Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Birmingham

SC377825 Unique reference number 14 July 2010 Inspection date Carole Moore Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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14 October 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: SC377825

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Brief description of the service

This is a small home offering care for three young people between the ages of 10 and under 18 with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The house is in a residential area, with easy access to leisure and community facilities.

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Brief description of the service

The house has three young people's bedrooms, a bathroom and a small staff sleeping-in room on the first floor, and a small room used as an electronic games room. There is a large living room, a large kitchen-dining room, an accessible bathroom and a staff office, plus a staff cloakroom with en-suite toilet, on the ground floor. There is a large paved yard and outbuilding.

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Brief description of the service

The home is now registered as a school with the Department for Education.

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Summary

This key inspection was part of an announced inspection planned alongside an Ofsted education inspection reviewing the quality of both care and education provided by this service. The visit concentrated on the key standards in the Every Child Matters outcome groups of being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, economic wellbeing and organisation. Two young people were present during this inspection.

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Summary

The provider has fully addressed the recommendation identified at the previous integrated inspection in October 2009. The action in relation to education has not been addressed.

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Summary

The home provides an environment where individual needs are important and where staff are actively promoting their social inclusion in the home and wider community. The home has a new staff team that is managed well and supported by sound policies and procedures. Managers provide good day-to-day support and effective guidance to staff to enable them to do their work. The home also has a clear focus on ensuring young people are protected and that known and potential risks are managed in a way that supports their safety and wellbeing. The education of young people is inadequate which has an impact on the overall rating of this home. Therefore a satisfactory judgement has been made with one action and three recommendations set as a result of this visit. 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

There was one action and one recommendation set at the last inspection in October 2009.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The action in relation to promoting the educational attainment of young people has not yet been satisfactorily met and this has the potential to continue to have an detrimental impact on a young person's overall learning.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The recommendation in relation to fire records has been fully met.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. 4 of 8 Inspection Report: SC377825 Young people's health is effectively promoted through a range of informative policies and procedures that are used by staff to guide and inform their practice. Staff are provided with detailed information that supports young people's personal, social and health education. Staff are well informed about individual needs because written information is up to date and communicated effectively. Well-maintained written records ensure placing social workers, carers or families, where appropriate, are informed of the current status of young people's health and wellbeing. Young people receive swift and prompt medical services because consent for treatment and first aid is given.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people enjoy healthy, nutritious meals that meet their dietary needs. They are involved in planning, shopping and cooking according to their abilities and interests. They all complete a comprehensive list of their food likes and dislikes, which are considered when planning menus. Due consideration is given to the culture and ethnicity of the young people when purchasing and preparing food. Young people are able to prepare snacks, drinks and meals of their choice. All staff are appropriately trained in safe food handling and hygiene and this means staff know the importance of good food hygiene so that food is safe to eat.

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Helping children to be healthy

Medication is stored safely in a designated lockable cabinet sited in the staff office. There are clear procedures for staff to follow; staff receive medication training as part of their induction and the manager takes responsibility for checking systems. First aid boxes are provided within the home and are regularly checked and maintained and there is always a first aider on each shift.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Staff respect young people's privacy by knocking on bedroom doors and ensuring confidential information is suitably locked away in an office. There is a policy for when it may be necessary to search young people's bedrooms or possessions. Staff balance well the need to supervise and protect young people whilst ensuring they have some personal space and privacy.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The young people's guide provides contact details to raise any concerns or complaints with the home and a variety of external help lines, this ensures young people can raise concerns outside of the home if they feel more comfortable doing so. There have been two complaints raised and these have been dealt with appropriately with clear outcomes recorded.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have a clear understanding of their respective roles in reporting safeguarding concerns and this is underpinned through training. Staff are familiar with and know where to find and use the local authority safeguarding procedures and the manager has been trained to a higher level. The home's procedures have not yet been shared with the Local Safeguarding Children Board for their consideration and comment. Staff make it clear to young people that bullying is not acceptable and this is reinforced in the written house rules. Some young people go missing without authority and there are known policies and procedures in place to deal with these situations. There is regular contact and liaison with the local police regarding these matters.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

A financial incentive scheme encourages young people with positive behaviour along with rewards of outings or leisure activities. When behaviour is not appropriate, suitable sanctions, referred to as measures of control, are applied such as financial reparation or missing out on an activity. Records are made of any consequences and the views of young people are gathered and recorded, this assists the staff in assessing the effectiveness of any consequences. When 5 of 8 Inspection Report: SC377825 young people are challenging in their behaviour staff use skills in de-escalation and diversion techniques as promoted through annual training. Individual behaviour contracts clearly specify expectations and there are clear house rules that young people have agreed to.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff are trained in fire safety and the fire detection system is regularly tested ensuring it is operating correctly. Young people have experienced evacuations and records confirm this has occurred at various times of the day and evening. Any hazards identified within the house and grounds are reported promptly for repair or replacement. Environmental risk assessments cover all areas of the house, the grounds and use of transport.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are protected by robust staff recruitment procedures and records of new staff confirmed that all relevant checks have been carried out. The home is selective, with the recruitment of the right person being more important than the filling of the vacancy.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is inadequate. Young people have an allocated key worker but other staff also offer support and guidance. Staff are able to focus on the different needs of each young person because there are individual plans of care that detail the aims of each placement and the actions associated with successful outcomes. Staff understand the importance of acknowledging young people's differences so that needs relating to areas such as ethnicity, religion, gender and disability can be identified and met. Key workers are responsible for ensuring everyday requirements are being met and that social workers and other professionals are kept informed about progress and developments.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The school is registered with the Department for Education and this joint inspection with Her Majesty's Inspector for Education has highlighted continued shortfalls in education. The school has made inadequate progress since it was last inspected and little has been done to address the significant weaknesses in the curriculum and teaching. Despite the action plan identifying that actions were either ‘immediate’ or to be completed in February, none of the failed regulations have been met. In addition to these, the school has now failed further regulations because its management has not had sufficient oversight of the provision. Recent improvements are beginning to be seen in planning and a temporary, but experienced, teacher has been put in place in the last three weeks to support improvement. A new appointment is to be made imminently but since the school opened, a series of different teachers have been engaged to

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

teach the young people. The evidence shows that this all has limited impact on young people's learning. All the current interventions show a determination now to improve but are extremely late, and young people's education and their progress continue to suffer as a result.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Young people are supported by clear and concise placement plans which reflect their individual needs and wishes. Placement plans provide clear aims for the placement and strategies for supporting the young people to achieve these. Plans include risk assessments which ensure that the young person is able to maintain their levels of independence in a safe manner. All placement plans are regularly reviewed to ensure the changing needs of young people are reflected. 6 of 8 Inspection Report: SC377825 Staff are pro-active in ensuring young people maintain contact with parents and significant others. They ensure that all contact sessions are well facilitated.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are given good support when they arrive and leave the home and these routines are based around individual needs and circumstances. Staff understand that moving home can be very difficult for some young people and this awareness is used to provide support and reassurance in these circumstances. The home ensure that young people are supported in finding out about the local area, as often they have experienced a very different environment. Young people are encouraged to bring their own possessions into the home so they can personalise their own bedrooms.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are respected as individuals. The views of all young people are taken into consideration with no young person deemed unable to express their views. Staff build a clear picture of their likes and dislikes, for example, what they enjoy eating. On recognition of young people's preferences, staff work actively to encourage them to try new activities and experiences. This helps staff to individualise the environment to suit young people's needs and thus broaden their horizons. Young people confirm that they were more than able to 'have their say'.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is satisfactory. The home is located within easy access to schools, colleges, leisure facilities, transport, shops and other community facilities that are important to the young people placed. Its size and the arrangements of rooms suits the needs of the young people. The accommodation is domestic in style, homely, well decorated, maintained and furnished to a good standard, providing space for communal and individual activities. The home is subject to an ongoing process of redecoration and refurbishment with repairs and maintenance being addressed in order of importance. Staff work to a schedule of domestic routines to ensure the home is clean and tidy. Young people are able to personalise their bedrooms and they are satisfied with the accommodation provided.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The home currently do not have any pathway plans on file for those young people moving on to more independent living. There is an in-house programme of independent training being put in place but this is not yet operational.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The promotion of equality and diversity is good. The home operates in a way that demonstrates a clear recognition of the varied and different needs young people have. Each young person has a plan of care in place that fully identifies each individual's needs in terms of their ethnicity, race, religion, culture, gender, disability and language. Awareness and knowledge continues to be raised within team meetings. The company's Youth Forum has integrated equality and diversity into its regional meetings and events have taken place such as a cultural dance festival.

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Organisation

The home has in place a suitable statement of purpose and young people's guide. Staff understand the importance of explaining these documents so that all parties are fully aware of what the home can offer in terms of care, support, guidance and facilities.

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Organisation

Good team work is being effectively promoted by the manager who has only been in post for a few months. She is determined to ensure the home provides consistent care and support to 7 of 8 Inspection Report: SC377825 young people. One staff member stated that they 'feel well supported'. All staff receive a varied range of new and refresher training to ensure they are equipped with skills to support and meet the needs of young people in their care. This is a new staff team and currently they do not meet the 80% rule that staff are qualified to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at Level 3 in Caring for Children and Young People. However, the home ensures that all staff enrol on the programme following their probationary period.

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Organisation

Staff are themselves well supported and receive regular supervision. Staff shift handovers are well planned to ensure all information is exchanged and shared. Staff meetings are held on a regular basis and form a valuable communication tool for staff to maintain a consistent approach and sort out any concerns and discrepancies. There is also an open door policy so staff feel able to share opinions or ask advice at any time and there is ample guidance to support the less experienced staff members.

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Organisation

Young people are making good progress because systems are in place to monitor the service and the daily lives of young people currently living at the home. The organisation has established a pattern of management monitoring and reporting procedures, which are effectively implemented by the Registered Manager.

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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

13 September 2010 promote the educational attainment of children accommodated in the home. Regulation 18(1)

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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 there is a comprehensive plan for young people preparing to leave care ,which specifies the support they will need to receive to enable a successful transition into adulthood. This plan is consistent with and also contributes to the pathway plan (NMS 6.1) • ensure that the child protection procedures are consistent with the local policies and procedures agreed by the Local Safeguarding Children's Board relevant to the geographical area where the home is situated. The child protection procedures have been submitted for consideration and comment (NMS17.4) • ensure that all new staff need to hold the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at Level 3 in Caring for Children and Young people or another qualification which matches the competencies or begin working towards them within 3 months of joining the home

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Recommendations

(NMS29.5). 8 of 8 Inspection Report: SC377825

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