Children's Home run by Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd in Kent

Unique reference number SC416915 Inspection date 04/05/2011 Inspector Lucy Ansell / Maureen Hamer Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 20/12/2010 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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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 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

The company currently has one home and this is situated close to the sea, park and within walking distance of the town centre. It is a large detached house able to accommodate up to a maximum of 7 boys aged between 10 to 17-years-old on admission. The home offer a unique and specialised service with an activity based programme of care, offering all young people placed the opportunity to participate and engage in a number of sporting activities. The home is able to offer a homely environment with open plan communal lounge, kitchen and dinning area, and then a separate quiet space. There are bedrooms and toilets and shower rooms on the ground and the first floor. There is off road parking and a small enclosed rear garden.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be satisfactory .

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Overall effectiveness

This is the first inspection for this home and presently there is only one young person placed there. The overall outcomes for young people are good with progress being made in relation to all aspects of their welfare and development. There are clear placement plans in place to address any identified needs. The staff team are enthusiastic and motivated and are receiving appropriate training to support the needs of the young person. Staff need to have support to back up their practice and help it imbed to improve the quality of service on a long term on-going basis. The staff team is working hard to build good relationships with the young person. The young person felt safe and staff had awareness of their role and responsibility to ensure the young persons welfare is safeguarded. There are two requirements one to not use CCTV in the building and another to ensure overall quality assurance is monitored and helps improve quality of care. There are seven recommendations to

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that electronic or mechanical monitoring devices for the surveillance of children are not used in the children's home 04/05/2011 except for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned or other children accommodated in the home (Regulation 22.1)

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for improving the quality of care provided in the children's home. (Regulation 34 (1) (a)) 28/10/2011

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure staff have up-to-date information about each child's educational progress (NMS 8.7)  ensure staff are supported to manage their responses and feelings arising from working with children, particularly where children display challenging behaviours or have difficult emotional issues. Also ensure that staff are supported to understand how children's previous experiences can manifest in challenging behaviour NMS 3.10)  ensure that the requirements of the placement plan are implemented in the day- to-day care of that child (NMS 25.2)  ensure telephone enquiries are made as well as obtaining written references and that checks are carried out to confirm qualifications (NMS 16.1, 16.3)  ensure staff responsible for recruitment and selection of staff are trained in, understand and operate the good practices set out in the national minimum standards (NMS 16.2)  improve the recruitment record to show the date on which each check was

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Recommendations

completed and who carried out the check (NMS 16.4)  ensure risk assessments of the whole children's home environment are carried out, to identify any potential sources of harm to the children are recorded in writing and regularly reviewed. (NMS 10.8)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good progress in relation to their starting point and thrive in a supportive environment which offers consistent boundaries. They are benefitting from individualised support and encouragement which is helping them to develop a positive self view and grow in self confidence. The specialism of the home is sport and this has helped to nurture an interest in boxing, motor bikes and gardening. The home is also actively involved in the local and wider community with fund raising and charity work that young people also participate in. A range of purposeful and enjoyable activities are available for the young people to try and it is hoped a holiday aboard will be arranged.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s health needs are promoted including emotional and psychological health needs. Staff are guiding young people to understand and manage their own behaviour by raising their self awareness. The staff have access to a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services worker for additional advice and support, and young people are registered with and visit the doctors, optician and dentist. The health plans clearly identify any needs and consent forms were clearly seen. The home uses key working sessions to address any health issues or complete any preventative work. The philosophy of the house is healthy living and healthy eating as befits a sports specialism and staff work and live this lifestyle providing positive role models. The menu supports an appreciation of a variety of cuisines from differing cultures.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people attend school in the local community and attendance is good. The expected educational progress for young people takes into account any lack of schooling prior to admission. The staff at the home promote educational attainment and help support with homework and have a range of educational resources to help support young people’s learning. Staff attend school events, maintaining close links and advocate for the child where appropriate. The home does not have all the required educational information on file.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from support to develop their independence living skills such as, doing laundry, shopping and preparing meals and money management. The home and young people work hard to ensure appropriate contact is maintained with family and friends. This may involve independent travel at weekends; risk management and trust appropriate to their age.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is satisfactory . Young people enjoy appropriate and positive relationships with staff members and when spoken to a young person said ‘I like all the staff’. Young people are clear that their views and wishes are taken into account and this helped to influence the way the house was run. Information was available on how to make a complaint, access independent advocates and on the rights of a child both within the home's information boards and within the young person’s guide. Young people are clear who they could speak to about any concerns.

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Quality of care

Young people’s files provide a record of staff intervention and are signed by them. The key worker takes responsibility for ensuring the placement is up to date and the requirements of the plan are implemented. However, this means that other staff members are not always clear on the plan and the required targets. The individualised placement plan gives regard to the young person expressing their individuality, for example, with their skills as an artist and continued contact with friends and family. The home produces a weekly report for the family and the social worker, which feeds into the review process which young people are fully involved with.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from a team that provides consistent boundaries and promotes a positive approach to problem solving. However, the staff team also need to focus on emotional well-being and helping the young people to develop resilience. The quality of relationships is essential to improvement in outcomes. Staff need to have a clear understanding of not only the ethos of the setting, the importance of a personalised behaviour plan and frameworks of attachment and quality of relationships.

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Quality of care

The home is situated in a quiet residential area a short walk from the town and the beach. Young people’s bedrooms are spacious and personalised to their individual tastes. The homely lounge has an area set up with the computer specifically for homework with internet safeguards. The sports theme is evident around the home and in the sky television package. The open plan kitchen and dining room means staff and young people can socialise, cook and eat together. The home has its own maintenance man on the staff team so he can address any issues immediately

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is satisfactory at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Appropriate arrangements are in place to safeguard young people. There have been no concerns about being absent without authority and young people are able to earn free time along with independent travel. There are no issues with bullying and the staff are clear on the home’s policy and procedures to follow. Staff have received safeguarded training and are clear on their roles and responsibilities to protect the young people. Young people stated they felt safe and they trusted the staff to keep them safe. The home has a clear safeguarding policy but not all staff have signed to say that they have read this.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff encourage good behaviour and act as role models to support positive behaviour. The home encourages young people to take responsibility for their own actions. They do this through a behaviour reward system and also by ensuring sanctions are reparative if required. The reward system has succeeded in helping to develop and reward good behaviour. There are low levels of sanctions, incidents and restraints recorded. The sanctions are thought of as fair by the young people. The log books are comprehensive and record the effectiveness of restraints, as well as the young people’s view and if they were offered medical assistance. All staff are trained in the use of physical restraint techniques.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from living in a home which provides physical safety and security. Fire safety checks are up to date, as are checks of portable electrical equipment. Regular fire drills are carried out but they do not record the time it takes to evacuate or which persons were present. Risk assessments are in place for the building. Electrical and gas appliances are regularly checked and maintained.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home can evidence a careful vetting and robust selection process being undertaken. The staff personnel files mostly contained all the required information. The following information was missing; follow up telephone enquires on the written reference, checks to confirm qualifications, checks on gaps in employment. Staff who are responsible for recruitment are not trained in good practice. The front sheet did not show the date on which checks were completed and who carried out the check.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from living in a safe and secure environment which has undertaken all the appropriate risk assessment. The home was using CCTV within the property this has now stopped and is only being used for outside areas. All bathroom doors could be opened from the outside and this has now been recognised and will be changed immediately.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are satisfactory . The home's Statement of Purpose accurately reflects the services that the home is able to offer and is updated regularly to ensure all information is correct. The children's guide is appropriate and available in a child-friendly format. Staff have succeeded in providing a stable and consistent environment which has enabled young people to achieve good outcomes.

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Leadership and management

The promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. The staff understand the strengths of young people placed. Young people are encouraged to fulfil their potential and are supported to develop their self-esteem and a positive self-image. There is a commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and all staff have received appropriate training in equality and diversity.

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Leadership and management

Young people receive care from a motivated, caring and supportive team. However, staff need to have the knowledge to back up their practice to improve the quality of service on a long term on-going basis. This means strong leadership for a relatively young inexperienced team to communicate the framework and identifying training and support to help staff understand and apply it The manager does not evidence in practice how he is reviewing progress through the quality assurance process. So when things are going well staff can identify what their successes were and when things do not go to plan they can review their approach and take action to get back on track. The organisation takes training seriously and has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring all staff have the appropriate National Vocational Qualification and Children's Workforce Development Council training.

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Leadership and management

Young people and the staff team benefit from positive management. The staff and the young people have a strong and trusted relationship with the manager. The directors of the company are active and help to provide clear accountability and a strong management structure. There are records of regular Regulation 33 visits and Regulation 34 reports and young people are spoken to during these visits. These reports again need to be more reflective to help strengthen the home’s quality assurance practices. The home does not have a development plan. Regular supervision is occurring for all staff with good record keeping of staff practice. This reflective practice and the embedding of good practice assists with improving the quality of service and will consequently have a positive impact on the young people.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is satisfactory .

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