Children's home run by Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report children’s home: SC434520 1 SC434520 Registered provider: Prestige Adolescent Care and Education 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

A private company operates this home. The home provides care for up to four young people who have social and emotional difficulties. The company has its own therapeutic team. The manager has been registered since 2011 and is suitably qualified.

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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 good

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC434520 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2019 Full Outstanding 31/08/2017 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC434520 3

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Recommendations

 Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

This is in relation to ensuring that any practices, such as removing televisions and the use of bedroom door alarms, are risk assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain necessary.

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

This is in relation to ensuring that risk assessments are simplified and contain only relevant risk information.

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Recommendations

 When establishing the home, the registered person must ensure that it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Recommendations

This is in relation to ensuring that when the manager reviews the home’s location risk assessment that he seeks feedback from relevant professionals. Inspection report children’s home: SC434520 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The same four young people have remained at the home since the last inspection in March 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager’s and staff’s dedication and skill mean that young people receive a consistently high standard of care. As a result, the young people have continued to make excellent progress in all aspects of their lives, including their education, health and well- being, as well as enjoying positive experiences. Examples of progress include two young people gaining qualifications and building their independence skills and young people becoming more outgoing, confident and proud of their own achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have high aspirations for young people and believe that they can achieve their potential. All young people are receiving education and have made significant progress from their starting points. One young person has started a college course and another an apprenticeship programme.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people have excellent relationships with a stable and committed staff team. Consequently, young people thrive physically, emotionally and socially. One young person told the inspector that they do not want to leave the home. Another young person described the staff as ‘always having my back, they always listen to me and fight my corner’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people participate in a variety of activities, which improves their self-esteem and confidence. For example, young people attend local clubs, such as scouts, and go horse- riding. One young person is exploring doing driving lessons. Young people develop particularly good independence skills that prepare them well for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff work closely with other agencies to ensure that young people are fully prepared and supported when they are ready to move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young people’s home is highly personalised. For example, there are photos of young people displayed across the home. Young people’s bedrooms are personalised, and all aspects of the home are maintained to an extremely high standard.

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

Young people are safe and feel safe in the home. Young people have positive relationships with one another and with the staff team. Inspection report children’s home: SC434520 5 Staff rarely use physical intervention. Instead, they focus on de-escalation of young people’s behaviour. All staff have an excellent understanding of the issues that young people face. As a result, there are minimal incidents. On the rare occasion there is an incident or safeguarding concern, staff respond swiftly to ensure that young people are kept safe.

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

Staff apply consistently clear routines and boundaries, and this means that young people understand what is expected of them. One young person told the inspector, ‘Staff always explain things to me in a way that I understand.’ The staff team has continued to work closely with the therapist to ensure that approaches to managing young people’s difficulties are considered and well thought out.

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

Young people do not go missing from the home. Young people are invested in the home and appreciate the care and support that they receive. The positive relationships that staff have with young people mean that they can recognise and respond quickly to changes in behaviour and offer additional support. As a result, behaviour rarely escalates.

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

The thorough selection and vetting procedures that take place during staff recruitment ensure that young people are cared for by safe adults.

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

Risk assessments are in place and reviewed regularly; however, some are overly complicated, which distracts from key risk issues. This does not compromise the safety of young people as staff know them very well.

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

There are some practices in the home, such as removing televisions from young people’s bedrooms each night and the use of bedroom door alarms, that are not assessed and reviewed regularly. The removal of televisions is not recorded as a sanction. These shortfalls have not adversely affected young people and the registered manager took steps during the inspection to remedy the shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is highly innovative and is respected by staff, young people and partner agencies. Young people achieve excellent outcomes because of the registered manager’s attention to detail and the motivation of the staff team. He fully understands each young person’s presenting needs and how to achieve the best outcomes. The manager’s consistent leadership inspires staff and the young people to want to be the best that they can.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is highly motivated to enrich the care experience of young people and to prepare them for tackling the next stage of their lives with confidence and competence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The longevity of the stability of the staff team is a major factor in the outstanding outcomes for the young people. Staff feel well supported. Regular supervision, team meetings and annual appraisals ensure that staff remain skilled to fulfil their roles. Inspection report children’s home: SC434520 6 Staff access a wide variety of training. As a result, staff are well equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide excellent-quality care to young people. All staff have, or are working towards, the level 3 diploma in residential childcare, within the expected timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are confident and trusted by the registered manager, and this gives them freedom to explore creative and new ways of working with the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers maintain a firm grip on all aspects of the running of the home. The high quality of recording, as well as monitoring systems in place, enables careful scrutiny of the progress and safety of all the young people. The registered manager can, therefore, evidence young people’s significant progress and positive experiences.

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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: SC434520 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 90 King Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 1JB

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Inspector

Debbie Holder, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC434520 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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