Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Staffordshire

SC368982 Unique reference number 4 March 2010 Inspection date Monica Hargreaves Inspector Random Type of Inspection

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27 August 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: SC368982

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Brief description of the service

The home is a small residential children's home, forming part of a private company's group. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people. At the time of the inspection there were two young people living at the home. The service provides a therapeutic residential service for young people aged from 10 years to under 18 years on admission, who display a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties, with associated mild to moderate learning difficulties.

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Brief description of the service

The home is a detached house. Accommodation is spread over two floors. On the ground floor, there is an open plan reception room, kitchen and dining room, with downstairs cloakroom, a bathroom and three bedrooms. There are two further bedrooms on the first floor. One of the downstairs bedrooms is used by the care team as a sleep in room and office.

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Summary

This was an unannounced interim inspection arranged to assess how well the home is meeting young people's needs in the outcome area of staying safe. All key standards in that outcome area were considered.

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Summary

Safeguarding has a high priority in the service. Staff are trained to understand and manage safeguarding issues appropriately. They work with young people in a positive way and manage challenging behaviour at the lowest level of intervention, which promotes the well-being of young people. Young people's rights to privacy and confidentiality are respected and any complaints that they make are responded to promptly. The systems for vetting staff and checking visitors to the service are robust and the home itself is kept safe.

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Summary

No recommendations or actions were made as a result of this inspection. 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

No actions or recommendations were made at the last inspection.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Good care practices in the home, underpinned by clear policies and procedures, ensure that young people's right to privacy and confidentiality is respected. For example, staff understand the importance of making sure that information is stored safely and kept confidential and they do not enter young people's rooms without knocking on their door and waiting to be asked in. There is a phone that young people can use in private.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff give young people clear information about how they can raise complaints and concerns and young people also have access to support from an independent person if they wish to make 4 of 6 Inspection Report: SC368982 a complaint. There have been no complaints from young people since the last inspection, but records confirm that previous complaints have been dealt with promptly and investigated thoroughly. This enables young people to understand that their views are taken seriously.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are protected from abuse because there is a clear and accountable safeguarding procedure and staff are trained in child protection issues. Staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities and are confident about reporting any concerns.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home promotes an anti-bullying culture and raises awareness of this by giving young people good information about the impact of bullying and discussing issues with them. The possibility of bullying occurring is also minimised by good staffing levels and appropriate supervision.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The risk of unauthorised absence is managed well. Staff support and supervise young people well and ensure that they know the whereabouts of young people when they leave the home. There is a clear protocol for managing unauthorised absences, which is known to staff. There have been no incidents of unauthorised absence in the home for nearly two years, which confirms that the way the staff work with young people is effective in protecting them and promoting their welfare.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are encouraged to behave in socially acceptable ways. Staff have a good understanding of the needs of the young people they look after. They are trained and respond constructively to behaviour that is challenging. This means that incidents of physical intervention are infrequent and that restraint is used at the lowest level necessary to protect young people and staff. This promotes the well-being of all the young people in the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home is kept safe because there are regular checks on the environment and on fire and electrical equipment and gas installations. Staff undertake assessments of potential risk on individual young people as well as the environment and put in place appropriate strategies to minimise or eliminate those risks. This promotes the welfare of young people.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The organisation's procedure for the recruitment of staff is sound. Thorough checks are carried out on all new staff, to ensure that they are suitable to work with young people. All visitors to the home are checked. These systems ensure that young people are safeguarded.

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Organisation

The organisation is not judged. 5 of 6 Inspection Report: SC368982

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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

There are no recommendations. 6 of 6 Inspection Report: SC368982

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