Children's Home run by Friends Therapeutic Community Trust in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 1 SC025733 Registered provider: Friends Therapeutic Community Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a charitable community trust and provides a therapeutic programme of care for up to 17 children. The home caters for a specific range of needs, as detailed in the statement of purpose. The facilities include a registered on- site school and vocational workshops to support accredited work-based learning courses. The community is jointly registered with the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2019.

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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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 26/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/11/2019 Full Good 05/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved to semi-independent housing. This was planned and in line with their placing local authority’s arrangements. One child has moved into the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The main building is the residential home and has 13 single-occupancy bedrooms, which includes four individual bedsits. There is also a three-bedded self-contained independence bungalow which is separate from the main house. Currently, 11 children live at the home, two of whom live in the independence bungalow. The bungalow and the bedsits are used to prepare children and young people for moving on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people living in the bedsits and bungalow benefit from experiencing a range of independence activities. These include budgeting, cooking, undertaking homely chores and, ultimately, becoming increasingly self-sufficient. Children say that they enjoy the experience of being more independent but acknowledge that staff are always available to support them if they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Oversight of potential admissions to the home is good. Pen portrait and matching risk assessments are exceptionally well detailed. These documents inform staff practice and provide staff with the information that they need to support the children effectively. Children are supported well in the admission process. This is beneficial to the child moving in and those who already live at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a good aftercare package provided by staff that supports the children and young people for up to 18 months after they have left the home. Transition planning is well considered. This helps children and young people to access their right to education and housing in their new homes. This good-quality support enables children and young people to have a sense of excitement about their next move and reduces their anxieties. Staff positively influence and encourage children and young people to make safe choices. This increases the potential for success with each planned move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children and young people access the on-site school. The school offers a good range of educational opportunities, including vocational training. Vocational opportunities are impressive. Children speak enthusiastically about their involvement in mechanics and woodwork. Children have made a range of items in woodwork and have stripped down and rebuilt an engine. Staff understand the children and young people’s preferred learning styles. Consequently, staff provide education in a way that appeals to these preferred ways of learning. Overall, the children and young people make good progress in education. Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 4 Children who do not attend or who are struggling to attend school are supported well. Staff provide these children with a differentiated approach and encourage them to re-engage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff do not give up on the children. Staff stop, reflect and review their care practices and offers of support. Staff are consistent and persistent in their endeavours to support children’s social, emotional and behavioural needs. Staff are nurturing and caring. Interactions between staff and children are filled with warmth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers are unanimously positive in their feedback. Social workers say that their children and young people have made progress at the home. The therapeutic approach is valued and effective. Social workers are impressed with how children and young people improve the way they manage their emotions and relationships with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are kept safe and an increase in children’s confidence is consistently seen. Social workers appreciate the staff’s caring approach and the family-type atmosphere. Social workers report that staff undertake good assessments, plan effectively, communicate well, and prepare children and young people for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One room that is used as a semi-independent bedsit was seen to be in an unkempt state, with rotting vegetables in the fridge and dirty laundry piled up. The room smelled unpleasant and there were flies in it. Some rooms require redecoration due to flaking paint. The hallway carpets are soiled in places. Although some of these issues were rectified during the inspection, further maintenance and improvement of the premises are still required.

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

The care staff and clinical team manage children’s exceptionally high risks remarkably well. The resident clinical team provides children with individual and group therapy sessions throughout the week. Children engage well in the therapeutic programme. As a result, overall, children’s risks are either reduced or safely contained.

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

The therapeutic models used at the home are well understood by staff. They are embedded effectively and routinely reviewed. These models help children to process their experiences and encourage each child to heal. Additionally, they help children to reflect on previous detrimental choices and decisions. Consequently, children are supported to make healthier choices and improve their decision-making. This enables children to have a better understanding of risk and harm and equips them to make safer choices.

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

Staff are immediately aware when children go missing from care. Staff are vigilant in their actions to try and locate children. Staff do not always report children to the police as missing. This decision has been at the discretion of and in liaison with the manager. There is no clear guidance in the children’s records or in the safeguarding Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 5 policy which states the time frames that the police or on-call managers should be contacted. Although there has been no impact to date, not having a recorded procedure for staff to follow has the potential to compromise safeguards, especially given the complexity of the children.

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

Risk assessments are detailed, reflective of risk and provide sufficient information to guide staff practice. This helps staff to provide consistent responses to children in the management of risk. Staff’s understanding of risk mitigation matches information documented in risk assessments.

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

The locality risk assessment documents a good range of risks in the local area. Risk reduction measures are well documented and understood by staff.

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

Restraint is reasonable and used proportionately. Although restraint records are monitored, it is not always clear which manager monitored the record or when. The records do not contain a review of the effectiveness of the restraint. Therefore, opportunities are missed to inform future practice.

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

Staff apply reasonable and proportionate consequences. However, the duration of the consequence is not recorded consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and children speak highly of the manager. It is evident that the manager has an exceptional understanding of all the children, and they regularly seek her out to discuss issues and concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is not risk averse. As a result, children are exposed to opportunities and experiences that broaden their social understanding. A plan is in place for all children to go to Devon for a holiday. This has been planned well. There is a dual focus on having fun balanced with ensuring children’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an exceptional understanding of the treatment plans and assessment tools that are used at the home. She is an exceptional role model to the staff team. The manager works effectively with other professionals at the home and external to the home. She advocates fiercely on behalf of the children and challenges other professionals if she feels that they are not meeting children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are good. The independent person’s reports and visits are thorough. Resulting actions from the visits and reports drive improvements at the home. The manager works effectively with the independent person to create positive change in response to their findings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records are subject to regular reviews and updates. They reflect known and emerging needs and risks. Records make clear what action staff must take to reduce risk and support children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 6 The recommendation made at the previous inspection about supervision has been addressed. Staff receive regular supervision, which they view as being helpful to their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has cultivated an environment of high expectations and aspirations for all children. This is matched by the ethos of the staff, who embed the objectives as stated in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that rooms and corridors are maintained to a good standard. Additionally, make regular checks of fridges in the children’s bedrooms to ensure that food stored in them is safe to eat. 29 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, record the time frame of any consequences given to children and the effectiveness of restraint. 29 July 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should specify the action to take when children go missing from care. In particular, time frames should be specified for reporting children as missing to the police and the on-call manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19) Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 8

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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 children’s home: SC025733 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Friends Therapeutic Community Trust

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kajetan Kasinski

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Inspectors

Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Russel Breyer, Her Majesty’s Inspector, Social Care Inspection report children’s home: SC025733 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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