Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC411142 Inspection date 09/11/2010 Inspector Julian Parker Type of inspection Key

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Date of last inspection 03/06/2010 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 Grigg farmhouse is a rurally located children's home based in an extended detached period property located about five miles from a major town. The home looks after one young person who has been assessed as being able to benefit from the absence of peer distraction and the staffing levels this setting provides. The home has been totally renovated and refurbished to provide a very good quality, adequately spacious living environment. Although rurally located the home has easy vehicular access to the recreational amenities of Newport, Whitchurch and Telford and the registered provider's schools.

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Summary

The overall quality rating is satisfactory.

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Summary

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

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Summary

This was a full unannounced key inspection. One young person presently living in the home was present during the latter part of the inspection and contributed to the process in a limited capacity. The inspection focused on all of the Every Child Matters outcome areas.

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Summary

The home is judged as satisfactory with some good features. Young people receive an individualised care package that responds effectively to changing needs and promotes health and well-being while keeping young people safe. The home is appropriately decorated throughout and provides a secure homely environment in which young people can enabled to develop.

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Summary

The registered person provides good direction and leadership to a small trained and experienced staff team thereby ensuring a consistent service. Staff are clear about their roles and are consistent in carrying out their responsibilities to address the care needs of the young people they look after. Administration, particularly risk assessment, is comprehensive and confirms the quality of the service being provided

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Summary

This inspection has identified three good practice recommendations.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This is the first inspection of this service.

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Helping children to be healthy

The importance of healthy eating and having a balanced diet is promoted by positive visual cues being displayed in the home's kitchen. Individual food preferences and awareness of food intolerance is accounted for within the home's menus and mealtime arrangements. Young people are introduced to self-help skills including meal preparation, as part of their weekly routine. Menu planning is inclusive offering a broad range of dishes including those from different cultures.

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Helping children to be healthy

The health needs of young people are met because they have been assessed prior to and during their placement at the home to ensure that all known needs are met. Succinct health plans and discrete records that indicate how relevant guidance, informed advice and practical support is being provided. Personal and sexual health education is included in the registered provider's school curriculum and introduced where appropriate within the home's practice. Qualified therapists help young people regularly with any specific emotional, social or medical needs. Young people are practically supported when they are unwell by having staff arrange general practitioner appointments and preventive routines such as optical and dental checks.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people's health and safety is promoted by the registered provider's policies, procedures, guidance and staff training. Staff receive training in the safe handling and administration of medication and first aid, however, some staff training is not up to date. Prescribed medicine can be stored in a lockable cabinet but this is not presently securely fixed to a wall. Good arrangements are in place for the treatment and recording of any accidents occurring within the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people’s right to privacy is promoted by care staff ensuring high levels of administrative confidentiality, by providing individual bedrooms and separate bathing and toilet facilities, by protecting sensitive personal information about them and by being careful when communicating any information to parents and other professionals.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Concerns and complaints raised by young people are taken seriously by care staff. Everyday issues and concerns are discussed openly and addressed before they become a complaint. When complaints or allegations are made they attract immediate attention, timely investigation and action. There is a clear and effective complaints policy summarised by the young person's guide and followed in practice as needed. Young people know how to complain and who they can complain to. In addition to parental and social worker contact an independent advocacy service is available should individuals require help or support in making their concerns known.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The welfare and safety of young people living at the home is consistently promoted by the policies produced by the registered provider. These policies recognise regulatory requirements and promote good practice in areas of child protection that include countering bullying, effective behaviour management and safeguarding children. Staff know how to access statutory guidance including the procedures of the Local Safeguarding Children Board. They are also trained how to recognise and report signs of abuse. The registered provider makes available regular staff development opportunities to ensure that staff are trained to look after young people safely. Young people know that they should be looked after in a way that ensures they are not hurt, abused or put at risk in any way.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Routine internal and external monitoring by persons independent of the home assists young people to make their views known. The home ensures the safety of young people by having effective reporting systems in place to notify relevant authorities about significant events, including all unauthorised absences.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Behaviour management is effective because it is based on the constant encouragement and reward of acceptable behaviour. This is achieved by providing explicit expectations and by promoting a culture where compliance is consistently recorded and praised. Young people know what the standards of behaviour expected from them and the rules of the home are.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people’s individual care needs and ongoing risk assessment influences the home's staffing levels establishing that an appropriate and safe level of supervision is always available. Staff receive statutory training for behaviour management, particularly relating to learning difficulty. This includes, where necessary, the reasonable and minimal application of an accredited form of physical restraint. All behavioural incidents or applied sanctions are reviewed by the home's manager with young people's feedback being sought to help evaluate the safety, transparency and effectiveness of staff practice.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Comprehensive, very well recorded risk assessments identify all aspects of safety in the living environment, for example, the risk from fire and hazards, or from young people's behaviour and recreational activities. Risk assessments are practical and effective because they are reviewed regularly and take into account daily tasks and any changes affecting the home such as changes of resident, revised staffing levels and changes to the home's routine.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home employs robust procedures for monitoring all visitors. No unauthorised person can access the building or have access to the young people living there. Staff personnel files were not examined during this inspection, having previously been examined at the registered person's main offices. The home's manager is competent in ensuring that only appropriately checked and cleared staff are appointed to the home.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people living at the home are fully supported by the staff who all take responsibility for the safe delivery and monitoring of their care plans. Young people's involvement in special interest groups and recreational activities outside of the home are enabled and encouraged where these are assessed as safe and appropriate.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people's understanding about their own behaviour is facilitated by access to qualified therapists employed by the registered provider. The registered provider works in partnership with outside statutory agencies where they have a role in promoting positive outcomes for young people.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people's ongoing education is actively promoted by the registered provider's education policy and the home's commitment to ensuring young people have realistic opportunities to achieve. Age appropriate education is provided, designed to suit each young person's academic abilities, interests and age. Young people are accompanied and supported throughout their school day by residential staff working in partnership with teachers to ensure each individualised curriculum is promoted. Educational needs are specifically addressed and recorded by provider led individual education plans approved by placing authorities.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Outcomes for young people are clearly identified because young people have individual care plans and an allocated designated key worker. Their placement plan evaluates all aspects of daily living and the purpose of the placement. All staff provide encouragement and practical support to assist young people to work towards realising their objectives in the different areas of their life.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Statutory reviews take place in a timely manner ensuring that the progress of young people is being fully monitored. These meetings are independently chaired with young people being encouraged to attend to express their views.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children’s home ably assists young people to maintain appropriate and regular contact with their families or other people who are significant in their lives. Concise case records confirm that this is taking place in a manner that is congruent with placing authority’s agreements and the aims of the care plan. Young people can access advocates and persons independent of the home to represent their views and promote their rights.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Moving home can be problematic for some young people. Staff transferring to maintain consistency and emotional stability has been instrument in providing meaningful support and reassurance when this has occurred. Young people relocating to this home have been encouraged to bring their own possessions to personalise their bedrooms. The home celebrates the young people’s sense of cultural identity when looking for decorations or posters for the home and young people's private space.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff communicate very carefully with young people to ensure that their views, wishes and feelings are taken into account throughout the care planning process. Young people are actively encouraged to make sensible suggestions about the service and express views about any aspects of their placement plans. They do this in one-to-one sessions with their key worker or more generally on a day to day basis communicating with staff on duty.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people live in a rurally located home that is domestic in style, rustic in character, homely and appropriately decorated. The home is furnished to a generally good standard although there are some signs of damage and wear. Remedial actions have been implemented to address these shortfalls. The home affords young people ample space for study, relaxation and recreation. Young people have their own personalised bedroom, bathroom and toilet. Vehicular and pedestrian access to the home is from an unmetalled driveway across agricultural land.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people are taught how to keep themselves clean and are taught to recognise the value of money through using their regular personal allowances. With the assistance of staff they can shop for and be helped to look after their own belongings.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people are introduced to relevant life skills which can be practiced through daily participation with the tasks involved with running the home, such as shopping, personal budgeting, cooking and undertaking some daily household chores with staff help. These tasks are incorporated into an emerging independence plan. The format of these activities has yet to be formulated into a recorded component of the young person’s pathway plan.

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Organisation

The Statement of Purpose for the home includes all information required by Schedule 1 of the children's home regulations, including details of the staffing complement deployed to look after young people living at the home. Young people receive useful details about the home from their own guide.

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Organisation

Young people are looked after by a competent staff team who are thoroughly supported by their Registered Manager. Importance is placed by the manager on regular staff supervision and appraisal of the workers to ensure the quality and consistency of the day-to-day care being provided. Staff develop their practice by having access to comprehensive policies, procedures and guidance enhanced by regular personal development and training opportunities.

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Organisation

Established internal and independent quality monitoring systems effectively highlight and address all aspects of the care being provided by the home. These systems confirm that the home is vigilant when safeguarding the welfare and interests and differing needs of young people. An annual development plan confirms the registered person's commitment by outlining the home's future objectives.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Young people receive an individualised service in a home specifically developed to provide a package of care befitting age, ability and potential risk from opportunist behaviour. All staff have a comprehensive knowledge of the young people they are working with, including their cultural and disability background, which helps ensure that holistic needs are being addressed, as far as is possible, in this domestic setting. The home has developed explicit policies and procedures promoting equality and diversity in all aspects of their service for children from differing cultures and heritage.

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Organisation

Young people's individual case files are stored and arranged in a manner affords accessibility and confidentiality. Young people are made aware of the contents of their files and know they can request access to them should they need to.

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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 medication is kept safe by ensuring that the existing medical storage cabinet is securely attached to a wall (national minimum standard 13.10)  ensure that all staff have been are trained in and up to date with their knowledge of the administration of medication (national minimum standard 13.1)  ensure that a leaving care plan is drawn up identifying what aspects of the pathway plan the children’s home will address. (national minimum standard 6.2)

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