Children's Home run by Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd in Staffordshire

SC378181 Unique reference number 9 February 2010 Inspection date David Morgan Inspector Random Type of Inspection

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15 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: SC378181

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Brief description of the service

The home is one of two children's homes located in a small cul-de-sac a short drive from the centre of town. It provides care for up to two children or young people aged between eight and 17 years who have emotional or behavioural difficulties. The property is a four bedroomed detached house that was built in 2008. It is in a suburban area with shops close by and ready access to the countryside. Children have their own good-sized bedroom, one with en-suite shower and toilet, and there are gardens at the front and rear. The young person who currently lives at the home did not contribute directly to this report.

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Summary

Following this unannounced interim inspection the overall judgement remains satisfactory. The visit addressed previous actions and recommendations, staying safe, and part of organisation only: other outcome areas were not considered in full. Progress has been made to improve the service in light of the last actions and recommendations as described below. In particular, improvements have been made to the cleanliness of bedrooms, the supervision of the manager and the provision of review reports to young people. Work is necessary to address additional issues arising from this inspection. These include the need for certain safety issues to be resolved including clarification of the employment of new staff on shifts alone, which is a potential risk to them and young people. The overall quality rating is satisfactory. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last inspection raised six actions and four recommendations. Since then, the privacy of young people has been improved by less use of door alarms. There is now appropriate contact with other households that young people have contact with. There is improved attention to the cleanliness of bedrooms and greater control of smoking, which creates a more pleasant environment for young people. Procedures relating to these matters are also now in place.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Staff training is ongoing and supervision arrangements for all staff, including the manager, are in place. New staff receive in-house induction training but are put on duty before all necessary training is completed; this does not comply with the policy and potentially puts staff and young people at risk. Systems for improving the quality of care are not yet sufficiently robust. Also, although staff have the benefit of management reports about the service they do not read them, which means improvements are not implemented. These shortfalls mean that young people's welfare is not promoted as effectively as possible.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Following review meetings, young people now receive meeting minutes, which helps to ensure they understand the decisions.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. 4 of 6 Inspection Report: SC378181 Because of the small size of the home young people have ample opportunities to raise any concerns, which they have done regarding bedroom door security. On the whole, young people’s privacy is respected reasonably well although bedroom door locks can be overridden by hand, which does not protect young people’s privacy sufficiently. A new policy is in place for room searches but the record provides insufficient detail. This is significant because it means that young people may not be made aware that a search has occurred. In other respects, there are effective measures in place to safeguard young people including keeping in regular contact with them when they are off-site. Behaviour is managed well with a suitable range of bonuses in place and encouragement and support for independence skills.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff raise safety issues with young people and ensure they understand; bullying and being absent without authority are addressed well and do not occur. The home provides young people with high levels of physical safety and security. For example, there is close scrutiny of vehicle safety and fire precautions. Greater attention is now paid to preventing young people smoking in their bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms. Although fire drills occur regularly, there is insufficient attention to the scenarios that could occur. This means that staff and young people are not receiving sufficient training. Young people’s safety is also addressed by satisfactory recruitment procedures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. In instances where a young person regularly stays in other households, appropriate links are maintained with the households to ensure the welfare of the young person.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Information from statutory reviews is given to young people afterwards if they have not attended. Discussions are held to ensure young people understand what has been decided. However, there is insufficient consultation with other people about the operation of the home, which is an important way of checking on the quality of the service and deciding how it can be improved.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is satisfactory. The dignity and independence of young people is respected in their bedrooms. Staff also ensure that minimum standards of cleanliness and safety are maintained.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. A satisfactory level of management occurs in the home, policies are up to date and the manager now receives professional supervision. Certain elements only were reviewed on this occasion. In particular, although monitoring assessments occur, the organisation does not send monthly reports to Ofsted as required and staff do not read and implement the recommendations of the internal monitoring reports. This means the auditing is less effective. Also, a new member of staff is working alone and this does not reflect the staffing procedures. The risks posed are relatively low in this instance but there is no evidence of an appropriate assessment. 5 of 6 Inspection Report: SC378181

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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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Due date Action Standard

15 March 2010 ensure each child is provided with sleeping accommodation which is suitable for his need for privacy, with regard to suitable bedroom door locks (Regulation 31(8)(a)) 15 March 2010 ensure by means of drills and practices at suitable intervals that the persons working at the home, and so far as practicable, the children living there, are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire, with regard to practicing possible scenarios (Regulation 32(1)(e)) 15 March 2010 ensure there is a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working in the home (Regulation 25(1)(b)) 15 March 2010 ensure there is a system for improving the quality of care, and ensure that it provides for consultation with children, their parents and placing authorities (Regulations 34(1)(b) and 34(3)) 15 March 2010 ensure that the registered provider supplies a copy of the monthly monitoring report to Ofsted. (Regulation 33(5)(a))

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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 guidance on when it may be necessary to search a child's possessions reflects this standard (NMS 9.8) • ensure the opinions and views of parents (unless inappropriate) and placing authorities are ascertained on a regular and frequent basis about care, the home and its operation (NMS 8.6 and 8.10) • ensure action is taken to improve or adjust provisions where necessary, with regard to implementing the recommendations of Regulation 34 monitoring reports. (NMS 33.1) 6 of 6 Inspection Report: SC378181

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