Harmony House 1st Ofsted Report – Awarded GOOD

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services Ofsted News

I can proudly say that our first Ofsted report, where we were acknowledged as operating at a GOOD standard has been published on the Ofsted Web site.

To read it in full please click here:-

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/files/1871629/urn/SC424759.pdf

Mark

Harmony House awarded GOOD on its 1st Ofsted Inspection

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

Harmony’s 1^st Ofsted Inspection – GOOD in all areas.

 On the 16^th and 17^th November we had the pleasure of our first unannounced Ofsted inspection at Harmony House.

I am very proud and pleased to feed back to all that our inspector has awarded Harmony House an overall rating of GOOD and a consistent GOOD in all areas.

This is a very proud moment for myself and the staff who have all helped to enable Harmony to achieve the good standard of practice I have learnt over the many years and it is now evident that this has paid off in our grades.

During the new inspection regime the inspector now makes contact with all the professionals involved with the residents.  I am pleased to say that all the professionals he contacted all spoke very highly of the service, commenting on how much progress we have made with the young person, by keeping them safe and giving them stability in their lives.  This was also reiterated by the young people themselves when the inspector spoke them.  The inspector highlighted the ethos, in terms of the caring and honest approach of the Harmony care team, and the commitment to the children and young people in our care as they are always our priority.

 I won’t go into too much detail at this point, as the report has to be finalised by the Ofsted inspection team.  When it has been completed, a link will be made available to all.  This can be accessed from the Ofsted logo on the site, directly to our space on the Ofsted web site.

As a result of the inspection our certificate is now in the process of being changed to remove the 9 -17 years age clause.  This will be reflected in the newly updated Statement of Purpose that can be made available to those who wish to have a copy in order to update their records.

This now means that Harmony house will be able to offer its services to a much wider age range of children and intends to do so with immediate affect.

So where to go from here?  Our aim is to keep building on our success with the service, residents and staff and we very much hope that our next inspection will be either a full outstanding grade or at the very least a good with elements of outstanding.

Once again a big thank you to the residents, staff and the many professionals we work alongside.

That’s all for now; more to come later as the report is released,

 With thanks and my best wishes,

Mark

Happy 1/2 Bithday to Harmony

Posted by Mark Raw in Childcare Industry Harmony Childrens Services

Happy ½ birthday to Harmony I had the privilege to meet up with other child care professionals and commissioners at the recent NCCT conference. I found the discussions very positive also found the workshops very informative. The two days gave me some interesting ideas to consider on how to further develop Harmony and its ethos. We also received praise from some regards what we have been able to achieve in this difficult climate. It is always hard to walk around at a conference and try to recognise name badges, so apologies if I was unable to catch up with you all during the day or at the now legendary quiz and disco.

From this event Harmony has had a number of potential clients express an interest in what we can offer and several meetings have already been arranged with a few of the larger organisations who are keen to come and see what we have been doing and how we are doing it.

If I missed you or you didn’t attend NCCT we will be at the ‘Community Care Live’ event for Childrens and Families in November. Alternatively if you wish we can make a separate arrangement to meet you personally, either at Harmony House or at your office and discuss how Harmony can help meet your needs.

There was memory stick that was provided to all delegates at the conference, which included a flyer form ourselves. However I feel that at present, without an Ofsted certificate, our best form of endorsement comes from the commissioners and social workers that we currently work alongside. If you wish to find out from your peers in the industry about the high quality service we offer please let me know and I will speak with those concerned and pass on their details if they are happy to do so.

It has now been six months now since Harmony House received its Ofsted certified status on the 21st March.

A huge amount has happened in such a short space of time; we currently have 50% occupancy and have the high possibility of two more referrals coming to fruition within the next 5-6 weeks. More of that later in the year hopefully.

We have created a solid and skilled staff team who are using their skills to provide high quality support and promotion of independence skills to our residents on a daily basis. The current residents have enjoyed joining in on some of the in training to help them in later life and provide qualifications to strengthen their own job applications. On that, well done to those who attended and passed the Fire safety and health and safety course. The kids have also had some wonderful days out; at Blackpool, Alton Towers and shopping trips to mention a few.

I am eagerly waiting for our first Ofsted Inspections to be carried out. I expect that it will be very soon given how long we have been open now. I will update everyone with how they can access the report when the private links are available. We will have a link to all our reports on the website so that you can access them.

At this point though I would like to thank all those who have offered advice, guidance and support to myself and Harmony to assist us in getting to this point. And also thank you to all the staff that has helped to provide the residents with such positive experiences and inputs into their lives, and have changed the kids’ views for the better of what a children’s home is. Keep up all the good work.

Mark Raw

Jail Bars and Nail Bars

Posted by Mark Raw in Childcare Industry Harmony Childrens Services

It looks like the issue of ‘Kids behind Bars’ has made it to the mainstream media as it is being shown onBBC1 on Thursday evenings.  It has even caused one desperate mother to contact me to seek advice and guidance.

There has been a lot going on in July, several key reports have been published the main ones being:  The Children’s Society reports on Runaways, http://www.cypnow.co.uk/Social_Care/article/1079987/runaways-must-seen-risk/   The Children’s Homes data pack: http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families/childrenincare/childrenshomes/a00192000/childrens-homes-data-pack   And the DoE children’s home quarterly news letter: http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families/childrenincare/childrenshomes/a00192002/a-newsletter-for-the-childrens-homes-sector

The data pack has been a very useful tool to show what is happening within the residential sector over the last few turbulent years. There have been lots of changes and it features some constructive ways to move forward.

The newsletter is a welcome read; it’s been a long time coming that a single document was produced by those who set the national policy.  The two items that I found particularly good were a) engagement with unit managers to share good practice and b) residential homes can be a positive influence on the child if they are ‘person centred’ to facilitate an ‘extended family’ environment.  This is very much in line with what Harmony House has in place and our nurturing approach may mean that we are ahead of the game already.

Harmony House must be achieving what we set out to do, as we have now admitted our second resident and the transition has gone very well so far, with very little or no impact on the existing resident.  I would say this is somewhat down to our keen matching process.  Not as some may say “cherry picking” but by putting the needs and the progress of those already in situ , and making sure that the placement is sustained and not threatened by the need to fill another bed.  Some my say that this is not the best approach to running a children’s home, however in my opinion this is indeed the correct approach. 

I hope that the partnership approach of openness, honesty and mutual respect with Local Authorities and the children/young people has made our current resident’s experience of children’s homes a positive and productive one.  I very much hope this experience provides them with a positive experience which continues to influence them long after they move on from Harmony House. 

The summer holidays are fast approaching, and this is giving us time to get out there and explore what the county has to offer in ways of days out, beaches, theme parks and maybe some overnight visits to explore different places.  The staff remit is to encourage our young residents to adopt the view that the days are not just spent in a warm house, watching TV and going to the shops for more DVDs.

 A big “well done” to our longest term resident who has taken her work experience in a beauty salon to the next level of paid work, with the real possibility of full time employment in the near future.  She has been requested to undertake a nail course and complete the first part of the training, before the next session at the end of August when she needs to practice her nail painting techniques. Needless to say, the female staff members have taken full advantage of this offer and we now have the best manicured staff team in the country….. well the females at least!  To the best of my knowledge the males have not yet had their fingers or toes practiced on as yet, but there is still plenty of time!

Extended Placements, 5 Star “Scores on the Doors” Award and Gold in Healthy Choice Awards

Posted by Mark Raw in Childcare Industry Harmony Childrens Services

26th June 2011

It has been another productive few weeks again. Every time I set out to write my blog I have more good news to share. This time it’s requests for placements being extended, achieving 5 Stars on the National Food Hygiene Scores and being awarded the Gold Level Award in the Kirklees Healthy Choice Award.

Without too much detail, confidentiality of course, I am very proud to say that we have been asked to extend the placement of our current resident for a further 3 months and to help into the initial stages of adulthood.  I have been advised that it is a first for the authority and is somewhat a reflection of the good work achieved by the individual, aided by ourselves and a great demonstration and affirmation of what we can achieve in a short space of time.   A big WELL DONE  to all the staff for their work in this, and especially to the resident for their efforts.

Still achieving, I am please to say that we have been given the highest award by Kirklees Environmental Health Services for our Food Hygiene Standards – that’s 5 stars. To see more about this you can access the national data base at http://www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk. You will can find us on there, but please don’t confuse us with the Harmony Children’s Centre – they only scored 4.   This is a nationally recognised award that carries a lot of value and demonstrates the high standards we provide in all areas, not just in the expected “care and support side”.   Here at Harmony we have high expectation in all areas and I hope that these standards and expectations are passed on to our residents to help ensure they lead a healthy and safe lifestyle.

From achieving this high level of recognition we were recommended by the authority to apply for the ‘Kirklees Healthy Choice’ Award.  I wasted no time in getting the application off, confident of the high standard of the food we offer and provide.  Today we have been informed that we have again achieved a Gold Level Award, scoring well in all areas. Further proof that Harmony House is not just a safe environment, regarding health and safety (as acknowledge by CHAS), and a safe place to prepare food (as recognised by the 5 stars), but now, as Gold award holders of the Healthy Choices Award, a healthy place to eat.

Following on from my previous blog, it was pleasing to see further arrests of the some of the torturous and abusive staff at the Winterbourne Hospital.  I hope they are charged and sentenced to the letter of the law.

There have been further notable documentaries on BBC3 called Kids Behind Bars (Thursdays BBC 3 9pm – you can catch up on the BBC iplayer if you missed them).  A very interesting watch, of which I am sure people have some differing views.   Having personally collected and worked with a resident released from Vinny Green in a past life, when I carried out my assessment visits I can say that it was an intimidating place to go as a visitor even as an adult.  I eventually collected the resident and you feel the permanent tension in air and see the excitement in leaving the secure unit.  I though the staff handled the situation well in what seemed to be a understaffed time, and also with the presence of TV cameras, of which I am sure caused the children to play up to.   I was particularly taken aback by Aimy, the teacher, who showed a great attitude when the chair was thrown in her class.  She noted it was not at her, but to the side of her and thrown for effect and acting out, hence addressed it in a professional manner and maintained the empathic approach.   More people working and thinking like Aimy will make the system a much better place for the kids to be, even if they are in secure units.  More understanding of what their needs are and how we can work better with them and then it’s a “win win” situation for the children and staff.

Harmony is now CHAS approved

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

Harmony Children’s Services are pleased to announce that we have been approved by CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme). CHAS is a national organisation dedicated to completing health and safety pre-qualification assessments to a nationally recognised and accepted threshold standard. CHAS assesses applicants on Health and safety policy statement; Their organisation for health and safety; Their specific health and safety arrangements to a standard acceptable to our buyers and to others.

Harmony Children’s Services were assessed by CHAS during April 2011 and ‘passed with flying colours’. For more information about CHAS please see http://www.chas.gov.uk/ target=”_blank”

We have our first referral.

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

We have our first referral. The confirming call came at 3pm today.  I will personally be going to pick them up tonight so it’s now all hands on deck so to speak. We are all are very excited and cannot wait to start the good work that we know we can do and start to make a difference to a young persons life.

Thank you to the Authority to have the faith and courage in us to try a new service. I am sure we wont let the child or you down. Right, got to go and get into the important stuff.

Harmony House – Open the Doors

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

The doors are open at last, hooray !!! Ofsted came as planned and made a clear recommendation for registration. This is absolutely fantastic news. All of the teams hard work has really paid off and we are now ready to go!

Now is when the real work starts. We have to start getting our name out there, and showing the local authorities, care workers and procurement managers the quality of service and support that we can provide.

I have my ticket for Community Care Live in London on the 18^th May and am looking forward to going along to meet old friends, make new contacts and generally see what is happening and has changed in the industry. We have one of our new adverts in the exhibition brochure – look out for us on the agenda page. I hope that no-one misses us. If you want to set up a meeting please email me at mark.raw@harmonycs.co.uk.

I’ve also set myself up at Linked In (http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mark-raw/29/505/19a).

Please feel free to link to me. Lets see how that performs in helping spread the word.

Harmony House, is now really taking shape.

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

Two months down and loads of work done! The great news is that our first property, Harmony House, is now really taking shape. The house is almost completely sorted, has been fully re-decorated and furnished from top to bottom – however I think the company credit card is still screaming with pain. All of the paperwork is now in place and we have a great staff team in place raring to go. We are now just waiting for Ofsted to come round to give us the OK and our certificate of registration. They are due to visit on the 21^st.

Everyone is so excited and keen to get going. I and the staff want to make Harmony House a special place to be; everyone is clear it is about focusing on the childs needs, and trust that I will balance out their needs against what we can provide.

I also just want to say a thank you to all of those on the Residential Childcare Network.  http://www.residentialchildcarenetwork.com/ target=”_blank”. They have given me some really helpful advice, support and guidance so far – thank you. You can check my page out at http://www.residentialchildcarenetwork.com/profile/MarkRaw.

My next blog post hopefully will be some more good news after the 21^st when Ofsted come to visit.

Harmony Childrens Services is live !

Posted by Mark Raw in Harmony Childrens Services

Welcome all to the first blog of what I hope is many days, months and years of Harmony Childrens Services on what is a historic day in my life. After many, many years of planning, thinking, hoping, dreaming, worrying, calculating and wishing, my hopes (and fears!) have finally come to fruition. The last few months have been all about labouring over spreadsheets, finding investors, selling my vision, writing and re-writing documents, checking and double-checking policies and minimum standards and simply putting everything, and more, into making my long-held dream happen.

Today, Thursday 19th December 2010 is a historic day for me, and for Harmony Children’s Services. The money is deposited in the bank, the documents are signed and there’s no turning back…….onwards and upwards.

As we put pen to paper, the room at the solicitors had a great feeling in it. We all knew that what we were signing up to do would make a real difference to the children, with me at the helm steering it as I have always wished for. Daunting but very, very exciting! We toasted our new found company not with champagne (we all drove in, bad planning) but with cups of tea and biscuits – a cup of PG Tips never tasted so sweet.

The plan is simple enough; ‘provide high quality childcare, at a simple reasonable price’. I am excitedly looking forward to the future where Harmony is ‘meeting needs and exceeding expectations’. However I am clear from the start; Harmony should not grow too big that I will not know the names and issues affecting all of the children in our care and that I know each and every staff member and they know me. It is all about building a family ethos that will run though Harmony and everything it does.

So, papers signed, the hard work has only just started. Where do we go from here? We have been looking at a number of houses and I am keen to ensure that our first house is perfectly suited for our (and the children’s) needs. We have identified one and now just need to get our offer accepted. It looks as if it’s designed for us; it meets all our needs, with great living space, good sized bedrooms and even an annex for the classroom. It’s ideal!

And I was looking for my first Christmas off in ten years….. I don’t think I will be getting it this year but I don’t care. My dream has just become a reality.