Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Warrington

SC026991 Unique reference number 26 August 2009 Inspection date Karen Forster Inspector Random Type of Inspection

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8 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 6 Inspection Report: SC026991

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Brief description of the service

This service is maintained by a nationwide independent company. The children's home accommodates four children of either sex, aged between nine years and 13 years. The service provides medium to long term care for children with attachment disorders.

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Brief description of the service

The premises provides shared space for the group, which includes lounge and diner, a second lounge, kitchen, garden and bathing facilities.

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Brief description of the service

There were four young people resident at the time of the visit, all of whom contributed towards the inspection.

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Summary

This visit is an unannounced interim inspection including the staying safe outcome area, and reviewing the actions and recommendations made at the last inspection. This is a good service that works hard to address the attachment and care needs of the resident young people. The provider takes prompt and thorough action to address actions and recommendations, and continually strives to optimise outcomes for the young people. 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

This interim inspection is focused on the developments made by the provider since the last inspection, therefore, details of improvement are included below under the relevant outcome headings.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Young people's current health care needs along with strategies to address the same, are outlined in detailed health care plans for young people using the service. This means that care staff are aware of presenting needs, which could relate to clinical, dental or ophthalmic fields for example. Following on from the recommendation made at the last inspection, there are now details of medical histories for some of the resident young people, provided within the accounts of the Looked After Child medicals.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children’s safeguarding procedures are good, with young people’s welfare a priority. Staff confirm that they are aware of their responsibilities within the home’s child protection procedures and have received safeguarding training. The local authority's safeguarding manual is available within the home to complement the home's recently revised safeguarding policies and procedures, which are very detailed and clearly written. The home's policy document has been ratified by the Local Safeguarding Children Board, which is indicative of the service's open working culture with other stakeholders. 4 of 6 Inspection Report: SC026991 Staff within the home share an extremely consistent understanding of the standards of behaviour expected from individuals. Each young person has a personal behaviour management plan with details of individual positive behaviour management strategies and approved control measures.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This means that staff respond consistently to any unacceptable behaviour, and young people are helped to think about and manage their own behaviour.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home's policy regarding physical intervention includes all of the elements required by the standards. All staff have received instruction in the safe control of challenging behaviours. Incident recording meets the standards, and procedures include young people being invited to reflect and comment on the episode of physical intervention. Staff training records indicate that all staff are trained in 'Team Teach'; the preferred model of physical intervention. This means that staff use de-escalation techniques and only use restraint as a last resort which keeps young people safe.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. The communal areas afford a good level of choice of recreational areas, including two lounges, dining area and a garden equipped with suitable play equipment. The heating and hot water system was out of action at the last inspection, appropriate remedial action has been taken to remedy this situation. The oil fired system is now fully functional, having been repaired very shortly after the last inspection day.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The home's manager is a well qualified and experienced senior staff member, whose sound leadership maintains positive outcomes for young people. The manager is now registered with Ofsted and as such has gone through the statutory suitable person process.

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Organisation

The forums convened to identify training needs for staff are inside the frequency specified in the standards. There are suitable training arrangements to meet these identified needs. This might include staff access to a rolling programme of internal training, or the use of enquiry based learning within the staff team with the use of training packs. The last inspection raised a recommendation regarding training in attachment theory and practice, to match the specialist function of the home. A substantial number of staff have received refresher training in this area, which informs and enhances their care of the young people. Senior staff have completed supervision training as recommended at the last inspection. This means that staff who formally supervise colleagues have received instruction and support in this area, which helps them to maintain a suitable programme of supervision for staff. 5 of 6 Inspection Report: SC026991

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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 that a copy of the report provided from the young people's Looked After Child medical is included within the home's records (NMS 12). 6 of 6 Inspection Report: SC026991

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