Children's Home run by Fairways Care (UK) Limited in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

SC391708 Unique reference number 8 June 2010 Inspection date Stephanie Omosevwerha Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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15 September 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 8 Inspection Report: SC391708

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Brief description of the service

The provision is a children's home, which is owned by private company. It is registered for up to two young people of either gender from 11 years to under 18 years of age. Young people may exhibit emotional or behavioural difficulties. The home is situated in a residential area of local town. It is easily accessible by car and public transport. Placements will usually be for more than three months and are designed to offer young people a period of stabilisation and intensive work with the aim of them moving on to foster care, back to the family or into independence. The current service is specifically set up to meet the complex needs, including health and behavioural issues, of one young person. The intention is that the service will be able to accommodate more than one young person in the future. The home is a detached chalet bungalow with off-road parking in front and gardens to the rear.

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Brief description of the service

There was one young person accommodated in the home at this inspection.

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Summary

The home is providing a good service with some outstanding areas of practice. Children receive individualised care from a competent and skilled staff team who have been particularly successful in making positive changes to children's health, behaviour and education. High staff ratios provide excellent levels of individual attention enabling children to participate in a wide range of activities both in the home and the community. The home is well managed and effectively run with productive systems for reviewing the quality of care to ensure continual improvement.

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Summary

Some shortfalls were identified during this inspection, however, these are mainly organisational issues that do not impact directly on children's care. These included: gaps in children's records, staff signatures on medication sheets, written details of the Local Safeguarding Children Board, recording outcomes of statutory reviews, updating the Statement of Purpose and keeping records of staff training. 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 was one requirement made at the last inspection which has been met. Four of the seven recommendations made at the last inspection have been fully addressed with some progress made towards meeting the others.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Children's records now contain details of any restrictions on contact providing staff with clear guidance to ensure they can fully protect the child.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Children's files now contain written permission from a person with parental responsibility for the administration of first aid and appropriate non-prescription medication.

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Improvements since the last inspection

A separate, dedicated, bound and numbered book has been set up to record serious incidents, which includes all the headings as set out in the standards. 4 of 8 Inspection Report: SC391708 The manager has discussed with staff measures to respond to unacceptable behaviour to ensure consistency. All disciplinary measures used in the home have been reviewed to make certain they are appropriate to the age, understanding and individual needs of the child.

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Improvements since the last inspection

All staff working in the home are provided with regular monthly supervision sessions. The organisation is in the process of providing electronic records of these sessions which will facilitate monitoring and provide prompts to the manager when supervision dates are due.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children enjoy healthy, nutritious meals that meet their dietary needs, including an specialist requirements. Staff promote healthy eating and seek professional advice to ensure menus are properly balanced. Children have opportunities to plan, shop for and prepare meals. Meals are eaten in pleasant surroundings and are social occasions providing the opportunity to promote independent living skills during meal times.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's health has significantly improved during their time in the home. Staff are proactive at working with children with multiple health needs and have the skills and training to ensure they are able to promote children's well-being. Staff undertake daily tasks associated with health needs and their diligence has enabled a high level of stability in the management of very complex conditions. Excellent liaison with health care services has ensured regular appointments are attended and any changes or advice are promptly incorporated into the health care plan.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's mediation is well managed and changes to the administering of medication have reduced the likelihood of errors occurring. Medication is stored securely and accurate records are kept of all prescribed medication, treatment and first aid given to children and staff. Records for prescribed medication are not currently signed by the responsible member of staff, although they are completed to indicate the medication has been taken.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children's privacy is respected and confidentiality appropriately maintained as is consistent with good parenting and the need to protect the child. Children know how and feel able to complain about anything they are unhappy about and think their concerns are dealt with effectively by staff. This alleviates the need to access the formal complaints procedure that is available which includes a user-friendly guide designed especially for children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are properly protected in the home by appropriate systems that promote safety and welfare. Staff are well-trained and given guidance how to respond to any allegations, although written procedures do not contain the correct contact details of the Local Safeguarding Children Board. The home promotes an anti-bullying ethos and ensures risk assessments are in place to identify the potential for a child to be bullied or the likelihood of bullying other. There is little risk in the home at present as it only offers a single placement. Children are unlikely to go missing due to high levels of staffing provided both in the home and in the community and no incidents have occurred. 5 of 8 Inspection Report: SC391708 Children benefit from a consistent approach to behaviour management which encourages them to develop socially acceptable behaviour. Staff maintain constructive boundaries and the consequences for unacceptable behaviour have been clarified to ensure these are consistent

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

with accepted measures of control. Staff are well trained in behaviour management and recognise the importance of building positive relationships with children to create an atmosphere of trust and respect. Physical intervention is never used as a means of forcing compliance and records of incidents are appropriately maintained, however, copies are not available on children's files as per Schedule 3 of the Children's Homes Regulations 2001.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children live in an extremely safe environment and there is excellent provision for the management of risk. This includes assessing risks associated with the premises and activities undertaken by children, linked to their individual risk assessments. A Health and Safety officer regularly oversees all aspects of maintenance to ensure the home meets a high standard and is kept hazard free.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are protected by stringent staff recruitment procedures that ensure staff are carefully selected and vetted prior to working in the home. Staff are aware of their responsibilities to monitor and manage visits to the home to ensure children are kept safe.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children receive highly individualised support that is specifically tailored to meet their personal, health and social needs. The high staffing ratio provides children with ample time for individual attention and enables them to take part in a range of interesting activities and leisure pursuits. Children's needs linked to their individual identity are recognised and staff actively promote interests that are linked to the child's family background. Children receive all the specialist external services they require, particularly linked to their health needs.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children benefit from active promotion of their educational attainment in the home. Staff work in very close partnership with school in supporting children's education, which includes daily verbal handovers between education and care staff and a communication book to log daily progress. Staff support regular school attendance and extra-curriculum activities. Staff take the role of supporting children with their homework seriously, for example encouraging children to read to them on a daily basis.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children's needs are comprehensively assessed in a detailed care plan that clearly outlines how these needs will be met in the home. Children are encouraged to contribute to their plan and their views are taken into account before making any changes to the plan. The plan is regularly reviewed to ensure it contains the most up-to-date information and staff are encouraged to regularly read the plan to ensure they are aware of any changes. There is some evidence that statutory reviews are being undertaken, although the dates and outcomes are not routinely recorded on the child's file.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are given significant support to maintain valuable contact with family and friends. Staff support children with regular travel arrangements, telephone calls and are proactive in 6 of 8 Inspection Report: SC391708 arranging friends to visit the home, fully promoting an active social life. Any restrictions on contact are clearly set out so staff are aware about their responsibilities to protect the child.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

There are good procedures for introducing children to the home, although there have been no new admissions or departures since the last inspection.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children have excellent opportunities to make decisions about their lives and to influence the way the home is run. This includes being able to write suggestions in a 'Thoughts Book' and attending staff handovers. Families are also encouraged to give regular feedback about their children's care. Placing authorities views are sought and taken into account in the development of the service, for example when considering an additional resident.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. Children are not yet at the stage of formally planning towards leaving care. Staff are mindful of the need to promote self-help skills and encourage children to undertake tasks independently where possible enabling them to develop and make progress during their time in the home.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Children live in an environment that is decorated and furnished in a homely way. Children are able to fully personalise their bedrooms according to their tastes and needs. There is a good range of indoor and outdoor communal space providing room for private activities, play and recreational pursuits.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. An informative Statement of Purpose is in place covering all regulatory requirements, however, it has not been reviewed on an annual basis and some of the content needs updating. Children are provided with a guide set out in a friendly-style format to give them information about living in the home.

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Organisation

Children are cared for by a competent staff team who have a good mix of skills and experience. Staff are provided with excellent support including an on-call service. Staff receive thorough induction training prior to commencing work to ensure they are able to confident in being able to meet the children's needs. The organisation is committed to providing training and has an ongoing programme of courses to enable staff to develop their professional skills. Records of staff training are not currently available in the home but are held in the organisation's head office.

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Organisation

Staffing levels in the home are excellent ensuring children benefit from a high degree of individual time and attention. In addition, there is ample time for completion of other operational tasks such as handover sessions, completion of records and care planning, without any compromise to the overall care of children. Children further benefit from good levels of continuity in the staff team providing stability and consistency of care.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Children have individualised care plans that emphasis their own sense of identity and family background. There is a mixed staff team providing positive male and female role models. The organisation is committed to adhering to equal opportunities for both children and employees and policies and procedures ensure this 7 of 8 Inspection Report: SC391708 is incorporated into working practices. Children have good access to the local community and are encouraged to access a range of amenities and facilities to promote social inclusion.

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Organisation

There is excellent provision for monitoring the quality of care in the home. Both the manager and registered provider's monthly reports ensure that all aspects of the service are regularly reviewed and prompt action taken to address any shortfalls. This enables the service to be responsive to children's needs and provide high quality care.

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Organisation

Children's needs, development and progress are well recorded and reflect their individuality, however, there are a couple of gaps in the information as specified in Schedule 3 of the Children's Homes Regulations 2001.

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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 August 2010 obtain the information specified in Schedule 3 in respect of each child, in particular the date of and reason for any visit to the child whilst in the home and the date and circumstances of any measures of control, restraint or discipline used on the child. (Regulation 28.1.(a))

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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): • keep a written record of all medication which is signed by the responsible member of staff (NMS 13.2) • ensure child protection procedures are consistent with local policies and procedures including correct information of the local safeguarding children's board relevant to the geographical area where the home is situated (NMS 17.4) • record the outcome of all statutory reviews on the young person's file and any actions arising from the reviews are clearly identified (NMS 3.4) • review, update and modify where necessary the Statement of Purpose of the home, at least annually (NMS 1.5) • maintain a written record of all training for all staff in the home. (NMS 31.4) 8 of 8 Inspection Report: SC391708

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