children looked after, 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