New Park Project (The)

SC065046 Unique reference number 29 September 2009 Inspection date Stephanie Omosevwerha Inspector Random Type of 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: SC065046

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Brief description of the service

This setting is a small children's home owned and operated by a private provider. The property is a detached house which is indistinguishable from other properties in the area. The home is within walking distance of local shops and amenities and has easy public transport links to other town centres nearby.

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Brief description of the service

The property consists of four bedrooms for young people, one office which doubles as a sleeping-in room for staff, a further sleeping-in room, lounge, dining room, kitchen, two bath/shower rooms and toilets and a garden. The home caters for up to four young people aged between eight and 17 years old for short and longer term care who are unable to live with families or in foster care. The home opened on 24 November 2005 and is one of three children's homes operated by the same provider.

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Brief description of the service

At the time of this inspection there were four young people accommodated in the home.

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Summary

This was an unannounced interim inspection of the home. It covered all key standards in staying safe and some standards in organisation.

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Summary

The home continues to provide a good standard of care, particularly when working with young people who have complex emotional needs often resulting in both verbal and physically challenging behaviour. There has been a change in manager and some changes to the staff team; however, this has not affected working practices and young people have not noticed any significant changes to the running of the home. Young people say they are generally satisfied with their care apart from some minor niggles such as not enough money and things not being done quickly enough, which are more to do with teenage expectations rather than direct criticisms of working practices. Young people feel comfortable with staff and say they are able to talk to them about their problems. There have been positive outcomes in managing behaviour, for example a significant decrease in young people going missing from the home. The home is

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Summary

well maintained and staff work hard to provide young people with a caring, supportive environment where they can feel secure.

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Summary

There was one requirement and one recommendation made as a result of this inspection. The home's manager is not currently registered and an application needs to be submitted to Ofsted. The latest certificates for inspections carried out on gas and electrical installations are not available in the home. 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

There were two recommendations made at the previous inspection. These had not been addressed as the Registered Manager had left the home after the last inspection. A new manager has now been appointed but only started at the beginning of September and has not had the opportunity to make these amendments. These recommendations are carried forward in this report to be assessed again at the next inspection. 4 of 6 Inspection Report: SC065046 The restraint book does not fully comply with all the headings listed in the standards and there are omissions about the time and location of the restraint and if there were any witnesses present.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The Statement of Purpose has not been reviewed, however, as there have been subsequent changes to the organisation of the home; a further amendment would have been necessary to ensure it contained corrected information about the management and team structure.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Young people's privacy is respected including having their own bedrooms where they can spend time alone if they wish. Staff work with clear guidelines to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities in maintaining confidentiality within the home. Young people are confident in approaching staff and discussing their concerns with them. More serious complaints are dealt with through the home's formal procedures and there was evidence that issues raised are properly investigated to ensure satisfactory outcomes for young people.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are kept safe by prompt response to any allegations. Staff are well versed in child protection procedures and good links have been established with the Local Safeguarding Children Board to ensure matters are properly investigated. A robust approach is taken to address bullying. Whilst there have been some issues in the home, staff take appropriate action, including risk assessments and working practices designed to minimise behaviours and safeguard young people as much as possible. Staff have worked successfully to make young people feel secure in the home to prevent the need for them to abscond. Records show significant improvements in the reduction of incidents of young people being absent without authority.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are clear about expectations of behaviour and feel the rules in the home are fair. Staff work extremely hard with young people to engage them and promote positive behaviour by using a reward system. In the main, staff are successful in using diversion and de-escalation strategies to manage challenging behaviour, only using physical intervention as a last resort in a small number of incidents. The restraint book has not been amended as recommended at the previous inspection as detailed in the improvement section of the report.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home provides a safe environment that is appropriately risk assessed ensuring regular checks and servicing are carried out. Due to a period without a manager in post, there has been some slippage in filing records meaning documentary evidence of all service visits is not currently available. Ongoing repairs, especially to damage caused to the environment by young people, is put right to ensure the building is appropriately maintained.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are safeguarded by the home's recruitment practices that ensure thorough background checks are carried out on all staff before they start working in the home.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is not judged. 5 of 6 Inspection Report: SC065046

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Since the previous inspection, the registered manager has left. A new manager has been appointed subject to successfully applying to become registered by Ofsted. The Statement of Purpose has not been amended as yet to reflect these changes to the organisation of the home.

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Organisation

The home provides a good staffing ratio that affords young people with opportunities for individual work as well as ensuring all operational needs of the home are met. The home has maintained a stable, core group of staff that have provided some consistency of care throughout the recent changes to the management structure. Young people have developed positive relationships with members of staff that have contributed to their feelings of security enabling them to make progress in the placement.

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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

2 November 2009 submit an application for registration for the person in charge of the day-to-day running of the provision to ensure the fitness of the manager as per Regulation 8.

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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 restraint recorded is fully completed with all the details set out as indicated in the log book headings. (NMS 22.9) • ensure certificates of any inspections of services and facilities, such as gas and electrical installations, are kept in the home as evidence these visits have been carried out. (NMS 26.4) • review, update and modify the Statement of Purpose where necessary at least on an annual basis. (NMS 1.5) 6 of 6 Inspection Report: SC065046

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