Children's Home run by Amicus Residential Care Ltd in Reading

Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 1 SC059221 Registered provider: Causeway Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This small, privately owned home provides care for up to three children aged between 12 and 16 years on admission, for either short- or long-term placements. The children may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager originally registered with Ofsted in March 2007. She re-registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/10/2019 Full Good 31/10/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/04/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When moving in, the children generally settle well and enjoy an emerging sense of stability and security. Many of the children remain at the home for long periods of time and make good progress across all aspects of their lives. This can be partly attributed to the strong and trusting relationships they build with the care staff. One professional said that the child she supports sees his key worker at the home as a ‘surrogate mum’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of the relationships that children build with the staff becomes a strong protective factor. This is because the children trust the staff enough to tell them about any worries or fears they may have. They also tell them about behaviours they have engaged in that could potentially have put them at risk of harm. The staff respond appropriately when they become aware of any potential threats to a child’s well-being. This has resulted in one child accessing a specialist support service that he had previously chosen not to engage with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As a result of this good practice, children say they feel safe at the home and would not hesitate to speak to staff about any concerns. The children are given many opportunities to express their views, and key-work sessions are a particularly effective method of facilitating meaningful discussions. This is because they are informal and generally involve an element of having fun. The staff ensure that key- work sessions are focused on meeting the children’s needs and making progress on the targets they have agreed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager maintains good links with local education services and providers. Her tenacious approach ensures that all the children have adapted to their educational provision, despite the challenges they have previously experienced in other educational settings. Consequently, over time, the children make steady progress towards meeting their educational goals. One child has made significant progress in terms of being able to engage positively with teaching staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote a healthy lifestyle and take a sensitive approach to helping the children overcome any anxieties they may have regarding their health care needs. Children’s mental health needs are given equal priority, and effective planning has taken place to support children who have resorted to self-harming behaviours. Despite this good practice, there was one occasion when staff did not take swift and effective action in response to a child misusing a substance. However, the child was monitored and did not come to any harm because of this shortfall.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is an effective system for considering new referrals to the home. Detailed assessments consider the likely impact on those children already settled at the home. Consequently, the children generally get on well together. Children moving into the home are welcomed sensitively and their anxieties are quickly addressed. Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 4 One child told the inspector, ‘If I had known that being in care was like this, I would not have been so worried.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children follow a comprehensive independence skills programme as they move towards adulthood. This helps them prepare for semi-independent living, both in terms of acquiring practical skills and knowledge and dealing with the emotional impact of leaving care.

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

Practice relating to the safety and protection of children is consistently good. The children say they feel safe at the home, and they develop the trust and confidence to speak to the staff about any worries or concerns they may have. Over time, children who have previously been exposed to high-risk situations become safer because they respond positively to the advice and guidance provided by the staff.

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

There is an effective process for assessing and managing the children’s behaviours and associated risks. The risk assessments that are completed when a child moves into the home are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the child’s changing circumstances. Consequently, the staff have clear guidelines to follow whenever they perceive a child to be at risk of harm.

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

There has been a strong and effective response to children who go missing from the home. Well-established procedures are followed, and there is a coordinated effort to discover the child’s location at the earliest opportunity. Children learn about the potential risks they may face if they go missing from the home. One child said that he understood why the staff have been worried on the few occasions he has been missing. He also understood why they take the actions they do to get him back home as soon as possible.

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

Although the practice relating to missing-from-home incidents is strong, the associated reports sometimes do not contain all the known information. For example, one report failed to record the child’s whereabouts while he was missing, even though this had been confirmed.

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

The registered manager takes a proactive approach to engaging other agencies when there are known concerns for a child’s welfare. This has resulted in new and emerging risks being identified early and effective multi-agency safety planning taking place. The registered manager also liaises with external safeguarding professionals to ensure that her knowledge of local procedures is up to date.

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

Positive behaviour management planning is a strength at this home. There are clear strategies and guidelines for responding to each child’s specific behaviours. This ensures there is a consistent response to any challenging situations. One child has made significant progress in managing difficult emotions and their associated behaviours. Partly because of this consistently good practice, there have been no occasions since the last inspection when staff have had to use physical intervention to manage challenging situations. Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 5 Only one member of staff has been recruited since the last full inspection. Safe recruitment procedures underpinned the process, and effective analysis of the applicant’s suitability was undertaken before he was employed. The recruitment process would be further strengthened by including a question about any past criminal convictions on the application form.

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

Regular health and safety audits ensure that the children live in a safe environment. An externally commissioned fire risk assessment of the premises has been undertaken, and this has been reviewed annually by senior staff. However, the assessment has not been reviewed and updated by the external company since it was undertaken just over three years ago.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is very well managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. She provides strong leadership and oversees a stable team of committed care staff. Staff retention at the home is exceptional. No staff have left since the last full inspection. Collaborative teamworking is embedded in practice, and this ensures the children receive consistent levels of high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some members of the staff team are related to each other. Although this works well in practice, there is currently no policy or guidelines that could be referred to if a conflict of interest were to emerge. The registered manager acknowledges that it would be good practice to have a policy relating to this matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective systems for monitoring the quality of care being provided. All serious incidents are reviewed by the registered manager, and the children’s plans are continuously updated. These plans clearly state the aims of the child’s placement at the home and the targets that have been set to achieve these. Consequently, there are clear records of the progress children make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the records are well maintained, they are not consistently kept secure in locked cabinets. Children’s confidentiality also needs to be given greater consideration when staff communicate via a staff group social media application.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual maintains a strong presence in the home. This includes attending some staff meetings and working with the registered manager on reviewing and updating policies. This approach adds an extra layer of scrutiny of practice in the home and means that any shortfalls in the standards of care being provided are quickly identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an established culture of reflecting on practice and learning from significant events. One member of staff gave a clear account of how she had learned from an incident when better planning could have reduced the potential risks to the staff involved. This open and honest approach to reflecting on practice is indicative of a desire to continuously improve. Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 6 The registered manager is a strong advocate for the children. There have been occasions when she has questioned decisions made by other professionals, to achieve the best outcomes for the children. This has been achieved in a confident and professional manner and ensures good working relationships are maintained with partner agencies while the children’s needs are prioritised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are supported well in their role, and there are good opportunities for professional development. They receive regular supervision. The registered manager’s supervision is of a particularly high standard and has a strong focus on keeping the children safe. There is a good core training programme available to the staff, and nine of the 11 staff working at the home are fully qualified. However, there has not always been a strong enough focus on providing additional training specific to the needs of individual children. This particularly relates to a lack of training around substance misuse and child criminal exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to the children in their care. Their collective experience and skills combine to make this a home where children are safe and make good progress. Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 7

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that staff take effective action if they become aware that a child has abused a substance. 4 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring staff undertake training relevant to the individual needs of the children. 4 April 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home complies with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.). This is with specific reference to ensuring that the home’s fire risk assessment is reviewed and updated if necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15 paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that records are kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This is with specific reference to ensuring that records of missing-from- home episodes contain all known information about the incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46 paragraph 9.31) Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 8  The registered person should ensure that everyone working at the home understands their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to

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Recommendations

decide on their own initiative. There should be clear lines of accountability. This is with specific reference to ensuring there is a policy and guidelines for responding to any emerging conflict of interest. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54 paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. This is with specific reference to ensuring that the staff application form asks candidates whether they have any criminal convictions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61 paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure all children’s case records (regulation 36) are kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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 for children's home: SC059221 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Causeway Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 118B Oxford Road, Reading RG1 7NQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Humphries

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Inspector

Stephen Collett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC059221 10 to 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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