Children's Home run by Roundhouse Care in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC425859 1 SC425859 Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Ltd

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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, which is operated by a private provider, is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have social and/or emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by an experienced manager who registered with Ofsted in February 2011.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 December 2019

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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: 20 November 2018

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC425859 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2018 Full Good 01/03/2018 Full Good 23/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC425859 3

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Recommendation

 The registered person must appoint the independent person and is ultimately responsible for making sure that an appointment does not give rise to a conflict of interest that would, or would appear to, compromise the ability of that person to reach a rigorous and impartial judgement of the quality of that home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.6) This is in relation to the regulation 44 reports not being submitted in a timely way .

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive excellent care from dedicated and passionate staff who are child- centred in their practice. This means that children with complex and challenging needs have made and sustained exceptional progress from their starting points. For example, one child no longer requires one-to-one support, she is more confident and is able to express how she is feeling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy trusted and very secure relationships with staff. The staff have worked at the home for many years and provide the children with stability and consistency. Children thrive on this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff provide children with support to manage their feelings and explore alternative ways to regulate their emotions. Staff have an excellent understanding of children’s emotional difficulties and apply research-informed practice to help children through their difficulties. For example, an approach which incorporates playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy is fully embedded in staff practice. This allows children to be able to develop a safe and secure base from which they can make sense of their frustrations and work through their difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from a registered manager and staff team who know the children very well. Staff are nurturing and loving and when children move on from the home they have been supported to do so in a very positive way. Well-managed transitions help to reassure children and ensure that they are well prepared for their next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff work with children in accordance with their individual needs and abilities. For example, staff have helped one child with breaking down his daily routine and offering regular prompts. His daily planner is in a visual format and staff have translated this excellent communication practice to children’s meetings. As a result, he is now able to take an active part in these meetings. This exceptionally personalised care enables children to make excellent progress and fully participate in the Inspection report children’s home: SC425859 4 day-to-day running of the home and in more complex decisions about their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children attend a wide range of social and community-based activities, which reflect their interests. Children look forward to their regular activities, such as going to a local disco and youth club and Guides. They also enjoy activities such as walking or day trips, which they do together with staff and their peers. This helps children to boost their confidence and self-esteem, while having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have very good working relationships with family members. Children are also encouraged to build and maintain friendships outside the home. As a result, children enjoy spending time with people who are important to them which is positive and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s achievements are celebrated. This includes attending their end-of-year prom, the pictures of which staff have proudly displayed in the home. The home is decorated and furnished to give it a very warm and welcoming feel. Children have access to communal and private spaces, with an extensive range of resources. Children and staff have painted artwork together and the artwork is displayed all around the home. This helps create a family and homely atmosphere for children. It also helps children to invest in their home and develop a sense of belonging.

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

The registered manager and staff have excellent relationships with other professionals to ensure that there are highly effective and well-managed plans in place for children for when they move into and on from the home. For children moving into the home, this means that staff quickly develop a comprehensive understanding of children’s known risks and behaviours and how to manage these well.

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

The registered manager and staff work exceptionally well to manage children’s challenging behaviours. They use research-informed practice to help children de-escalate their behaviours and find alternative, creative and effective ways to help children understand the concerns other people have about their behaviours. As a result, children learn from their actions, and incidents of challenging behaviour have reduced over time. For example, since the last inspection there have been no children who have gone missing from the home and very few incidents of physical intervention.

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

Staff have an excellent understanding of the home’s therapeutic model and apply this effortlessly. This provides children with consistent care, clear boundaries and a wealth of nurturing. Positive reinforcement and good use of praise and reward encourage children to make better choices about their behaviour. In addition, creative and logical consequences linked to children’s behaviour enable them to understand the impact that their behaviour can have on themselves and others.

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

Staff ensure that the home is maintained to a high standard. The registered manager’s assessment of the location of the home is very detailed and informative for staff. The health and safety assessments, including fire safety, are subject to regular and effective Inspection report children’s home: SC425859 5 monitoring. This means that children live in a safe home environment.

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

Very experienced, highly skilled and knowledgeable staff respond promptly and effectively to safeguarding and child protection issues. Staff keep on top of their learning to ensure that they are aware of current issues and legislation and can respond to issues appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has been managing the home since it opened in 2011 and the deputy manager has been working at the home since 2013. Both are very dedicated, experienced, hard-working, skilled and knowledgeable. They create a culture of high aspiration in the home and have high expectations of staff to provide excellent care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and deputy manager work very well together, are inspirational and ambitious and have improved the lives of children in their care. Both have an excellent understanding of the home’s strengths and needs and are committed to continued and ongoing development. This helps to maintain high-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are very skilled, knowledgeable and passionate about the children they care for. They have an excellent understanding of the home’s statement of purpose and therapeutic model; this is evident in their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are committed to continuous staff learning and development. Staff attend regular training to keep abreast of research and current national trends such as county lines and radicalisation. Recent investment by the provider for further therapeutic training for all staff will strengthen staff practice further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive reflective supervision. Supervision is also used to help staff to build on their therapeutic practice and to evidence how they use this to sustain positive outcomes for children. Staff feel valued and stated that they ‘love’ their job. This reflects the outstanding support staff receive from the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team members have excellent relationships with parents and partner agencies, including schools. This has led to high-quality care for children, has enhanced children’s experiences in the home and provides children with excellent prospects for the future. One social worker said, ‘It is possibly the best placement I have come across.’ A parent said that staff had ‘made a huge difference’ to their child’s life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has very efficient and thorough internal monitoring and review systems, which he uses to improve the quality of care to children. An independent person also visits the home each month and provides a report on what is working well and what may need to improve. Although the registered manager receives these reports, they have not been sent to Ofsted in a timely way. The registered manager has recently put in a more robust system to ensure that such delays do not happen again. Inspection report children’s home: SC425859 6

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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: SC425859 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roundhouse Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ventura House, Ventura Park Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire B78 3HL

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Inspector

Shazana Jamal, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC425859 8 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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