Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

SC032083 Unique reference number 24 June 2009 Inspection date Elizabeth Taylor Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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16 December 2008 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: SC032083

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Brief description of the service

The home accommodates two young people, aged from 10 to 17 years of age, with emotional or behavioural difficulties. The home is maintained by a company who operate other children's homes throughout the country. The house is detached with a garden and is situated in a rural location. Farm buildings are sited close to the house. Young people attend mainstream school, although the home is also registered to provide education on site, if necessary. Both young people contributed to the inspection.

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Summary

At this unannounced full inspection all the key standards were inspected. The main focus of the inspection was to find out how well the home meets the needs of young people living there.

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Summary

This is a good service with some outstanding features. Plans for the care of the young people are extremely detailed and show how the home meets their needs. The plans enable staff to work consistently with individual young people and to provide continuity in their care. Young people enjoy living in the home and feel safe and well supported. They live in a secure environment which supports their development and enables them to make significant progress. Good relationships have been established with social care, health and education agencies to ensure young people's needs are effectively promoted.

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Summary

Young people are looked after by staff who are trained and competent to meet their needs. The home is effectively run and there is a strong commitment to developing the service to ensure young people continue to receive a quality service. The overall quality rating is good. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Four recommendations were made following the last inspection. All have been fully met. All staff are now trained in the safe administration of medication. This ensures young people receive appropriate treatment, safely, to support their good health. The home was asked to ensure young people's risk assessments identified what action should be taken if they went missing. Individual protocols have been developed which reflect young people's age and level of vulnerability. This ensures staff act consistently to keep young people safe. A development in the service for young people is that they now are able to have a mobile phone. This increases their sense of responsibility and enables them to maintain constructive contact, without the practical support of staff. Young people's views are now actively sought by the company, to inform an evaluation of the service offered to them. This demonstrates young people's opinions

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. The home's systems and records show young people's health needs are exceptionally well met. Young people enjoy a varied and nutritious diet which reflects their individual likes and dislikes. They are actively involved in planning weekly menus and encouraged to try new dishes. Staff help young people to understand how food is produced and what foods are deemed good to 4 of 8 Inspection Report: SC032083 keep them healthy. All staff are trained to prepare and cook food safely and young people enjoy frequent opportunities to learn to cook.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people's physical and emotional well-being is fully promoted. Their health needs are comprehensively assessed on admission and clear targets are identified to show how the home meets their needs. Young people are registered with appropriate local health services and are supported to have regular health checks to maintain their good health. Detailed health plans, risk assessments and key worker sessions provide clear evidence of action taken by staff to meet young people's individual needs. This includes providing young people with appropriate advice and guidance about health related matters so they can make more informed choices and decisions. Good attention is given to promoting young people's emotional and mental well-being. Specialist services carry out direct work with young people and staff are trained to enable them to provide effective support in this area of care.

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Helping children to be healthy

The home operates a robust system for the safe storage, administration and disposal of medicines. Staff are trained in emergency first aid and the safe management of medication. This ensures young people receive appropriate treatment in accordance with their needs.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Young people's right to privacy and confidentiality is respected in the home. Staff demonstrate respect for young people in their everyday practice and through direct work within key working sessions. Young people are supported to understand appropriate boundaries, such as seeking permission before entering other people's bedrooms. Appropriate locks are fitted to bedroom and bathroom doors, though some do not work smoothly, to enable them to be opened quickly in an emergency.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are aware of the home's complaint procedure and feel confident to use it, if necessary. However, young people tend to prefer to talk to staff informally if they are unhappy about something. All complaints are taken seriously and responded to in a professional way. Young people feel confident to approach staff with any concerns and think staff are helpful.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Systems are in place to ensure young people are safeguarded. Relevant professionals are informed about significant events. Staff receive appropriate training and understand the importance of their role in keeping young people safe through good care planning and working closely with other agencies. Staff talk to young people about relevant issues to ensure they know how to keep themselves safe. The home also protects young people by ensuring they are aware of their rights and by encouraging them to talk openly about any behaviour perceived as bullying in nature. Young people say bullying is not a problem.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Records show staff adopt various methods to encourage young people to behave acceptably and to maintain constructive relationships with others. The effective use of incentives helps to improve young people's self confidence and shows they are valued. Detailed records describe how staff manage young people's unacceptable behaviour and demonstrate sanctions or the use of physical intervention is fair and proportionate.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Records show that the home is safe and appropriately monitored, including detailed environmental and fire risk assessments. However, the annual review of the fire assessment was just overdue. Certificates for the electrical installation and appliances are up to date. Good 5 of 8 Inspection Report: SC032083 attention is given to fire safety with regular drills involving young people and annual servicing of equipment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All staff are appropriately vetted and assessed as suitable to work with young people. Visitors to the home are also vetted and appropriate records are maintained. These measures contribute to ensuring young people's safety is promoted.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Young people receive individual support in accordance with their assessed needs in areas, such as health, emotional and behavioural support, education and leisure. Care records show young people are able to access a range of services aimed at developing their self awareness, confidence and sense of identity. The keyworking system is effective in supporting individual young people and in assisting them to work towards targets in their care plans. Although keyworking records vary a little in quality, all demonstrate young people are given guidance and advice to assist their development. Records provide a clear paper trail to show how young people's needs are being met.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff value education for the young people and play an active role in supporting them in full-time education. The home provides a stimulating environment for young people, allowing them the scope to benefit from good outcomes. Each young person has their own study area and has access to appropriate resources to enable them to complete homework. Staff encourage and celebrate young people's educational efforts and achievements through individual key working sessions and within young people's meetings.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Young people have detailed plans for their care which describe the level of guidance and support they receive to effectively address their needs. The plans are supported by robust risk assessments. There is a regular reviewing process, though records of outcomes for young people do not contain clear examples to fully support the judgements. Nevertheless, other records show young people's daily needs are met and changes in need are quickly identified and plans adjusted to address them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are helped to maintain contact with important people in their lives. Previously, although young people had access to a phone, this was only possible with staff support. Arrangements have since been reviewed and are now more responsive to young people's needs; each young person has been given a mobile phone with a regular 'top-up' allowance and opportunities to extend the allowance. Young people have responded positively to this change. This shows the service continues to be developed to offer young people a high standard of care which promotes their rights and responsibilities.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Both planned and emergency admissions take place, though the benefits of a planned process for young people is acknowledged. Staff assist young people to settle by ensuring they have access to information about the home and how it operates, are supported to maintain contact with relevant people and are fully involved in plans for their care. Staff liaise closely with all interested persons to ensure communication is effective in supporting young people's needs. 6 of 8 Inspection Report: SC032083 Systems and practices within the home ensure that young people, their parents and social workers are afforded opportunities to express their opinions. Young people's views and wishes are actively sought and records show these influence day to day living arrangements as well as future plans for the home. All young people are encouraged to contribute to their care planning process and sign some of their records. This promotes consultation and inclusion.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is satisfactory. The young people currently living in the home are not of leaving age. Nevertheless, good attention is given to ensuring they gain practical skills which support their independence and help prepare them for adulthood.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people live in a homely environment, though some fixtures and fittings are in need of upgrading to raise the standard of accommodation to a good level. A programme of redecoration is currently underway and further improvements are planned. The home is located in a rural area with no easy access to public transport. Young people are reliant on staff to transport them everywhere. However, this does not present an issue for children currently living in the home as they are young. They benefit from ample space for play in the large garden and surrounding area, and enjoy sighting wildlife around the home. Some play equipment is provided, though young people say they would like a summer house or 'den'. Staff support the young people to meet with their friends outside of school, to maintain their social development and skills.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Each young person has their own room, which is personalised to a degree. Sufficient furniture is provided for sleeping, storage and studying. Young people are responsible for keeping their rooms tidy though staff support them to keep their rooms clean and in good order.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The statement and purpose of the home provides a clear description of the home and information about those working there. Young people have their own guide to the service which is presented in a child-friendly format. This provides them with important information, such as staff roles, the complaints process and day to day arrangements within the home. Keyworkers discuss the guide with young people, to check their understanding of the contents.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Staff are encouraged and supported to care for young people in a manner which celebrates their individuality and diversity. Young people are assisted to access the same community facilities as other children and to enjoy similar opportunities, such as a holiday. Staff promote other cultures and beliefs in a positive way through everyday discussions with young people, menu planning, activities and visits. Young people have their wishes and views taken into account through good key working systems. Their care records are regularly reviewed and show they are being supported to develop and achieve.

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Organisation

The home is staffed to meet the individual needs of the young people living there. Although there have been a few changes in the team since the last inspection, core members of the team, such as the keyworker and co-worker remain the same. The changes have not unduly affected continuity in the care of the young people. Staff are clear about the management systems 7 of 8 Inspection Report: SC032083 within the home and understand their roles and responsibilities fully. They are afforded regular supervision and appraisals of their work and have access to appropriate training. Staff also receive specific training which enables them to promote young people's emotional well-being. This enables the staff team to develop their skills and to provide a good standard of care and support to meet the needs of those they care for. The needs of the young people currently residing in the home are exceptionally well met.

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Organisation

Good systems are in place to measure the home's performance and monitor its progress in delivering a good service. Records show that young people contribute to the process and that the service offered is regularly assessed and reported on by both the manager and a representative of the company. The newly appointed manager has implemented changes to the service which are appropriate for younger children and which supports their development.

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Organisation

Young people have accessible care records which demonstrate how the home cares and supports them. Young people sign many of their records to show they are actively involved in decision making. Systems within the home ensure that all records are well maintained, regularly monitored and reviewed.

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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 the homes fire risk assessment is reviewed (NMS 26) • ensure locks on bathroom doors can be easily opened in the event of an emergency (NMS 26) • review the format of the measuring outcome planner to ensure detailed information provides evidence to support the judgement (NMS 2). 8 of 8 Inspection Report: SC032083

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