Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 1 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to six children, irrespective of gender. It provides short-term placements, with a therapeutic outdoor activity-based response, for children in crisis.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been registered since May 2017. The manager, who registered with Ofsted in February 2020, is suitably experienced and qualified with a level 5 leadership and management qualification in residential care.

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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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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: 5 November 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2019 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Good 21/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 3

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outstanding

Children make demonstrable progress in all aspects of their lives relative to their starting points. For some children, the home has been able to offer longer-term care, nurturing children and enabling them to find the stability their lives lacked.

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outstanding

Staff actively engage with children to understand and encourage new interests. Staff demonstrate high aspirations for their children, particularly those living in the home long term, and actively support these. For example, staff have been proactive in helping one child secure an apprenticeship in landscaping, in which he has a keen interest. He is very proud of his achievements, and this has massively improved his confidence and self-esteem.

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outstanding

Children are encouraged to attend school if living at the home for a prolonged period. In addition, multiple taster sessions of activities help children to engage safely in a wide range of activities to determine potential new interests. Because of this, children learn the benefits of teamwork and improve their confidence and self- esteem. Children can gain vocational awards through these activities, and this helps create a great sense of achievement of which children and professionals are proud.

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outstanding

Children value their relationships with staff and enjoy taking part in the wide range of adventurous activities the home can offer. These regularly include fell-walking, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking and caving. One social worker commented: ‘[Child’s name] is making excellent progress. The home has opened up avenues he wouldn’t have previously had available to him.’

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outstanding

Children’s health needs are well understood and supported. As well as regular physical activity, children are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles and enjoy a well- balanced nutritious diet.

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outstanding

The home supports children to maintain contact with people that are important to them. This includes through virtual platforms but also through staff taking children, often a considerable distance, to spend time with their families. Staff offer support, and when necessary, supervise family time.

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outstanding

The home is maintained to a high standard and is welcoming and homely. Children enjoy helping with maintenance jobs under the supervision of a designated member of staff. This provides children with excellent opportunities to learn and develop new skills that will help them as they move towards adulthood. The camping barns and barge also used as part of the home’s adventurous experience also provide children with a safe and comfortable living environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 4

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outstanding

Children’s safety is paramount. The quality of safeguarding practice is consistently high. Children’s individual risks are well assessed and understood. Individual activities are also clearly risk-assessed for each child and planned to ensure their individual suitability and safety for children.

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outstanding

The relationships shared between staff and children clearly influence positive behaviour in the home. Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and how these should be supported. Children benefit from the additional support provided by the home’s therapeutic team, whose members not only work directly with children but also help guide staff manage more complex behaviour.

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outstanding

Children are encouraged to take control and invest in their lives and their futures. There is great sensitivity to understanding children’s experiences which is used to good effect in working at a pace that is right for them, which helps them to develop positive behaviours.

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outstanding

The availability of additional remote satellite accommodation, which includes camping barns and a barge, enables the home to be swift and effective in managing changes in risk. For example, one child at risk of criminal exploitation disclosed his location, placing him in potential danger. Staff reported this to the police and quickly moved the child to a new very remote location until it was assured that risks were reduced.

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outstanding

Restraint is not routinely used by staff, who are skilled and experienced in de- escalating difficult situations. Staff know children well and consequently understand and recognise their triggers, which helps to avoids escalations in behaviour. Records maintained clearly document incidents when intervention has been a necessary last resort. Restraint records are routinely audited and evaluated. These clearly demonstrate a reducing pattern from children’s starting points.

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outstanding

Children rarely make allegations or complaints, but when such incidents occur, these are dealt with seriously, with information shared with appropriate professionals, including the local authority designated officer. Records are maintained and provide an accurate account of the matter and its outcome.

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outstanding

Recruitment practice is robust. The home promotes safer recruitment practice to ensure that staff are appropriately checked and vetted and deemed suitable to work with children and that those recruited have the necessary skill set and training to deliver a diverse range of activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This home is led and managed by an effective management team that includes the registered manager and two deputy managers. Together, they provide confident, Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 5 strong leadership that ensures that staff feel equally well supported, whether working at the home or in one of the setting’s camping-out locations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Considerable investment has been made in upgrading leased camping barns and refurbishing the home’s barge. In addition, the home’s fleet of company vehicles has also been replaced and upgraded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel well supported by the management team and enjoy the three days on, six days off shift pattern that provides children with considerable continuity of care. Staff have an in-depth knowledge of the children they care for and are clearly familiar with their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Arrangements for professional supervision have been strengthened, ensuring that positive opportunities exist for staff to reflect on practice and actively work on their professional development. Staff training is well organised, providing a wide range of learning opportunities, including those to develop outdoor activity skills. Training records are updated centrally and monitored to ensure that all staff receive and keep up to date with essential training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Record-keeping has improved with the move to an online system of storage, making information more accessible to staff and managers. This has greatly assisted the home’s internal monitoring processes, enabling managers to have a clear understanding of children’s progress and how well the home is performing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

External monitoring reports do not always demonstrate that children and other stakeholders are routinely spoken to, or children’s bedrooms seen. This does not provide sufficient reassurance of robust scrutiny.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are proactive in securing highly effective working together practice. Professionals spoken to during this inspection were all overwhelmingly positive about the care and support that children receive from staff in the home. All reported demonstrable improvements in children’s circumstances. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a system is in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the actions that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s safeguarding arrangements and activity that promotes the welfare of children living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: 1249123 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fitzroy Academy, Cruckton, Shrewsbury SY5 8PR

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Inspectors

Gillian Walters, Social Care Inspector Lisa Summers, Her Majesty’s Inspector, Social Care Inspection report for children’s home: 1249123 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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