Children's Home run by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council in Blackburn with Darwen

SC360599 Unique reference number 27 July 2009 Inspection date Graham Robinson Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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9 January 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 8 Inspection Report: SC360599

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Brief description of the service

This adolescent support unit is one of a range of facilities provided for children and young people by the local council. The unit provides two main services. The first is to provide short and long term intensive community based support. The second is to provide respite accommodation from Friday evenings to Tuesday mornings only. Both are purposely flexible to meet individual needs.

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Brief description of the service

Each young person accessing the service lives at home with parents or carers who retain overall responsibility for them. Therefore, not all young people fall into the category of looked after. However, they all have an allocated social worker.

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Brief description of the service

The overall aim of the service is to maintain young people in their own communities and avoid the need for long term residential care. It is only the respite service that is registered with Ofsted and is the focus of this inspection.

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Brief description of the service

The property was originally two semi detached houses which have now been made into one. It has four bedrooms for young people as well as two staff sleep in rooms. There is a lounge, dining room, kitchen and games room, as well as two bathrooms and two separate toilets. In addition, there is also a separate office and a meeting room.

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Brief description of the service

The unit is situated in a residential area and is accessible via the motorway. It is close to a main bus route and other local amenities. Places of worship for all denominations are within easy reach. Transport is provided by staff who are designated as essential car drivers.

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Summary

At this full inspection all the key standards were inspected. The initial visit took place unannounced on the 24 July 2009. A shorter visit specifically to meet with young people was undertaken on the 27 July 2009, with a further visit taking place on the 28 July 2009 to conclude the inspection.

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Summary

The unit is organised to provide a personalised and flexible service designed to meet individual needs. Young people understand the purpose of the placement and there is an expectation they should contribute positively towards certain aspects of the units working practices. As a result of this, examples of challenging, disruptive or unsafe behaviour are rare.

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Summary

The organisation and management of the unit are outstanding, underpinned by a highly motivated staff group, working with a combined sense of purpose and a team-centred approach. There has been little staff turnover which contributes towards the general stability of the unit and the consistency of practice achieved. A particular strength is the ability to provide flexible packages based on the individual needs and requirements of young people and their families.

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Summary

As a result of this inspection, the overall quality rating has moved from good to outstanding. The report contains no actions and one good practice recommendation. The overall quality rating is outstanding. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection. 4 of 8 Inspection Report: SC360599

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Improvements since the last inspection

This section usually identifies improvements made as a direct result of actions and recommendations from the previous inspection. However, the report from that inspection did not contain any actions or recommendations.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Young people provide positive feedback about the choice and quality of food. They confirm they are consulted and contribute towards the planning of menus. Information about food preferences and dietary needs is gathered early and this is taken into account when meals are prepared and served. A variety of dishes representing other cultures are served alongside more traditional meals. Healthy eating is promoted positively and this is reflected in the record of meals served and with a variety of information on display around the unit.

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Helping children to be healthy

The health needs of young people are being promoted positively. Whilst the arrangements for the general health care of young people remains the responsibility of parents and carers, the unit supports any ongoing health issues a young person may have. This is reflected in the planning documentation that takes account of a young person's health needs and history. The unit has excellent links with a range of community based services designed to promote good health, which impacts both practically and positively in some of the work undertaken with young people. Staff are trained in dealing with health emergencies as well as in other appropriate areas.

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Helping children to be healthy

Any prescribed medication brought in by young people is stored securely in a locked medical cabinet. Appropriate records of any prescribed and non prescribed medication administered are kept up to date and are properly kept.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Privacy is not an area of concern to young people. Single occupancy bedrooms, each fitted with an appropriate privacy lock for which a key is supplied, are provided. Bedrooms also contain a lockable facility to store valuables. Staff acknowledge the need for privacy and their working practices reflect this.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people understand the complaints procedure and how to access it if necessary. Information is available in the guidance provided for young people, which is available in their bedroom. Systems are in place to record complaints appropriately, but none have been made by young people since the previous inspection. Young people are confident that staff would sort out any issues they may have.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The safety and rights of staff and young people are protected. There have been no safeguarding issues raised as a direct result of any young person staying at the unit. Appropriate policies and procedures are in place and the unit has developed excellent links with other external agencies who deal with safeguarding issues. All staff have received appropriate training in basic safeguarding matters, with some receiving training in more specialised areas.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Systems, underpinned by policy and procedures, are in place to combat bullying. However, for all the young people taking an active role in the inspection, bullying is not an issue of concern 5 of 8 Inspection Report: SC360599 for them. They confirm that staff are quick to react to avoid any incident escalating. Staff are aware of young people's vulnerability and are trained to manage unacceptable behaviour.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The unit has systems to deal with unauthorised absence, which are underpinned by procedures dictated by protocol agreed with local police. Staff have recently completed training that will allow them to report future incidents directly onto the police computer. However, incidents of young missing from the unit are rare.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are consulted with regularly and are party to any agreements or arrangements for respite care. This provides some insight into the stability of the unit, which is reflected the low number of sanctions and that no incidents requiring physical intervention have occurred. The structures and boundaries in place are accepted by young people, who view their respite time as being positive.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

General health and safety issues are addressed with a range of risk assessments that identify risks around the unit as well as away from it. The majority of risk assessments are reviewed and updated within the units own timescale. A few have gone beyond the dates set for review. Appropriate service contracts are in place for fire, gas and electrical equipment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The systems for recruiting and clearing staff meet with regulatory requirement, with appropriate evidence being held on site. Procedures to update the clearances for longer serving staff are in place.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. A main purpose of respite care is to provide support to young people and their families with the intention of maintaining a young person's home base and where necessary, place of education. The flexible arrangements based purely on individual need are designed to achieve this. This, along with the excellent links and working practices with other locally based services, provides outstanding levels of support.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Positive feedback from young people, staff and other professionals, along with documentation that highlights the areas of individual work undertaken, provides evidence of this. Whilst not directly responsible for providing or organising education, the unit works well with educational establishments to promote and support young people educationally.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

As well as individual work with staff to address certain issues, young people are involved in planning and participating in a programme of meaningful activities. Leisure time is structured and well organised with young people taking part in variety of activities, many of which are community based. Young people speak positively about the support they receive and the range of activities they are involved with.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The units planning documentation is produced in a unique format, reflecting the service provided. Initial referral documentation linked with others produced when respite has commenced provides a good insight into the individual needs of young people and the plans 6 of 8 Inspection Report: SC360599 and strategies designed to meet them. Personal likes and dislikes, cultural and religious needs sit comfortably alongside more strategic documentation.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Statutory reviews take place regularly for the minority of young people categorised as looked after. Young people confirm they are well supported by staff and demonstrated an understanding of the reviewing process. Where appropriate, relevant records of past reviews are retained on a young person's file.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Good levels of contact are maintained with parents, carers and other professionals, with thorough records of all contact kept up to date.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people speak positively about the way respite was initiated for them. For most it is a planned progression to supplement community support. For some initial admission is the result of an emergency. The procedures in place to receive young people into the unit are good. Young people are welcomed and appropriate information is readily available to those visiting for the first time. Young people feel staff deal well with admissions.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Consultation between staff and young people is an ongoing process immediately a young person arrives at the unit. More formalised systems, such as young people's meetings, take place regularly. There is also a secure box where young people can make suggestions privately if they wish. Young people are satisfied with the levels of consultation taking place and this is underpinned by positive feedback received from some young people's social workers. Positive relationships were observed between staff and young people.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. The young people using the service are in residence for short periods only. As they all arrive from a home base, they bring along their own clothing and personal requisites. Pocket money and savings are the responsibility of parents and carers, although the cost of activities undertaken is covered from unit funds.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The unit is bright, clean and tidy. The standard of repair, fixtures, fittings, décor, furnishings and equipment is good. Bathrooms and toilets are modern and have working privacy locks in place. Young people speak positively about staying in the unit saying they are comfortable and well looked after. They were observed as being at ease within their surroundings.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The statement of purpose, revised and updated recently, provides an accurate assessment of the service. Young people are provided with a specific guide about the respite service as well as an A-Z guide containing a wide variety of information, produced in a bright, colourful and easily accessed format. Copies of the guide are available in young people's bedrooms.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. A prime example of this occurred in May 2009 with staff and young people organising and running a cultural awareness day. Visitors were welcomed with exhibitions, demonstrations, food and other informative activities to promote and celebrate a variety of different cultures from around the world. A full account 7 of 8 Inspection Report: SC360599 and record of the day is held in the unit which provides the reader with insight into the cultures celebrated.

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Organisation

The programme of staff supervision and appraisal is well organised and takes place consistently within the recommended timescale. Staff feel well supported. They have a sense of purpose and share a commitment to provide a service designed to meet the needs of young people.

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Organisation

The energy and commitment of the manager and staff noted at the previous inspection has been maintained. There is a willingness and drive to review and evaluate practice in an effort to improve standards further. The general leadership, organisation and management of the unit are outstanding. It is a unit of high, positive energy, reflected in a team-centred approach designed to provide young people with consistency and stability.

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Organisation

There are excellent systems in place to monitor the unit both internally and externally. These monitoring exercises are carried out consistently, within the required timescale. Monitoring reports are thorough and contain an element of quality assurance.

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Organisation

Young people's case files embrace the five Every Child Matters outcomes. They are kept up to date with evidence of regular monitoring taking place.

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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

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure all risk assessments are reviewed and revised if necessary, within the units own timescale (NMS 26.2). 8 of 8 Inspection Report: SC360599

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