Shropshire children’s home rated ‘outstanding’
A Shropshire Council-run children’s home has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Government inspectors, following an Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspection in January 2022.
At the first inspection since registering in 2020, the local home that cares for young people has been judged to meet the highest of standards, with judges concluding that: “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”.
Staff from the care home were commended at today’s Full Council meeting, where a presentation was made by Vince Hunt, Chairman of Shropshire Council. He said-
“We are thrilled the exceptionally high levels of personalised care have been recognised during this first Ofsted inspection. We are so proud of both the staff and children who live in this positive, caring, and nurturing environment. It is testament to the welcoming and positive atmosphere which make this a warm, settled, and cherished home.”
Jo Rocke, Shropshire Council’s registered manager – placements, receiving the OFSTED verdict from Vince Hunt, Chairman, Shropshire Council.
The inspectors report praises the home as it provides exceptional stability because of the close relationships children have with staff and the consistent, individualised support that they provide. As a direct result, children have made excellent progress in important areas of their lives from their starting points since moving in.
It says the home is a warm and welcoming place for children to live and is highly personalised and reflects children’s interests.
The children are encouraged to bring their friends to the home, where they watch television, enjoy a meal and relax. They take pride in their home, which helps to increase self-esteem and self-worth. Children are extremely settled in the home.
The report commends the overall management of the home saying, the manager is determined to provide a high standard of care, knows the children exceptionally well and holds high aspirations for them.
It highly praised staff who go above and beyond to ensure that children are cared for by familiar adults and talk passionately about the highly individualised nurturing care that children receive.
Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and education, said:-
“This is a huge achievement for the staff and is a credit to their hard work, commitment and dedication to providing an outstanding level of care. This fantastic accomplishment is demonstrated in the special relationships developed with the children who have made excellent progress since being welcomed to their new home. Staff recognise the importance of constantly enabling the children to have new positive experiences and support them in gaining skills for independent living.”
The report does identify some areas for improvement, notably monitoring and review systems for continuous improvements requires further development. Staff are already working to make these improvements.
Further information
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.
