Children's Home run by West Sussex County Council in West Sussex

SC037454 Unique reference number 19 May 2009 Inspection date Paul Taylor Inspector Key Type of Inspection

p.1

16 October 2008 Date of last inspection .

p.1

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.

p.2

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

p.2

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.

p.3

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 9 Inspection Report: SC037454

p.3

Brief description of the service

This service is a five bedded mixed gender children's home. The service is currently aimed at young people between the ages of 12 and under 17 years old who have difficulty living within a family environment.

p.4

Brief description of the service

The home is situated in a residential area close to all the amenities a town can offer. The house provides a comfortable living environment and is purpose built. The home is situated in a large residential estate which has a population which is multicultural. On the ground floor the home has communal rooms, a kitchen, offices and a games room. The first floor rooms consist of bedrooms and bathrooms.

p.4

Summary

At this unannounced inspection all the key standards were assessed. The home provides an excellent standard of care to the young people. It is clear that the staff team values and promotes the input of the young people into the running of the home and that opportunities for them to voice their feelings about their care are readily available. The young people themselves feel that the staff treat them with respect and are always willing to listen to them. The manager and staff team work well together and evaluate their practice to ensure that high standards are maintained. Two recommendations were made as a result of this inspection. The overall quality rating is outstanding. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

p.4

Improvements since the last inspection

There were no recommendations or actions made at the last inspection carried out in October 2008.

p.4

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. The staff know each young person's dietary needs and preferences. The young people are offered a varied and healthy diet and have the opportunity to eat and try 'mystery meals' which are dishes, from different backgrounds, chosen by members of staff. This enables the young people to experiment with food and to have the opportunity to eat foods from different cultures. Food hygiene training is offered on a rolling basis to the staff team.

p.4

Helping children to be healthy

Health needs of the young people are very well met. Appointments with health professionals are arranged and specialist input is gained to ensure that the young people's emotional and physical health is promoted. All young people have written consent from their parent or guardian with regards to the administration of medication or first aid.

p.4

Helping children to be healthy

The home has a rigorous system for ensuring that the administration of medication is closely monitored and regularly audited. Young people are able to administer their own medication following a risk assessment and staff assessment of their ability to do so safely.

p.4

Helping children to be healthy

The health of the young people both physically and emotionally is valued and promoted to an excellent standard. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: SC037454

p.4

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Privacy is respected by the staff team and sensitive information is stored securely. The young people are made aware of their right to see information kept on them. The young people are also made aware of the circumstances when room searches may occur. A record is made should this happen. Telephone calls to social workers, family and friends can be made in private. Additionally, the young people are able to receive credit on their mobile telephones.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The young people are aware of how to make a complaint and to whom they can do this. The young people have access to external professionals should they not wish to complain to a member of staff. An advocate visits the home and has also been invited to house meetings by the young people. Complaints and their resolution are recorded. Whilst the details of this process are not always made clear in the complaints log, records of the process are kept elsewhere, for example, iin monthly reports and key work sessions.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All members of staff receive child protection training as part of their induction process, plus regular 'refresher' training to ensure that they are up to date with child protection procedures. Additionally they have access to local safeguarding procedures and the organisation's child protection policy. All members of staff are clear as to their obligations in the event that they have concerns about a young person's wellbeing. Detailed records are maintained on any child protection concerns and how they have been pursued and resolved.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Bullying is not tolerated in the home and the young people are aware of this. The staff encourage the young people to resolve any issues by meeting and discussing with staff support. The staff team are very aware of group dynamics and relationships and strive to de-escalate tension and disputes.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has a clear policy in place for the staff to follow in the event that a young person goes missing. Each young person has it clearly recorded in their care plan what course of action will be pursued should they leave the home without permission or not return to the home at the agreed time. This strategy is also explained to the young people so that they understand what the consequences will be if they go missing. The staff liaise with the police especially when there are young people who may persistently abscond or who are at risk if they are missing. The manager attends a local forum which liaises with the police to discuss any specific issues with regards to young people going missing. Good records are kept whenever a young person who has been missing has returned to the home. These include a 'debriefing' to discuss the reasons leading to the incident.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Each young person has a behaviour management plan which outlines what strategies help them to retain control of their behaviour and what triggers may cause distress and challenging behaviour. The young people are rewarded for good behaviour and rewards are worked out on an individual basis between each young person's key worker and the young people themselves.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Where sanctions are imposed they are clearly recorded and endorsed by both the manager and the external manager who carries out monitoring visits to the home.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The use of restraint is rare in the home. If it is used, a record is kept of the incident and this is also checked by the manager and external monitoring manager, to ensure that the use of 5 of 9 Inspection Report: SC037454 physical intervention was appropriate. All members of staff are trained in the method of restraint used in the home.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Risk assessments are made with regards to the premises and activities in which the young people partake. They are regularly reviewed and updated. Additionally, individual risk assessments are completed on the young people with regards to their behaviour and potential vulnerability in certain situations, such as going missing.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Regular checks of the premises and safety equipment, such as fire alarms, are carried out. External professionals also underpin these checks with their own checks and tests. Fire drills also occur on a regular basis.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The organisation has a thorough recruitment process which ensures that any prospective member of staff does not start work until all necessary checks have been completed. The young people are involved in the recruitment and selection of prospective members of staff.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

It is clear that the commitment of the staff team, supported by the systems operated in the home, ensure that the safety and wellbeing of the young people is promoted and protected to a very high standard.

p.6

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Support provided to the young people is of an excellent standard. Each young person has a key worker who meets with them regularly to see how they are feeling, how they are progressing and what their aspirations are. Care plans contain detailed information on how each young person needs to supported and the staff are aware of this.

p.6

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Each young person in the home has a Personal Education Plan (PEP). These are up to date and include strategies and plans to help the young people develop their education and life skills. Staff provide excellent levels of support to the young people to enable them to attend their educational settings. It is clear that education is highly valued by the staff team and a lot of effort is made to assist the young people in experiencing education as a positive part of their lives.

p.6

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The young people have the opportunity to take part in a range of activities both in and out of the home. Preferences for activities are ascertained during key work sessions and during house meetings. Activities include trips to the cinema, adventure parks, swimming, cycling, trampolining and horse riding. Young people are also able to go out with friends from the local community. They are also able to go on holidays away from the home supported by members of staff.

p.6

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Each young person has a detailed care plan. The care plans are prepared using the heading outlines in 'Every Child Matters.' Each care plan outlines what the longer term aims of the placement are and how each young person will be cared for on a daily basis. Each young person has goals to achieve so that they can increase their life skills and progress to where they would like to be, for example, attending school regularly or seeking employment. Additionally, any 6 of 9 Inspection Report: SC037454 particular needs are identified as part of the assessment and review process. Care plans are regularly reviewed and audited and monthly reports record each young person's progress.

p.6

Helping children make a positive contribution

Reviews occur on a regular basis and records are kept of these. Young people are encouraged to attend their reviews. The manager and key worker attend reviews in order to report on each young person's progress and to pass on the young person's views and opinion when necessary.

p.7

Helping children make a positive contribution

It is an expectation in the home that key workers have at least one session a week with their 'key child' to discuss their thoughts, feelings and progress. For the majority of the young people this is achieved.

p.7

Helping children make a positive contribution

Contact arrangements with families and friends are clearly recorded in the young people's care plans. Any restrictions on contact are known. The young people are able to visit friends and families and they in turn are welcome to visit the home. Written records are maintained of any contacts and the staff collate this information and share it with others such as placing officers and social workers, especially if the contact affects the young person in any way. The young people have access to telephones which they can use in private and they also have their own mobile telephones.

p.7

Helping children make a positive contribution

There is a clear admission process aimed at assisting young people to settle into the home. Sensitive support is offered and young people are encouraged to visit as often as they need before they actually move in.

p.7

Helping children make a positive contribution

The views of the young people are highly valued and seen as a central element of the function of the home. The young people are encouraged to voice their opinions in formal settings such as house meetings as well as in key sessions and daily interaction with staff. The young people are able to invite specific professionals to their house meetings, for example, a member of an advocacy project. They are also encouraged to give their opinions in handovers and are invited to give their input in staff meetings.

p.7

Helping children make a positive contribution

The interaction between the members of staff and young people is relaxed and warm. Young people feel they are listened to and supported even during times of distress and challenging behaviour. Support given to the young people is delivered sensitively. Staff work hard to maintain behavioural expectations and boundaries whilst ensuring the young people feel listened to.

p.7

Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. The home has a policy and process to follow to enable young people to move on from the home and into independent living. Programmes for the young people enable them to develop their independence skills and the staff offer support to the young people once they have left. The staff team are very aware that the process of leaving the home can be very unsettling and they work hard to ensure that the process is sensitively planned and commensurate with each young person's ability to cope with the transition.

p.7

Achieving economic wellbeing

The home is clean and comfortable and each young person is able to personalise and decorate their room with pictures and posters as well as choosing colour themes when the rooms are refurbished. The young people had worked together to refurbish and decorate the 'Sun Room' which is now used by them as a computer room and a place to socialise. Additionally the home 7 of 9 Inspection Report: SC037454 has a chicken run and the young people are encouraged to care for the chickens if they want to. The young people are able to eat the eggs which the chickens produce.

p.7

Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The home's Statement of Purpose is up to date and accurately reflects what the home intends to achieve. The young people have a handbook which explains to them what it is like to live in the home, the rules, their rights, responsibilities and to whom they can complain. The handbook was developed using input from the young people to enable it to be a relevant and meaningful document. There is also a PowerPoint presentation which was made by an ex resident on what it is like to live in the home and what support young people need.

p.8

Organisation

All members of staff receive regular supervision and appraisals. Additionally there are regular team meetings to discuss the running of the home and the young people's behaviour and progress. Policies and procedures, which are regularly reviewed by the manager and senior members of staff in the organisation, are readily available.

p.8

Organisation

Team meetings occur on a regular basis and are complemented by the staff team having regular meetings with a clinical psychologist. This ensures that the staff approach to the young people and the support offered to them is carefully thought through.

p.8

Organisation

The training offered to the staff team is varied and regular. Over 80% of the staff team have achieved a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at level 3 in Caring for Children and Young People. There is a thorough induction plan which ensures that new members of staff are prepared for working in the home.

p.8

Organisation

The staff team has enough experience, qualifications and skills to offer excellent levels of support to the young people. Practice is monitored by external managers who carry out regular visits to assess the standard of care provided. Reports written as a result of these visits are thorough and indicate which areas of the home need improvement. The manager in turn also regularly checks all the areas outlined in Schedule 6, such as restraint and sanctions, medication, accidents and admissions and discharges. The overall monitoring of records carried out by members of staff, the manager and senior external managers is of a very good standard.

p.8

Organisation

The home is also the subject of a quality assurance process which seeks the opinions of placing social workers, families and the young people on how they feel the home is functioning.

p.8

Organisation

There is an annual development plan for the home which ensures that all areas of practice and care of the young people are reviewed to ensure that high standards are maintained.

p.8

Organisation

The young people's care plans are very well organised, regularly reviewed and updated and are subject to thorough checks by the key workers, supervisory staff and manager. All information is securely stored.

p.8

Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. Each young person's individual needs are known and met by the staff team. The staff team value and promote differences between any person's background, whether they be a young person or a member of staff. Diversity is seen as an opportunity to learn from each other and to be enjoyed and celebrated. 8 of 9 Inspection Report: SC037454

p.8

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.

p.9

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure that the details of how complaints are resolved are kept in the complaints log. (NMS 16) • ensure that weekly key work sessions are maintained for each young person. (NMS 3) 9 of 9 Inspection Report: SC037454

p.9