Children's Home run by Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited in Herefordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 1 Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to five children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 11 January 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/04/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved to the home and no children have left. Three children currently live at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have considered the suitability of the home for any new children. As a result, moves to the home have not had a detrimental effect on those already living there and a new child has settled quickly and is making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A consistent staff team provides care to the children. Through this consistency, managers and staff have made improvements to the quality of care given. Children are settled, have built trusting relationships with staff and made progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff seek and receive support from other professionals. This helps them to understand children’s needs and how best to support them on their journey. Staff involve other professionals in developing and reviewing children’s plans. In addition, managers have arranged for external professionals to provide additional training to help staff fully understand the trauma and challenges children have faced. As a result, plans are bespoke and support children’s ongoing progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. They encourage children to attend education to further develop their skills. For example, one child has continued with their vocational studies and has passed their forklift driving test. Another child who had not been in education for over two years is now attending daily. As a result, children are achieving and becoming aspirational about their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to express their views through a variety of forums, for example, children’s meetings, key-work sessions and day-to-day discussions. Staff also advocate for children in professionals’ meetings, putting forward children’s views about their care and next stages of their lives. This helps children feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of social opportunities. Staff encourage children to continue with their hobbies and try new things. One child who was reluctant to try or do anything has now begun football training with a local team. This has helped develop their social skills and encourage friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in making sure children stay in touch with family and friends. Staff will take children to visits and collect them no matter what the distance. As a result, children continue to feel part of their family, maintain and develop those relationships and enjoy time with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, managers have made improvements to the home environment. There are new soft furnishings and carpets, and some areas have Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 4 been redecorated. However, some work is still needed to maintain the overall cleanliness of the home and develop the outside space. This would improve the feel of the home and make the garden more inviting for children to use socially.

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

Staff know the children well and have formed positive relationships with them. As a result, staff are better at pre-empting behaviours and de-escalating situations. Consequently, there have been few incidents at the home. Staff have not needed to use physical intervention.

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

When staff think children may try to leave the home without permission, they have been proactive in challenging children and discouraging them from going. Plans are in place for staff to follow if children were to go missing.

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

Staff help children understand risks from others who might take advantage of their vulnerability, including online. Staff monitor children’s online activity and when concerns arise take prompt action. Staff have reported concerns and have put in place strategies to safeguard children. However, records such as behaviour plans and risk assessments for one child did not detail all their risks or the strategies staff should use. This has the potential for staff to not understand the risks or the action they need to take to keep children safe.

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

Staff and health and safety professionals undertake checks to make sure the home is a safe environment for children to live in. However, not all actions from the last fire risk assessment had been completed. Managers had not checked that curtains met the required fire-retardant standard. This omission could mean a fire may spread more quickly or hinder escape from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has provided stability and consistency to the home. He has applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic about providing good-quality care for children and has shown he knows the children well. He has formed positive relationships with the children and they were positive about his leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has advocated well for children. He is not afraid to challenge other professionals or, when needed, put in formal complaints. As a result, following delays in one child gaining a school placement and the manager making a complaint, action was taken. The child now has a school placement which they attend daily.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following the last inspection, managers have undertaken a review of the service to identify learning. They have made improvements to the way managers assess the suitability of the home for children. In addition, they have recruited staff who have the relevant experience or skills needed to care for the children living at the home. Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 5 As a result, children are progressing, there have been no placement breakdowns and staff retention has improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring systems have improved. The manager has developed his own checks in addition to those that are undertaken by senior managers in the organisation. All have identified further areas of improvement and an action plan is in place to improve the quality of care given.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the manager. They say he is supportive and always available. However, supervision is not as frequent as it should be for some staff, and staff who have worked at the home for over 12 months have not had appraisals. This means staff do not have an opportunity to reflect on their practice and identify shortfalls in their skills and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support staff through face-to-face and online learning opportunities. However, some staff are yet to undertake learning in the home’s preferred therapeutic approach and child-specific learning, for example, learning to support children who may self-harm or exhibit sexually harmful behaviours. As a result, not all staff have all the skills and knowledge they need to care for the children. Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 6

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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, The 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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that children’s risk management plans clearly identify all risks and the action staff should take. In addition, that managers make sure that all actions from the home’s fire risk assessments are promptly completed. 18 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers making sure that staff have all the training they need to care for the children living at the home. 18 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and 18 August 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 7 have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that all staff have supervision in line with the organisation’s policy. In addition, all staff should have an annual appraisal.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home environment is kept clean for children. Also, that the garden is free of thistles and inviting for children to use and play in. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.3)

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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: 1271587 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caretech Community Service Ltd, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1271587 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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