Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Unique reference number SC372621 Inspection date 12/10/2010 Inspector Julian Parker Type of inspection Key

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Date of last inspection 26/01/2010 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

This setting is a small children's home. It is registered to provide care for up to two young people of either gender, aged between 10 and 17 years. The home is rurally located but remains within convenient vehicular access of major county towns, various leisure and recreational facilities and the company school. The home offers spacious accommodation in a four bed-roomed detached country property. Resident young people are provided with their own rooms. The home has a lounge, kitchen, dining room, games room, bathrooms on each floor and a staff office.

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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 is living in the home and was present during the inspection, briefly contributing to the process. The inspection focused on all of the Every Child Matters outcome areas.

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Summary

The home is judged as good. Young people receive an individualised care package that is flexible and responds to needs and is effective in addressing behaviour to promote health, well-being and achievement. The home is well decorated and maintained providing a generally homely environment in which young people are encouraged and enabled to develop practical abilities. The acting manager provides good direction and leadership to a committed, well-trained staff team thereby enabling a good quality of overall 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.

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Summary

Two recommendations are made as a result of this inspection

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the registered provider was required to ensure that each young person had a clear written health plan that was kept up to date. This has been achieved.

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Improvements since the last inspection

It was recommended that the registered provider was provided with a copy of the young person's most recent statutory review minutes by the placing authority. Although there has been a change of young person in placement since the last inspection this visit also identifies the need for the registered person to ensure that the result of all statutory reviews of the placement plan are recorded on the child's file by obtaining a copy of the most recent review minutes from the placing authority.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people are fully involved in the choice and preparation of food at the home. Young people receive a balanced diet while being practically able to exercise choice about their meals. Fruit is always available. Young people are enabled to experiment by trying dishes from different cultures. The home's kitchen has been recently refurbished and dining facilities are suitable for the scale of the home. Staff receive training in food hygiene and preparation and share their knowledge and skills with young people.

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Helping children to be healthy

The health needs of young people are being competently addressed by staff following prescribed company policies that promote health and wellbeing. Staff adapt their practice to safely address individual requirements. Care plans contain generic details of health needs and include reference to the involvement of other health professionals including therapists, when necessary. Case files contain relevant information about medical needs, summarised by individual health plans. These records confirm the practical efforts made by staff to monitor and promote the range of health needs of young people. Young people are registered with local services and records of all medical, optical and dental appointments are compiled.

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Helping children to be healthy

First aid arrangements in the home are good with staff receiving regular training that equips them to deal with minor accidents or ailments. The home uses a medication policy which draws upon appropriate procedures and practice guidance. Medication, including homely remedies, when not in use is stored securely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The privacy of young people living at the home is respected. They are provided with individual bedrooms and a dedicated bathroom. Staff protect confidential personal information by being cautious with how they communicate any information about young people with their families or other professionals. Staff are trained about young people's rights and in the registered providers expectation for compliant recording practice.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All concerns or complaints made by young people living at the home are taken seriously by the home's manager and care staff. Generally day-to-day concerns are effectively addressed before they become a complaint. The registered provider has a clear and effective complaints policy and procedure that is summarised within the young person's guide. Young people have access to an independent advocacy service should they require help or support in making their concerns known. The complaints procedure also applies to external representations. These are addressed by the company Responsible Individual. The welfare and safety of young people is actively promoted by company policies and procedures. These have been developed to comply with regulatory requirements and promote good practice in areas of child protection, that include countering bullying, effective behaviour management and safeguarding children by adopting the

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

guidelines drawn up by the Local Safeguarding Children's Board. The company provides its staff with formal opportunities for self development to ensure professional child care practice. The home follows company policies and nationally accepted protocols for dealing with any unauthorised absence. Young people are provided with the opportunity to talk to independent listeners after going missing from the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Behaviour management is centred on the active encouragement of acceptable behaviour and plenty of praise. This is reinforced by the home making their consistent expectations known to young people. Young people confirm that they understand what is expected from them both verbally and through the home's records. Young people are treated with respect and this approach has been rewarded by good behaviour and a minimal need for the use of sanctions and a notable absence in the use of physical restraint. This is further confirmed by the home staffing levels being reduced when possible to a one-to-one working model. All staff have a comprehensive knowledge of the particular needs of young people and this helps them maintain positive relationships.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All staff receive statutory training in behaviour management that includes the safe use of physical restraint utilising a nationally recognised methodology. Staff training is refreshed at least annually to ensure that young people and staff can be kept safe. All incidents will be evaluated by the home's manager who can quickly adjust staff rotas when the need arises to ensure consistent safe practice. The views and opinions of young people are always sought in this process to improve the effectiveness of practice and to confirm their views are listened to.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home demonstrates its awareness of potential dangers to young people by generating a range of risk assessments that consider all aspects of safety in the living environment. These include the risk from fire and household chemical hazards, those posed by the young people's behaviour and their recreational activities. Risk assessments are effective because they are periodically reviewed and take into account routine daily tasks and any changes that may affect the home, for example, changes to staffing levels or the potential impact of a new admission. Young people living in the home play a compliant part in responding to fire precautionary drills which keeps them safe.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has established procedures in place for monitoring all visitors. No unauthorised person can access the building or have access to any young people living there. Staff personnel files were examined ahead of this inspection confirming that no staff member started working at the home ahead of all necessary checks being comprehensively completed. Currently, because of the staff to child working ratio, all staff at the home are required to be experienced practitioners.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff at the home have developed a positive relationship and sound knowledge of the young people they look after. This enables them to ensure a good quality, safe, consistent and focused care is provided. The service is sensitive to the young person's age, background, interests and developmental needs. Staffing competence and interest, demonstrated through practical investment in each young person, has enhanced the way in which care is provided by this home.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff help young people to engage safely in a range of recreational, social and leisure pursuits both inside the home, in the wider community and through adventure activities. There is practical evidence of the young people's investment in the home as demonstrated by building projects and art work decorating the building. Young people are helped to plan their weekly activities and use their free time and allowances constructively.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people are provided with support and transport to access full time education at the registered provider's own school. A range and mix of vocational and practical lessons help young people to develop their latent interests and realistic academic ability. Where possible education uses the services of community- based organisations or practical projects based around the children’s home. Achievement is highlighted by positive school reports and certificates of attainment. Daily communication between school and the home enables young people to enlist help and support with their school project work.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Individual placement plans address how support for each young person will be provided by the home. A positive approach towards meeting individual needs is demonstrated by staff. The registered provider’s in-house plans for young people are regularly reviewed but copies of formal review notes have not been provided to the home in a timely manner by the independent reviewing officers from placing authorities. This omission undermines partnership agreements between authorities and providers and is not constructive in confirming the ongoing suitability of the placement.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are supported to retain authorised contact, which is meaningful and safe, with people that are important to them. Placement plans and case file records make explicit the arrangements authorised by the placing authority. This maintains contact between young people, their family, friends and professional workers such as social workers. All contact is openly monitored to ensure that young people are effectively safeguarded. Young people can enjoy unsupervised contact, away from the home, where appropriate to their plans. Admissions to the home are thoroughly planned and young people take part in this process by visiting and having a say about matters that will concern them on their arrival, such as the decoration and contents of their room. Effective case planning confirms that all staff know how they can address the placement needs of new arrivals to the home. This level of detail and preparation has proven very successful

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are actively encouraged to be involved with the everyday decision- making processes that will directly impact upon the quality of their lives at home. They do this by engaging in dialogue with staff to review any issues that affect the running of the home or their experience of the care being provided. This is particularly beneficial for encouraging young people to develop socially acceptable behaviour, to practice tolerance in their learning about other people's expectations and to learn how to look after themselves safely.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people are provided, by their care staff, practical help and good informed advice for making the transition towards independence. They are encouraged to develop their capacity to self-help and to improve practical social skills such as the importance of good hygiene, how to budget with personal allowances, how to shop and to look after their own belongings and clothes. Although the home is developing relationships with the leaving care services from the placing authority for preparing young people for their eventual transition, this has not been formalised by the production of a pathway plan .

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Accommodation provided by the registered provider is domestic in style, homely and decorated, maintained and furnished to a good standard. Significant environment improvements have been made recently which demonstrably enhance the quality of the living environment for both young people and staff. Young people express satisfaction with the presentation of their home and have shown this by making practical contributions to its decoration and upkeep. Some minor environmental shortfall continue to be addressed by the registered provider.

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Organisation

The Statement of Purpose for the home includes the information prescribed by Schedule 1 of the Children's Homes Regulations. Both the Statement of Purpose and the young person's guide for the home have been recently reviewed confirming what services the registered provider and children's home provide. Amendments confirm the interim management arrangements found in place at the time of inspection.

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Organisation

Young people are actively supported with all aspects of their daily living by the home's team of competent, qualified staff who provide safe and consistent care. The interim acting manager and deputy manager support their staff by providing regular supervision and access to ongoing professional training. Training records for staff are up to date and confirm compliance with statutory requirements.

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Organisation

The home's rota confirms that the complement of staff for the home is as identified by the home's Statement of Purpose. Any shortfalls are covered by house staff or known staff from other company homes to reduce the potential for any disruption to the young person's care routine or levels of support. The arrangements for safe one- to-one work with young people are fully addressed by the home's risk assessments but remains subject to constant review.

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Organisation

The home uses a clearly established process to regularly monitor the operational efficiency and quality of care being provided. The content of the in-house monitoring is good. Monthly monitoring takes place through the use of a Regulation 33 visitor to confirm that the home is operating within the scope of its Statement of Purpose. Reports confirm quality changes arising from inevitable interruptions in the homes staffing and occupancy occurring since the last inspection. Young people are invited to contribute to this monitoring process and through their involvement help to influence aspects of the service being provided.

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Organisation

The future needs of the home have been identified by the production of an annual development plan that considers all aspects of practice and the condition of the living environment.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. The particular level of detail contained within the young people's plans, case files and daily recording documents confirms that staff both in the home and the company's educational setting can sensitively address young people's particular developmental needs including proven improvement strategies. Young people are encouraged to acknowledge each person's difference and understand differing cultures. Staff receive training in understanding equality and diversity issues.

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Organisation

The home is well organised. Case files and electronic records belonging to individual young people are confidentially stored and arranged in a manner that is familiar to the staff team and young people. Young people are made aware of the contents of their files and can request access to them.

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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 the result of all statutory reviews of the placement plan are recorded on the child's file by obtaining a copy of the most recent review minutes from the placing authority (NMS 3.4)  ensure that there is a comprehensive plan for young people preparing to leave care (Pathway Plan) being developed by the registered person and placing authority (NMS 6.1)

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