Children's Home run by Safe Haven Adolescent Care Group Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2621322 1 Registered provider: Safe Haven Adolescent Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private company. It provides care for one child with social and emotional behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and registered with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

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.

p.1

outstanding

Date of last inspection: 16 February 2022

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2621322 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2621322 3

p.2

outstanding

The child living at this home receives an exceptional standard of care. The child is enjoying their life and has developed very trusting relationships with staff. She enjoys hugs from staff, and there is a genuine warmth between staff and the child. The child is making excellent and sustained progress in all areas of her development. She feels settled, and her confidence has grown with the nurture and care that staff provide. For example, she has recently felt able to engage in activities in the community that she hasn’t felt able to previously.

p.3

outstanding

Staff have an in-depth understanding of the child’s past experiences and her needs arising from these experiences. This informs the way that staff approach the child’s complex behaviours in the day-to-day care provided. Staff have a consistently empathetic and thoughtful approach with the child. Staff communicate their affections both verbally and through written notes. As a result, the child feels valued and loved by those caring for her.

p.3

outstanding

The child lives in a home that is presented to a lovely standard and feels like a family home. Staff have fully involved the child in planning the redecoration to the home during the summer. The child was therefore able to influence the look of both her bedroom and the shared spaces. She is very proud of the way the home looks, and this has encouraged a sense of belonging for the child.

p.3

outstanding

The staff understand the importance of the child’s family to her. Family time with immediate and extended family is very well supported by the staff and takes place regularly. Staff enable family time to happen at the home or facilitate this taking place in the community. The staff are attuned to the child and listen to her in a meaningful way. They recognise periods of time that are more difficult for the child to be away from family, such as at Christmas. Staff have proactively arranged the child’s care to ensure that she feels supported by staff she knows well during difficult and emotional times.

p.3

outstanding

Staff have excellent relationships with the school that the child attends. This has enabled a robust plan to be put in place to ensure that the child is attending school regularly. The staff think pragmatically about ways that they can reduce the child’s anxieties at school times, particularly at the beginning of the school day. This is enabling the child to be at school on time with increasing frequency and is contributing to her academic success. The staff engage fully in meetings with the school and other external professionals. A social worker said, ‘Meetings can be positively led by the registered manager, as he knows her [the child] so well and is able to advocate for her.’

p.3

outstanding

The child’s care plans are of an exceptional standard. They are informed consistently by the preferred model of care in the home. This highlights the importance of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2621322 4 child feeling loved and accepted. The manager reviews and updates the child’s care plan with regularity. Any changes are disseminated to staff, so they have an intricate understanding of the child’s needs. Care plans acknowledge the nuances of the child’s needs, including her sensory and attachment needs. Consequently, the child is cared for by staff that are attuned to her and can respond to her in a way that makes her feel safe and understood.

p.3

outstanding

The risks to the child are fully understood by the staff and documented in risk assessments. These assessments are thorough and detailed documents, helping staff to effectively plan how to both recognise and respond to risk-taking behaviours. Risk assessments use language which is child focused and trauma informed. They highlight the importance of repairing relationships with the child following a serious incident. The child, therefore, does not feel ashamed and knows that the care offered to her is unconditional. The manager has a highly efficient system to track the child’s behaviour each month. This enables a broader understanding of more worrying behaviours and helps keep the child safe.

p.4

outstanding

The child is involved in her own safety planning and feels empowered to recognise situations where she could be at risk. The staff openly discuss with the child the danger she faces using the internet and have collaboratively developed a phone plan to keep her safe. This includes appropriate parental controls. Staff are realistic about the importance of social media in developing friendships with the child’s peers. A gradual increase in phone use is being introduced as the child evidences that she can keep herself safe. This allows the child to see that staff can be relied on to follow through on promises made to her.

p.4

outstanding

Staff at the home respond to risk in an innovative and creative manner. They implement strategies that will prevent incidents escalating and allow the child to have space to feel calm. There has been recent success with the use of a safe space in the garden, where the child can access a swing chair and time away from the house. This has prevented her leaving the vicinity of the home, where she could be vulnerable. Staff also have ‘destruction boxes’ which are accessible to the child so that she can express her frustration in a safe and contained way. The child is now able to recognise the emotions she is feeling and can seek out methods to help her feel better. Consequently, the child does not go missing from care.

p.4

outstanding

Significant incidents in the home are managed extremely well. The staff team is appropriately trained and knows ways to de-escalate difficult behaviours. Staff successfully use distraction and emotional reassurance with the child to prevent harm. Physical intervention is used rarely and as a last resort. These incidents are recorded to a high standard and include reflection with the manager. This encourages staff learning about what could be done differently. An opportunity to debrief is always offered to the child, and she therefore understands the boundaries put in place by the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621322 5 The staff are proactive in responding to the child’s emotional needs. The care model in the home is embedded into staff practice. Staff are extremely committed to the child and support her to understand and label her feelings. Where there have been incidents of self-harm, staff have quickly sought support from local children’s mental

p.4

outstanding

health services. Staff have supported the child to find ways that she can comfortably express herself, either through art or written notes. The child lives in an environment where her feelings are validated by those caring for her.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff love working at the home and care deeply about the child. Staff are invested in the culture of the home as a nurturing space where children can reach their potential. One staff member shared, ‘We put the child at the centre of everything. Anything that the child wants to try is encouraged. We try to think outside of the box and to see past the behaviours and think, instead, what is she trying to communicate with the behaviour.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have an inspiring manager. The manager is very well supported by the responsible individual and company director. The members of the senior leadership team are effective role models for the staff and are trusted by staff. The staff feel supported by their manager and have regular supervisions which consider their development, safeguarding and their home life. This helps staff to build their resilience. Several members of staff interviewed spoke of the home feeling like a family.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager leads with passion and a commitment to improve the care provided to the child. His practice is evidence based and the company places value in ongoing learning for all staff. As a result, the staff are able to be responsive to the needs of the child. For example, staff have recognised that the child likes to communicate using art. Several members of the team will undertake a ‘draw and talk’ course imminently. There are regular opportunities for staff to come together in team meetings and handovers. Staff feel they can contribute to the development of the home and that they are listened to.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager understands the importance of having thorough and insightful quality assurance systems. He can easily monitor the impact of the care being provided on the progress the child is making. The manager is completely invested in the child meeting her full potential, and he spoke proudly of her. He strives to make the care offered as good as it possibly can be. This sometimes means adapting already excellent practices where the manager feels an alternative approach is most suited to the child. As a result, the child is receiving care that is kind, consistent and enables her to thrive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621322 6

p.5

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: 2621322 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Safe Haven Adolescent Care Group Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Horizon House, 2 Whiting Street, Sheffield S8 9QR

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christie-Lauren O’Connor

p.7

Inspector

Louise Copping, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2621322 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8