1. The Children’s Homes Quality Standards Partnership
Supporting Children’s Homes to Implement Quality Standards

2. The Children’s Homes Quality Standards Partnership
Action for Children
The Who Cares? Trust
Key Stakeholders
DfE and Ofsted
Let me start by telling you about the partnership. Action for Children is a charity that provides a range of services to children and their families across the UK. We provide 30 children’s homes across England, Scotland and Wales, 17 of which are in England. Our homes in England are predominantly short breaks homes for disabled children. Through our consultancy service we undertake small medium and large scale contracts predominantly focused on improving practice and safeguarding children’. The Who Cares? Trust is also a charity that has been working to improve the everyday lives and future life chances of children in care for the past 22 years. They are widely recognised as the voice of children in care, and have a strategic focus on helping the care system be the best it can be. We’ve come together to form this partnership- The Children’s Homes Quality Standards Partnership –because we really wanted to help the sector with these quite significant changes and ensure children and young people remain central to all we do. We have a group of key stakeholders that we consult and work closely with. They are drawn from across the children’s homes sector including national organisations such as Research in Practice , service specific groups like the Secure Accommodation Network, umbrella organisations such as the Independent Children’s Homes Association. It also includes managers or senior managers of small and large private children’s home’s and local authorities children home. This project is funded by the Department for Education and we work closely with them and because the inspection framework is inextricably linked to homes implementation of the Quality Standards we are also in regular contact with Ofsted.
The aim of this project is to help children’s homes to implement the quality standards . We are providing training, workshops, newsletters, workshops , practice papers and bespoke support to homes to help them implement the QS.

3. April 1st 2015 heralded changes to the Children’s Homes Regulations and the inspection framework. It introduced the Quality Standards and it’s companion – the Guide and deleted The National Minimum Standards. In addition to this the new Qualifications for children’s homes staff and managers came into force January 15 and the SEND Reforms implemented on Sept 1st 2014 are beginning to take effect and some homes may already be working with Education, Health and Care Plans. The timescale between the regulatory and inspection changes being finalized and implemented was undeniably short and the DFE recognised that homes might need some additional support to make the significant changes that were required. Hence this project.. So what is at the heart of all these changes?

4. THE VISION
“Residential care needs to emulate the culture and values of excellent homes so that every home is aiming high and achieving the best for the children they care for. No longer should those caring for a child see a placement in a children’s home as the end of the road or second best to a placement in foster care. Residential care can be a positive choice for some children in some circumstances and children should arrive at a children’s home confident in the placement choice and sure that the staff can meet their needs and have their best interests at heart. They should be sure that they will be supported, accepted and kept safe in their new home, with every prospect of leaving more resilient and better equipped to move on with real hope of a brighter future.”
This quote is taken from the consultation document on the regulations and standards, “ High Expectations and Aspirations”.
The vision here is for every home to aim high and achieve the best for the children they care for. We know that the aspirations are achieveable because we have evidence of good work taking place across the sector . Figures for are not yet available but in , 12% homes were outstanding and 57% were good. Information and knowledge from these homes has informed the DfE and Ofsted thinking and the design of the regulatory frameworks
The desire here is that the way people think about residential care and the way people provide residential care will change. When we think of change it is much more than process or policy or procedure, the change that is being sought is a mindset shift that will enable homes to look at their culture, values, expectations and practices through a more ambitious and child focused lens.
This provides the basis for effective relationships to be created with young people and for their time in residential care to be a positive experience that helps them to develop and thrive. This is a vision that I believe we can all share in. Some homes may already be doing this and for others it may require exceptional effort.

5. Professional judgement
Focus on Fundamentals
Accountability
Self Evaluation
Improvement
Professional judgement
Evidencing Outcomes
Children and Young People’s Views
So we’ve established that children views and the action taken as a result of these are central to meeting their needs. To do this successfully , we need to work with others who have a role in caring for an protecting children. Regulation 5 sets out the requirement that homes work in partnership with other relevant people and agencies to create a wider support system for each child. Homes are required to take a proactive stance and advocate on children’s behalf to ensure others play their part. This requirement runs through all of the QS because without the meaningful engagement of others the aspirations are unlikely to be achieved.
So these are central. And then we have the fundamental themes that run through the Regulations, QS and inspection framework that can be seen as the building blocks that move you towards achieving and demonstrating your vision.
Accountability.
The new regulations make it clear that the accountability rests with the ‘ registered person’ . This can be the manager or provider depending on the how the home is configured. In most cases the responsibility for complying with the vast majority of regulations will rest with the Registered Manager. If you are a small home the manager and provider might be the same person.
To fulfill these responsibilities managers/providers undoubtedly need to rely on others. This could be leadership teams, services they contract with and other departments in your organisation. Their ability to support homes effectively is critical. It can be frustrating as a manager to be doing excellent work with children and then to be criticised in inspection for repairs that property maintenance service have failed to address promptly, despite their best efforts.
Everyone working there must understand what they are authorised to decide on their own initiative and there should be clear lines of accountability- particularly so when the manager is absent.
The regulations in 26(7) b) places a greater degree of accountability on the Responsible Individual in terms of supervising the management of homes. They are required to have the capacity, skills and experience to monitor and support the performance of each home they are responsible for. Where concerns about the quality of care arise, their capability is likely to be questioned and the extent to which they can effectively supervise the home and homes overall. This greater emphasis should be a support to managers but also a safeguard for providers and children that the quality of care is being effectively overseen and guided by a capable person.
 Regulation 29 sets out clearly the requirement for them both to undertake continuing personal development.
The push for greater accountability is clearly centred around ensuring homes are well led and the positive impact that has on staff and children.
Self Evaluation
Regulation 45 is very clear that in order to self evaluate or review the quality of care, your system must be based on three core functions - monitoring, reviewing and evaluating and also focus on three core areas the quality of care ,the feedback and opinions of children and the actions taken to improve the service. The expectation still remains that the review of care will be informed by the views of parents, placing authorities and staff.
The aim of this is for the Registered Persons to decide what needs to be actively monitored to assess the effectiveness of the care provided for their particular homes. This provides a great opportunity for homes to make these more meaningful and perhaps fit better with other internal systems. It also allows homes the flexibility not to review themselves against every part of the Quality Standards every 6 months.
It is this important not to see the review of quality or self evaluation as something you do every six months. It should be an on going process of monitoring and gathering information perhaps every month, using this data to identify patterns and trends and then thinking through with others- including young people – what it means and what needs to be done. By the time you write your report at 6 months, you should have a good sense of what the key strengths are of the home, what needs to be improved, what action you are going to take and the impact of action already taken.
. The guide encourages that homes should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home in addition to Reg 44 and 45. This might be contract monitoring visits , corporate parent visits, quality assurance visits from within the organisations or peer review visits with other homes. It may also be helpful to consider how young people such as care leavers and Children in Care councils can play an active role.
 Evidencing outcomes
Central to home’s ability to evaluate the quality of care will be the difference that they make to the lives of children and young people. Registered Persons will need to evidence the progress children have made since their starting points and be ambitious in their expectations. The basis for this is likely to be your Statement of Purpose and although unchanged from the 2013 regs, their status has been further elevated.
 Children are placed in homes on the basis that the Statement of Purpose outlines that it has the skills, staff and resources to meet their specific needs and therefore Effective systems will need to be put in place to demonstrate that the care provided is making a difference for each child. There is a clear expectation that for all homes – for example for short breaks or homes for children with very complex needs or disabilities, it is possible to evidence the experience children have and the progress they make however small. We know that at the heart of improved outcomes for children is the relationship they have with the staff that care for them..
Professional Judgement
One of the biggest changes is the greater reliance on the registered person’s professional judgement about how they achieve the Quality Standards. The removal of the National Minimum standards has taken away a lot of the prescription around what specifically needs to be done to evidence compliance with regulation. An example of this is supervision where the NMS required you to record the time date and length of your supervisions, the guide tells you to keep a record of supervision that demonstrates demonstrating that all staff receive practice related supervision from an appropriately qualified person. By moving in this direction, homes can ask themselves what is the best way for us to do that? It moves the thinking away from what do Ofsted want to what do children and young people want and need? Inspectors will require managers to explain and evidence their practice and decision making. They will expect mangers to engage in a professional dialogue with them in order for judgements about performance to be reached.
Many managers may already be skilled at presenting themselves and their homes in this way. Where this needs further development, consideration should be given as to training/ coaching, or changes to supervision arrangements and Regulation 44 visits to encourage effective, evidenced based communication. These arrangements should also include experience of being robustly challenged.
This draws on the other fundamental principles already outlined and the centrality of children to all aspects of a homes performance. In arriving at your professional judgements to what extent can you evidence that this has been informed by children’s views and the outcomes for children? To what extent can you evidence that it has been informed by the views of other professionals or agencies? Parents? Research? Policy developments? Current trends in the sector or your specific specialism?? To arrive at sound professional judgements all of these and more will be helpful.
Improvement
At the heart of the new Quality Standards is the underpinning aim to drive improvement. In their consultation document, “Children’s Home Regulations: High Expectations and Aspirations” the Department for Education referred to the publication of reports in 2012 by the Deputy Children’s Commissioner and others which focused on children who were exploited or went missing from care. It uncovered failings in the system that left very vulnerable children cared for in placements that weren’t safe or that didn’t meet their needs. These regulations are primarily designed to make improvements to how we safeguard children living in children’s homes. The inspection framework is clearly structured to measure and drive improvement. If failing homes do not improve the inspection framework is now better equipped to take decisive action against them. Through considering the fundamental principles outlined here today from a child centred perspective and through working with others, children’s home can and already do, drive their own improvement. They can and will achieve the vision for high quality residential care.

6. Provider feedback on inspection
“The inspector (who was new to us, having not inspected any of our homes previously), focused particularly on levels of consultation and checked to ensure that there was good correlation of all records.
There was a much bigger focus than previously on safeguarding, tracking educational achievements and the home’s development.
The inspector didn’t look at policies or procedures at all and there was much more consultation during the two day inspection, than had been encountered previously.”
Here’s what one provider said about the experience of their first inspection under the new framework,

7. Provider feedback on inspection
The inspection was different, more interactive with manager, young person and staff. Inspector spent more time with yp, watching him on Wii and sat down together for breakfast. More evidence based and all about the young people’s experiences.
The inspector was helpful and understanding.
The judgement was fair and positive.
Recommendations were around children contributing to their records, advocacy, workforce development plan, clear arrangements to cover management absence
Here’s what one provider said about the experience of their first inspection under the new framework,

8. Small group discussion
How do you know homes are achieving good outcomes for children when…
Select a standard from the envelope and discuss it in relation to the question above.
15 minutes
When commissioning or reviewing contracts for home how are you evaluating their effectiveness the new child centred, ambitious perspective required by the quality standards ?

9. Small group discussion
What gets in the way of you evaluating good outcomes for children in relation to……
Select a standard from the envelope and discuss it in relation to the question above.
15 minutes
When commissioning or reviewing contracts for home what gets in the way of evaluating their effectiveness through the new child centred, ambitious perspective required by the quality standards ?What may help to overcome this ?