Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Senad Group Limited in Derbyshire

Inspection report children's home: SC404596 1 SC404596 Registered provider: The Senad 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 home provides residential care for up to 17 young people who have communication difficulties or are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection there were ten young people living at the home. Young people are aged 15 years and older. The manager is registered and suitably experienced and qualified.

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Information about this children's home

The home shares the same site as a separately registered school provision. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: SC404596 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/10/2022 Full Good 07/12/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Good 03/10/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report children's home: SC404596 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people and their families are at the centre of any decisions made about the young people’s future and their time at the home. Young people attend and make their views known at their annual reviews. They also heavily contribute to their own care planning and feel a real sense of ownership over their care plans. Young people are also encouraged to make plans for their stays in the residential provision. They prepare meals, decide on activities they want to undertake, and this helps them develop vital independent living skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people attend this home and school, due to the distance from their family home. Others are placed at this home to help them engage in school, sometimes after a significant period of absence from education. The young people do well in education and are well supported by staff and education professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from careful, and well-planned transitions to the home. This means that the young people quickly settle into life in the home and begin to make progress. Young people and their families are fully involved in the transition planning for when children move. Transition plans are flexible and undertaken at the right pace for the whole family. The managers and staff are adept at changing plans to reduce anxieties at times of transition for young people and their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress in many areas of their development, considering their starting points. For some young people, they are gradually engaging with education. Others are on course to go to college or university. For other young people, they have gained the confidence and can now travel significant distances independently by public transport. Increasing independence is a strength of this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged choose their own method of communication. When this is non-verbal, staff learn and adapt to ensure they can communicate with the young people. This means that all young people can make their views, wishes and feelings known. When required, staff have further training, for example, some staff are learning British Sign Language. This reduces any barriers to staff hearing all the young people’s voices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers treat all young people with respect. They are encouraged to express their own individuality, and when needed staff support the young people in this area. Staff help young people to maintain a positive self-image, with no stigma. Staff have provided young people with several sources of information about difference and diversity to help the young people to be themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage young people to manage their own health and wellbeing. This gives young people control of their own health, where safe and appropriate. For young people who manage their own medication, this is achieved Inspection report children's home: SC404596 4 incrementally, risk assessed, and with careful monitoring. The administration of medication processes is safe. It is safe because staff receive regular training. Managers ensure that the staffs’ competency is tested annually.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a living environment that is safe. The home offers plenty of onsite activities including squash courts, a climbing wall and swimming pool. Bedrooms are clean and tidy, and young people are encouraged to personalise these. When needed, adaptations to the environment takes place to meet individual care needs. Managers ensure that fire risk assessments, and regular monitoring, means that the environment is a safe place to live.

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

Young people and staff have positive and enduring relationships. Strong bonds between the young people and staff mean that they can share their worries and concerns. Young people have several alternative opportunities to make there needs, wishes and feelings known. They know how to make complaints and have information about bullying. An independent advocate visits the home regularly and this provides a further avenue by which young people can raise any worries or concerns they may have.

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

Safeguarding is a real strength. Dedicated safeguarding leads have ensured that staff are up to date with contemporary thinking about the safeguarding of children. Relationships with the local safeguarding children’s board, and the police, means that a wide range of external learning opportunities are available to staff. All staff have training on the safe use of online media. The safeguarding competence of staff is checked regularly by a series of regular and formal supervision processes to make sure that staff have the knowledge and skills to keep children safe.

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

There is a multi-disciplinary approach to supporting young people to keep safe. Managers have ensured that detailed care plans, and risk assessments provide essential information for staff about children’s risks and vulnerabilities. When risks are identified, measures are set out in some detail in children’s plans and actions from staff to reduce risks to children. Young people are encouraged to take responsibility, within, and outside the home, and to become independent young adults. This is fully assessed by staff to ensure young people remain safe.

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

When young people wish to pursue their keen interest in walking in the countryside, staff work alongside them to develop detailed plans, route maps and safeguards along the way. This means that barriers are removed, and young people can take part in activities important to them, as independently as possible.

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

Young people are helped to manage their own feelings and behaviours. Depending on need, support from staff can be more informal, or young people can have regular meetings with an onsite psychotherapist.

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

Managers have ensured that only staff that have been through a robust and thorough safer recruitment process get to work with vulnerable young people at this Inspection report children's home: SC404596 5 home. This employment process, followed by a staff induction with regular formal supervision, means that young people are only cared for by safe adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and qualified registered manager. Together with strong deputy managers and senior staff, they ensure that there is a robust and effective oversight of the home. They have regular oversight of records and have an effective scheme of audit and quality assurance. This means that any concerns are quickly identified and put right.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is stable and consistent and have high aspirations for all young people. There have been minimal changes to staff. A clear and consistent approach to care is almost guaranteed, by a team of well experienced, committed, and motivated staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is supported by a dedicated training manager that ensures that all staff have access to work-based learning and development. There is also a dedicated therapy team that provides staff with more child specific training. This means that training can be targeted towards individual and emerging needs of young people. External training is also provided to staff. All staff have gained or are working towards their Diploma level three.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have ensured that daily handovers are an effective way of sharing information between staff changing shifts. This well coordinated and structured meeting means that planning for shifts is effective, a forum for sharing concerns, and that measures can be in place to adapt plans to meet any emerging needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision meetings with their manager. Staff are provided with time to discuss the young people in their care. Supervisions are reflective. Integral to supervision is that a manager checks the competency of staffs safeguarding knowledge. The registered manager retains regular oversight of all supervisions undertaken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff bring a high degree of commitment to the young people in their care. Key workers know their young people extremely well. Staff love their work, and say the management is supportive, and supervision and training is good. Inspection report children's home: SC404596 6

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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: SC404596 7

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Children's home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children's home details

Registered provider: The Senad Group Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Senad Group Ltd, 1 St. Georges House, Vernon Gate, DERBY, DE1 1UQ

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Inspector

Simon Hunter, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC404596 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 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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