Children's Home run by Esland South Limited in Greenwich

SC386134 Unique reference number 10 November 2009 Inspection date Lucy Ansell 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: SC386134

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Brief description of the service

This is a five bedded unit for young people, male and female, between the ages 13 years and 17 years who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home offers flexible packages of care including long-term care. One bed is for emergency admissions or respite care. The home is a semi-detached house. The property is comfortable and spacious and is served by good rail and bus links, has local parks and town centre close by.

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Summary

At this unannounced interim inspection only the key standards in staying safe and the previous recommendations and actions were inspected. Although, staying safe was judged as outstanding at this inspection, the overall quality rating for the home remains good because not all the key standards in every outcome area were inspected.

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Summary

Young people's welfare is enhanced by the good relationships with the staff and also with their peer group. The home works closely with a wide range of outside agencies in order to meet individual young people's needs. Staying safe is a strength of this unit with consistency and clear boundaries provided for the young people. The Registered Manager and her team has a strong commitment and focus on improvement and moving forward. One recommendation was made to improve the complaints procedure 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

The recommendations and two actions made at the last inspection have all been implemented. This has included work to ensure the bedrooms have sufficient storage, and paper towels being available in the staff washroom. The children's targets and monthly goals are now being recorded. The staff have completed the required training around medication and have accessed the local authority training on safeguarding.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. The young people's privacy is respected by staff following procedural guidelines; all personal information is kept securely. The young people have their own single rooms with their own key, and bathing arrangements ensure their privacy is maintained.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

An updated clear complaints form and procedure is available to the young people if they are unable to resolve the matter informally with the staff. The home does not keep the complaints forms, where the young people can easily access them. The young people are made aware of how to contact external agencies for support, and gain access to an independent visitor.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are protected from potential harm and abuse by robust and sound child protection systems. Child protection policies and procedures have been communicated to all staff. Staff 4 of 6 Inspection Report: SC386134 are trained in safeguarding and have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe. The home works hard to ensure staff as well as young people have a good awareness of keeping themselves safe.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Policies and procedures are in place for dealing with bullying. Staff are clear about their responsibilities for intervening should bullying occur, and for creating an atmosphere were a zero tolerance approach is being used. The home also logs and monitors all racist and bullying incidents. Policies and procedures are in place for unauthorised absences. The house has bedroom doors that are monitored by sensors.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff respond in an appropriate manner to the young people's behaviour. They ensure consistency in their responses to the young people by discussing behaviours regularly at team meetings and in handover sessions, and making sure that care plans and risk assessments are comprehensive. Staff ensure that they obtain lots of information about the young people before they are accepted to use the service and this ensures that they are clear about their needs. There are normal levels of restraints or incidents within the house, with clear cross referencing system in the log books and incident sheets, signed off by the manager.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are good measures in place for ensuring that those using and working in the service are protected from the risk of fire. Regular safety checks are carried out on the gas and electricity supply, and on all portable electrical appliances used. The arrangements for keeping the young people safe are good, with excellent risk assessments and monitoring checks in place.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has clear policies and procedures in place regarding the need to carry out thorough vetting of all staff prior to them working in the home. The staff personnel files of the newest staff members contained all the required information and showed evidence of a careful vetting and robust selection process being undertaken.

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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 young people have access to complaints forms outside of the formal processes. (NMS 16) 6 of 6 Inspection Report: SC386134

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