Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children‟s Services (2) Limited in Staffordshire

SC398482 Unique reference number 30 November 2009 Inspection date Andrew Hewston Inspector Key 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 9 Inspection Report: SC398482

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Brief description of the service

The home provides care and accommodation to six young people, aged from 11 to 16 years of age, including those with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It forms part of a larger organisation that also offers educational provisions to young people to those accommodated and external placements.

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Brief description of the service

The home is within a semi rural area. The registration is made up of two accommodation areas, the house and the lodge. The latter consists of two self-contained bungalows with accommodation for young people and staff sleep in areas. The house is a large building with separate bedrooms for young people. Both accommodation areas are on the same general site with a driveway between the two.

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Summary

This is the first inspection of the home since its registration with new ownership. The lodge building has had a number of structural changes and the house has been redecorated. The staff team has been brought together from a number of different homes within the organisation as well as externally, with a new manager who requires registration. There are overarching positives within the home relating to staffs keenness to support the young people in achieving. Some of the systems being used within the home need to be developed.

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Summary

Young people's health needs are promoted and appointments kept with external health professionals. However, the menus in the house require some development.

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Summary

Young people are not fully safe within the home. The systems to ensure this safety are not robustly applied. As a result, instances of complaints, bullying and poor awareness of behaviour management, do not adequately support the needs of the young people.

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Summary

Young people's educational needs are responded to well and some activities are well organised, although it is an area in need of some development.

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Summary

Placement planning for young people is variable, with examples of poor and good recordings being evident within young people's files. Staff show that they have a good knowledge of the needs of the young people and how these are being worked with at the home.

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Summary

The overall management of the home is still in development. Staff need to increase in evidencing work completed. This will be a challenge to the whole team, while still ensuring all of the organisations systems are also kept up-to-date. 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

This is a new registration. No concerns have been raised with regard to the continuity of care to the young people as part of this change. No previous actions or recommendations of good practice are in place with regard to this registered provision. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: SC398482

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Young people's health is promoted within the home. All young people have a health plan that is developed within the placement plan. Health information shows that young people are supported with attending differing health professional's appointments.

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Helping children to be healthy

Medication is administered appropriately and recorded by the staff team, although there is a lack of clarity with recordings showing when medication is administered and when it is audited.

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Helping children to be healthy

Menus within the house are appropriate although need some development, with a high level of repetition of young people's favourites rather than staff ensuring that young people attempt different dishes. It is positive that staff are responding to the wishes of the young people, but the favourites are not always the healthiest of options. Young people are supported with cooking dishes by the staff. Meals within the lodge are notably different with a staff lead being taken, and consultation with the young people, creating an improved menu.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Young people have their own rooms within the house, all of these having en suites to promote privacy. Young people within the lodge have private accommodation with their own bathrooms. All private information is stored within secure areas such as office filing cabinets. When room searches are completed these are recorded within specified paperwork.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are all given information relating to how to make complaints on admission. Information is also included within the young people's guide giving a range of different ways that young people can be responded to if they are unhappy. The home's complaints file shows how young people's concerns have been responded to relating to different areas of care. Letters are also written to young people following complaints to advise them of the outcomes of the complaint. Information within the incident log suggests that young people have been unhappy with situations and stated that they will make a complaint. However, there is insufficient follow up by staff in response to matters raised by young people.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All staff have completed training in safeguarding procedures and these are also available within the home. Safeguarding concerns that have been raised within the home are recorded and responded to appropriately by the management team. Links have been developed by the manager with the Local Safeguarding Children Board. Safeguarding incidents have been forwarded to Ofsted through the notifications system.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are bullying behaviours present within the group of young people. Staff explain the different ways that this behaviour is being addressed. However, these behaviours are not being addressed in a structured way and do not form part of any behaviour management plan.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Procedures for responding to young people absent without consent are appropriate although risk assessments are not fully completed. When young people are absent without consent, the actions taken by staff are fully recorded.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has a system for recording additional measures of control including sanctions and restraints. There is a central home's record for incidents requiring sanctions, but no home's log 5 of 9 Inspection Report: SC398482 for restraints that have been completed. Restraint recordings are purely within the young person's records. The majority of staff are trained in the use of restraint techniques. The home has a general behaviour management tool that is in place for all of the young people to promote positive behaviour, although there is a lack of awareness from the staff team as to how this works in practice.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff team regularly check health and safety areas in the home. All fire checks are completed on a regular basis and some fire drills have taken place. No drills have yet been completed at the lodge. The portable appliance testing certificate is out-of-date.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The organisation’s staff recruitment checks were inspected on the 6 July 2009 and show that there are robust procedures in place that ensure the safety of the young people. All areas as required by the standards are appropriately checked including criminal records bureau checks, references that are verified, full CV’s and identification checks. Where issues have arisen these are discussed within the recruitment process, responded to and recorded. The organisation has responded to a previous recommendation and now checks against the disqualification for caring for children regulations.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Support within the home is highly individualised. Staff are aware of the need to develop young people in both a group situation and working with individual young people's needs. Young people are able to access an independent visitor, although some staff state a lack of awareness of who this is.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people are supported through their education by the staff team. Information regarding educational achievements are in place within some of the young people's files, but personal education plans are in need of development. All young people attend the college run by the organisation and there is a good level of information exchanged between school and care staff.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The range of activities completed by young people is good. Activities are completed both within the home and externally. Records do not support the range of activities that individual young people undertake.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. All of the young people have looked after children documentation. The majority of young people have home based placement plans that have been written by the care staff team, these are basic in standard and do not give a thorough awareness of the work that is being completed with the young people. Placement plans are not all updated following young people's reviews. Minutes of young people's reviews are available. These show that young people have an input into their care planning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people's contact arrangements are recorded within placement plans, although this information is not always correct. Staff are aware of the correct contact information for each young person and can discuss how contact is supported, either through visits or telephone calls. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: SC398482 Young people are consulted with on a very regular basis about differing areas of their care and the way that the home runs. Young people's meetings are held, although staff state these are ineffective. Minutes of these meetings are basic and do not fully show discussions that are held with young people. Recordings of key worker meetings are generally good, showing pertinent discussions with young people on an individual basis.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is satisfactory. No young people are of an age to need pathway planning.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The house area is appropriately laid out with sufficient space for young people. The décor of communal areas is good, however young people have attempted to decorate their own bedrooms with a range of successes. Not all of the young people's bedrooms have any window coverings and this raises a privacy issue for the young people. The kitchen / lounge door is broken and in need of repair.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Recent developments in the lodge have been completed well and the accommodation is of a high standard. The high standard of the lodge area highlights the discrepancy between the lodge and the house.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The home has two differing Statements of Purpose due to the different areas of work being completed with young people. This is not in line with the expectations of the standard. The statement needs clarification in relation to the age range that is able to be accommodated at the home. There is a difference in the quality of the staffing policies within the two statements and a need for new staff to be included in these. There is a young people's guide, giving young people a basic awareness of how the home is run with rules and expectations of behaviours.

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Organisation

Staff are supported by the management of the home through supervisions, with staff receiving these on a monthly basis. Staff meetings do occur although minutes of these are not fully available. Staff within the two areas do not come together for a joint meeting at any point, suggesting that the two areas work in differing ways, which is adverse with the expectations of one registration.

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Organisation

The staff team is made up of a group of staff with differing experience and qualifications. The training record for staff is not sufficiently updated and there is therefore no available way to assess which staff have completed what training, or if there are sufficient staff that have completed the National Vocational Qualification at level 3 (NVQ). The home is appropriately staffed, although the rotas appear to be constantly changing, with at least three different rotas for December available. It is difficult to assess if these changes are in response to young people's or staff's needs. All staff have completed a good induction process prior to working at the home. Staff state that the training within the organisation is good.

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Organisation

Monitoring of the home is effective and highlights areas in need of development. The home is monitored through three differing systems. The quality monitoring system involves the staff team in assessing if areas of work are sufficiently completed. The regulation 33 visitor examines 7 of 9 Inspection Report: SC398482 general trends, visiting the home on a monthly basis and generating a report. The manager is involved with the examination of the working of the home through regulation 34 monitoring.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. Staff are not able to show a great awareness in equality and diversity, stating that they would challenge racism by the young people, but were unsure how to promote positive images of different cultures.

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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

29 January 2010 ensure that complaints are fully responded to by staff in accordance with the home's procedures (regulation 24.1) 29 January 2010 ensure all young people have a placement plan (regulation 12.1) 12 February 2010 ensure all bedrooms are kept clean and reasonably decorated and maintained (regulation 31.2 (e)) 12 February 2010 ensure the registration has one Statement of Purpose in line with the expectations of the standard (regulation 4.1) 12 February 2010 ensure there is a clear record of staff training. (regulation 27.4) 31

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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 all medication administration records are clear (NMS 13.2) • ensure young people are given suitable and varied meals (NMS 10.4) • ensure all bullying behaviours are sufficiently challenged and young people are aware that this behaviour is unacceptable (NMS 18.1) • ensure risk assessments are in place regarding young people who absent themselves from the home without permission (NMS 19.8) • ensure staff are fully aware of the home's behaviour management system (NMS 22.2) • ensure fire drills are completed within the lodge (NMS 26.7) • ensure both accommodation areas have up to date portable appliance testing certification (NMS 26.1) • ensure young people are aware of how to contact an independent visitor (NMS 7.8) • ensure all young people have an up-to-date personal education plan (NMS 14.2)

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Recommendations

• ensure all placement plans are up to date following reviews (NMS 3.4) 8 of 9 Inspection Report: SC398482 • ensure contact arrangements are fully recorded within the young person's file (NMS 4.2) • ensure the views of the young people are gained and recorded on a regular basis (NMS 8.6) • ensure the Statement of Purpose has a staffing policy in line with the standard. (NMS 30.2) 9 of 9 Inspection Report: SC398482

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