Children's Home run by Brighton and Hove City Council in Brighton and Hove

Unique reference number SC044880 Inspection date 08/09/2010 Inspector Paul Taylor Type of inspection Key

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Date of last inspection 29/03/2010 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 Crispins, 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.

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About this inspection

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 outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and the relevant National Minimum Standards for the service.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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Brief description of the service

The service has two Registered Managers. Young people with a learning difficulty stay at this home. It is divided into two separate sections and has a total of eight single bedrooms. Up to five young people can be accommodated for residential short breaks in one section of the unit and a further three young people in the other section of the unit.

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Brief description of the service

There are communal areas which include lounges, kitchen/dining rooms, a sensory room, a soft-play room and a large garden, which has numerous pieces of play equipment.

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Summary

The overall quality rating is outstanding.

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Summary

This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Summary

At this unannounced inspection all the key standards were assessed. Two young people took part in the inspection by meeting with the inspector. There were six young people staying at the home at the time of the inspection, four of them living there on a full-time basis.

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Summary

The home provides an excellent standard of care to the young people. Care planning and support for the young people are of an excellent standard. Attention to detail ensures that the young people's individual needs are met to a very high standard. The managers and staff team work well together and evaluate their practice to ensure that an excellent quality of care is delivered consistently.

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Summary

One recommendation is made as a result of this inspection. This is in relation to ensuring that a young person who is living in the home on a full-time basis does not have to keep changing bedrooms when other young people come to stay for respite care.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection a recommendation was made asking that the service continue to work towards training over 80% of the staff team in the National Vocational Qualification at level 3 in Caring for Children and Young People. This has been achieved.

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Helping children to be healthy

Each young person's specific dietary needs and preferences are carefully considered and planned for, taking into account health needs as well as young people's particular likes and dislikes. Due to their learning difficulties, some young people are reluctant to vary their diet and the variety of food they will eat. Members of staff are inventive in encouraging young people to vary their diet and reward them when they try different foods. Healthy eating is promoted and advice gained from a dietician when any specific issues are identified, so that the home is confident that it is promoting each young person's health and diet. Excellent outcomes have been achieved with the young people by encouraging them to eat healthy and balanced diets.

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Helping children to be healthy

The young people's physical, psychological and emotional health needs are met to an excellent standard. The home ensures multidisciplinary input in order to meet each young person's specific health and welfare needs. Advice and guidance in the care of the young people is gained from health professionals such as psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and from the child and adolescent mental health service. Each young person has their medical history and current health needs clearly identified within their care plan.

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Helping children to be healthy

The home has a rigorous system for ensuring that the administration of medication is closely monitored and regularly audited by senior members of staff.

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Helping children to be healthy

The promotion of the young people's physical and emotional well-being is achieved to an excellent standard.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff are careful to protect and promote each young person's privacy. Confidential records are securely stored. Young people all have single rooms and can use these to have private time. Personal care is very carefully planned and delivered sensitively. Careful assessment and high levels of individual support enable young people to develop their self-care skills, with some excellent results being achieved. Staff members always knock when entering rooms.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There is a clear and accessible complaints process in place which is made available to the young people and their relatives or representatives. Most of the young people do not have the cognitive ability to understand the concept of a formal complaint. However, the staff are very aware of each young person's method of communication and how they make their displeasure known. Formal complaints, which are rare, made on the whole by parents or carers, are promptly addressed and detailed records kept on how each complaint has been resolved. All members of staff receive child protection training and are up to date with child protection procedures. Additionally they have access to local safeguarding procedures. This is underpinned by discussing safeguarding and child protection in each supervision session. Members of staff are clear as to their obligations in the event that they have concerns about a young person's well-being. Detailed records

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

are maintained about any child protection concerns and how they have been pursued and resolved. The home's approach with regards to ensuring that any child protection matters are addressed, is rigorous and involves close liaison with all agencies.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff are very sensitive to the group dynamics in the home and plan the mix of young people carefully. While some young people may not understand what bullying is, the staff ensure that behaviour which may cause distress, is carefully managed to ensure that all the young people are protected. The staff work closely with some of the young people about what behaviours are acceptable and the right for each young person to feel safe both in the home and community.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

While there is a clear missing persons' policy and procedure, this has not been used as the young people are closely supervised and very few are able to leave the home unaccompanied. Each young person is the subject of a risk assessment which identifies their vulnerability should they go missing, and what levels of support and supervision they require both within the home and in the community. The staff team are extremely aware of the young people's vulnerabilities should they be left unsupervised or go missing.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Each young person has a behaviour management plan in place and this identifies what strategies should be used to encourage positive behaviour and manage challenging behaviour. Additionally, most of the young people have a physical intervention risk assessment in place, which identifies what method of physical intervention is appropriate should staff need to physically control a young person. Close supervision of the young people combined with consistent teamwork and an excellent understanding of each young person's needs and behaviour, ensure that incidents are addressed and resolved swiftly.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Thorough risk assessments are made with regards to the premises and activities in which the young people partake. They are regularly reviewed and updated. The approach to risk management means that young people are able to take part in activities and outings with the support they need.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has a comprehensive recruitment process. No members of staff work with the young people until all the necessary checks and references have been confirmed.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The young people's safety and well-being are valued and promoted to an excellent level in the home.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Each young person's individual needs are planned for and met in a detailed and thorough manner. External specialist input, such as advice from psychologists or psychiatrists, is accessed by the staff team where needed. Where appropriate, the home will also work with young people's families to ensure a continuity of approach and support and to enable and promote the care of the young people while they are at home. The support offered to the young people ensures that all their needs can be met to a very high standard.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Each young person at the home has an educational placement. Key workers will attend parents evenings if needed and will also spend days at the educational settings. This close liaison ensures that the progress of each young person is evaluated and that approaches and strategies provide consistent support to the young people.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The arrangements in place to provide the young people with a wide range of activities are excellent and are a strength of the home. Members of staff know each young person's likes and dislikes as far as activities are concerned. Young people partake in activities in a safe and supported manner which takes their vulnerabilities and limitations into account. For example, the staff team have taken the young people camping after particularly careful and well thought out preparation and planning. One young person reported that, 'there's always lots to do.'

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The support provided, combined with the staff attitude and commitment to enrich the young people's experiences and promote their development, ensures excellent outcomes.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Rigorous assessments are made on all relevant and available information regarding the physical, social, behavioural and emotional needs of the individual young person. Such assessments are incorporated into plans of care which highlight the individual needs of every young person in line with looked after children placement planning. Care plans clearly guide staff in meeting the individual needs of each young person. The care plans are regularly reviewed, assessed and updated by both the key worker and managers. The quality of the plans enables the staff to provide an excellent standard of care with clear and detailed guidelines in place for them to follow.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Reviews occur on a regular basis, in line with looked after children guidelines, and include a progress report which gives examples of how each young person is supported at the home and which activities they have been involved in. These reports give a good picture of how each young person is progressing and developing. Contact arrangements with families and friends are clearly recorded in the young people's care plans. Any restrictions on contact are known. The young people have access to a telephone which they can use in private. Some young people also have their own mobile telephones. Members of staff will also contact parents and carers on behalf of the young people during their respite care, to update them on how they are and what they have been doing.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

As far as possible, admission to the home is a carefully planned exercise which takes into consideration each young person's ability to cope with transition. Occasionally young people have to be admitted in an emergency and when this happens the staff team are very quick to collate all relevant information with a view to preparing a detailed and comprehensive care plan. Transition planning for adulthood is a carefully prepared process with the staff being acutely aware of how some of the young people can struggle with any change in their circumstance.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people's views and opinions are valued and encouraged. While some young people may not be able to partake in formal meetings or key-work sessions, the staff have a detailed knowledge of how each young person voices their opinions and feelings and which is their preferred method of communication. This approach ensures that the staff are sensitive to young people's preferences and that every young person is assumed to be able to communicate. One young person reported that: 'There's always someone here for me, they always listen.'

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Interaction between the staff and young people is sensitive and supportive. Young people are seen to be relaxed in the company of staff.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

It is recognised that the majority of the young people will never be able to live independently. The staff work with them closely to prepare them to move on to other placements and liaise very closely with the young people's parents as well as those responsible for the overall planning of the process, such as social workers. The staff work very well in a careful and detailed manner with young people in order to assist them to develop life skills commensurate with their vulnerability and understanding, for example, assisting young people to develop their independent travel skills, if that is appropriate.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people live in an environment which offers very good standards of accommodation. Each young person is afforded the opportunity to personalise their own rooms with posters and pictures during their periods of respite care. The home also offers a permanent home for some young people and they are able to choose décor and furnishings of their rooms. However, not all young people living at the home on a full-time basis are able to do this, as they have to move rooms on occasion. This is done because some of the young people coming to the home for respite care are allocated the same room on every visit in order to reduce stress caused by change. The home has a handyman who carries out minor repairs and uses external contractors to carry out other maintenance and repairs. The response to maintenance issues is efficient and there is a rolling programme of refurbishment to ensure that standards of accommodation remain high.

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Organisation

The home's Statement of Purpose is up to date and accurately reflects what the home intends to achieve. There is a children's handbook, presented in pictorial style, with symbols and in writing, which explains what it is like to live in the home. These documents are checked regularly by the managers to ensure that they are up to date and accurate.

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Organisation

All members of staff receive regular supervision and appraisals to ensure that they are supported and prepared for working with the young people.

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Organisation

The training offered to the staff team is varied and regular. There is a rolling training programme for National Vocational Qualification at level 3 in Caring for Children and Young People. Over 80% of staff have achieved this qualification. There is a thorough induction plan which ensures that new members of staff are prepared for working in the home. The staff team has enough experience, qualifications and skills to offer excellent levels of support to the young people.

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Organisation

Shifts are planned with detail in order to outline what the staff need to do to support the young people and to enable them to succeed in their goals.

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Organisation

Practice is monitored by external managers who carry out regular visits to assess the standard of care provided. The managers in turn also regularly check all the areas outlined in Schedule 6, such as restraint and sanctions, medication, accidents, child protection issues and admissions and discharges. The internal quality assurance system ensures that all key areas are regularly assessed and audited. The overall monitoring of records carried out is of a very high standard and ensures that excellent care of the young people is rigorously and constantly assessed and promoted.

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Organisation

The young people's care plans are very well organised, regularly reviewed and updated and are subject to audit checks by the key workers and senior members of staff. This ensures that members of staff have up to date and relevant information available to guide them in their care of the young people. All information is securely stored.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. Each young person's needs are met in a carefully planned and detailed manner. Difference is seen as an opportunity to learn from each other and is valued by the staff team. The acknowledgement of each young person's individuality and right to have their needs promoted and respected is embedded in the ethos of the service and ensures a high quality of care.

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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):

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Recommendations

 ensure that all young people who live in the home on a full-time basis have their own bedroom. (NMS 24.5)

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