Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

SC064735 Unique reference number 12 February 2010 Inspection date Monica Hargreaves Inspector Random Type of Inspection

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9 September 2009 Date of last inspection .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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You can obtain copies of The Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters and The National Minimum Standards for Children's Services from: The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Cripins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcome for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and relevant National Minimum Standards for the establishment.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is strong Good: this aspect of the provision is sound Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is not good enough Inadequate: 3 of 6 Inspection Report: SC064735

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Brief description of the service

This local authority home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people, aged from 12 to 17 years old. It is located in a residential area and has good access to public transport links. It is a two storey building and has a lounge, dining room, computer room, kitchen, laundry and two staff offices on the ground floor. Bedrooms are all on the first floor and each young person has their own bedroom. There are shared bathrooms and toilets also on the first floor and a separate toilet for staff and visitors on the ground floor. There is an enclosed garden to the rear of the house, which has a grassed area and a range of vegetable plots.

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Brief description of the service

There were six young people living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Summary

This unannounced interim inspection was carried out to assess how well the home is meeting the needs of young people in the outcome area of staying safe. Because of the limited nature of the inspection, there has been no change to the overall judgement.

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Summary

There are excellent systems in place to ensure that young people are protected and cared for safely in the home. Staffing levels are good to ensure appropriate supervision of young people, and staff are well trained and competent. They have an excellent understanding of the specific needs and vulnerabilities of the young people they look after and put in place very clear plans to support and protect them. Challenging behaviour is managed very well and with the lowest level of intervention needed to protect young people. A robust assessment process enables staff to identify possible risks in the environment and to eliminate or minimise those risks to keep the home safe. Young people say that they feel well cared for and safe. The overall quality rating is outstanding. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

There were no actions or recommendations made at the last inspection.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. There are robust arrangements in place to promote young people's rights to privacy and confidentiality. For example, there are clear policies to guide staff practice, including a procedure for conducting room searches. Young people can spend time alone in their rooms if they wish to be private and they have a key to their bedroom so that they can keep their possessions safe. Staff always knock on bedroom doors before entering. Information about young people is stored securely and staff make sure that it is kept confidential. Young people are confident that their right to privacy is respected.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Complaints are managed very well. There are rigorous systems in place which ensure that issues and concerns from young people and individuals outside the home are responded to promptly. 4 of 6 Inspection Report: SC064735 Excellent information is made available to young people to enable them to make independent complaints to agencies outside the home if they wish. Staff are trained in responding to and managing complaints and encourage young people to let them know at an early stage if they have a complaint or grumble about care in the home. There is clear evidence that young people understand how to make a complaint. They say that they feel able to talk to any member of staff if there is a problem and believe that staff listen to them and take action to resolve it.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Safeguarding takes a high priority in the home, so that young people are protected from abuse. Staff training in child protection issues is regularly refreshed so that their knowledge and skills are kept up-to-date. Staff are very clear about their responsibilities in relation to reporting safeguarding issues. They have an excellent understanding of the individual needs of the young people they look after, which enables them to develop clear and detailed plans to protect and support young people. There is clear evidence that recent safeguarding issues have been responded to promptly and in line with the safeguarding procedures, to protect young people. Young people themselves say that they 'feel safe in the house' because 'staff look after you properly'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are sound arrangements in place to minimise the risk of bullying, such as robust risk assessments and good staffing levels to ensure appropriate supervision. Young people understand that bullying is not tolerated and say that staff help them to sort out any difficulties that arise in the group, so that they 'get along' well generally. Staff and young people do not feel that bullying is an issue.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Episodes of unauthorised absence from the home are handled robustly and in a timely way, to protect young people and ensure their safe return. Staff work with young people to help them to learn to understand and manage risk in their own lives. They ensure that individual risk assessments and support plans for young people are kept up-to-date, so that there is a clear understanding within the team of specific risks for individual young people. Staff encourage young people to let them know where they will be when they leave the home and agree appropriate times for their return. When young people are away, they keep in touch with them by mobile phone. If young people go missing from the home, staff work closely with police and other agencies and share information appropriately; detailed records of incidents are kept.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff encourage young people to behave responsibly to each other and to staff. They talk to young people individually and in groups about issues of rights and responsibilities and provide positive role models. They also use incentives to encourage and reward positive behaviour. Individual risk assessments and behaviour support plans are excellent and promote consistency in the team in the way that staff work with young people. Staff are trained to respond positively to behaviour that is challenging, including in the use of physical restraints. Clear and detailed records of incidents that result in physical intervention are kept. These confirm that staff respond to challenging behaviour appropriately and manage difficult incidents at the lowest level of intervention to protect young people. Young people say that staff are 'fair' and make comments such as 'they treat us with respect'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Health and safety matters are managed very well, so that young people benefit from living in an environment that is kept safe. There is a robust schedule in place to make sure that gas appliances are routinely serviced and fire and electrical equipment is regularly checked. Young people confirm that staff explain the fire procedures to them and that they take part in fire evacuation drills, so that they understand what to do in an emergency. Risk assessments on 5 of 6 Inspection Report: SC064735 the environment and on specific issues affecting individual young people are thorough and are regularly reviewed so that information is kept up to date and accurate. These processes enable staff to eliminate or minimise risks in the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The recruitment process for staff is detailed and ensures that all new staff are thoroughly vetted before they start work at the home. The identity of all visitors is checked before they are allowed into the home and the home itself is kept appropriately secure to prevent unauthorised individuals gaining access. These systems protect young people and promote their well-being.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person meets the Care Standards Act 2000, The Childrens Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider must comply with the given timescales.

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Recommendations

There are no recommendations. 6 of 6 Inspection Report: SC064735

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