Children's Home run by Progressive Futures Care Limited in Sefton

Unique reference number SC061924 Inspection date 18/10/2010 Inspector Sonya Robinson Type of inspection Key

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Date of last inspection 16/12/2009 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 home provides care and accommodation for three young people between the ages of 12 years to 16 years.

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Brief description of the service

Accommodation is provided over two floors, the ground floor includes a kitchen, lounge, dining room and conservatory. Young people have their own bedrooms which are located on the upper floor.

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Brief description of the service

The house is set in a semi-rural location but is close to local shops, there are transport links to and from a city centre and a nearby town. The service also has access to local community resources.

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Brief description of the service

Young people and staff present during the inspection, participated within this inspection.

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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 an unannounced, full inspection and so all the key national minimum standards (NMS) were assessed. The inspection also assessed whether the registered persons had met the recommendations made at the previous inspection. Information regarding these, is noted within the improvement section.

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Summary

There are some good outcomes for young people within this service. Staff provide care and support which helps young people to feel secure. The manager and staff are effective at promoting young people's health. They also ensure young people's welfare and safety is protected. However, there are some issues around the sanctions log not being held in accordance with the standards, fire drills do not have the times noted of when they were undertaken and the reviewed complaints policy has omitted Ofsted's details in error.

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Summary

Outcomes associated with education are positive. There are arrangements in place to enable young people to have a full say in the content of their own care plans. However, documentation being received in a timely way, in both these areas, is lacking from the placing authorities. Young people enjoy their leisure time and they are encouraged to participate within the local community. The premises are homely and generally well maintained. However, the flooring on the ground is heavily worn and records relating to pocket money withheld or supervised with the young person are not always clear. Young people are included in the choice of décor within their bedrooms. Young people say it’s a good place to live in. Outcomes associated with the organisational arrangements are satisfactory. In the main, there is consistency of staff, staff meetings, and the Statement of Purpose and young peoples guide clearly set out the ethos of the home. However, Ofsted's details

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Summary

have been omitted from the young person's guide on its last review. Also, one-to-one staff supervision does not always take the recommended hour and half each month despite generally taking place on a monthly basis. A good level of staff training is provided and staffing levels are appropriate for the needs of the young people placed.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Since the last inspection, each young person has an up-to-date behaviour management plan which reflects the strategies employed to encourage and support positive behaviours. Also, risk assessments have much improved and now ensure that unnecessary risks to the healthy and safety of young people are identified and where possible eliminated.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The Registered Manager was also asked to ensure that at least four fire drills, including the evacuation of staff and children from the building and fire drills held at night, take place within a 12 month period. This is repeated on this inspection as, although there has been some improvement regarding the increased frequency of fire drills being held, the home records do not say what time these drills have taken place.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people enjoy healthy and nutritious meals, reflecting a range of different cultural tastes that meet their dietary needs. Staff work alongside young people to develop healthy eating within the home. This is aimed at increasing their knowledge of basic nutrition and sets out plans for a balanced diet. Meals served are varied to enhance young people’s health and physical well-being. For example, fruit is made available each day to help boost young people's five a day intake. All meals include a range of fresh fruit and vegetables. Meal times are a social occasion and include having different cultural theme nights organised throughout the year. This helps to build positive relationships and encourage young people to experience new foods.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people’s health needs are actively promoted. Young people are registered with a doctor, dentist, optician and other specialist services as required, dependent on their individual needs. They have detailed plans set out in an accessible and meaningful way identifying their assessed health needs and how they are being met. Staff monitor young people to make sure they are healthy by encouraging them to attend routine health checks and by ensuring they get medical treatment when they are unwell. The home has good links with health and advisory services to make sure that young people get suitable support with specific health issues, such as emotional well-being. Staff deal with health issues sensitively. They make sure young people get appropriate support and advice, including developing their personal care skills, to promote healthy lifestyles.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff with first aid qualifications are on duty at all times to make sure appropriate action is taken to safeguard young people in the case of an emergency. Young people's health needs are also protected by robust medication policies and practice guidance. Staff have a clear understanding of the medication procedures and are trained to manage medicines safely.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff ensure young people feel valued and that their privacy and dignity is maintained. They have single bedrooms, which they are able to personalise with posters from their favourite film and animals. Some young people require additional support with personal care needs. This is provided sensitively by staff which effectively minimises any embarrassment to young people. Staff respect the privacy of young people and make sure their information is stored securely in a locked office.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people confirm that they are able to raise concerns about the setting with the staff or through the appointed independent person. There have been no complaints from young people since the last inspection. The home takes young people’s complaints seriously and provides them with the information on how to raise concerns should they feel a need to. However, the complaints policy does not currently meet with the regulations as it does not included the name, address and contact details of Ofsted. This hinders a young person’s ability to contact Ofsted with any concerns they may have.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people feel safe and state that this is because staff care about them. The home is proactive in keeping children safe, as staff understand their roles and the procedures to be followed should they have a concern about a young person's safety or well-being. Managers and staff are confident to report any concerns to the appropriate safeguarding agencies in order to keep young people safe. Clear policies and access to regular training means staff are knowledgeable about child protection and safeguarding issues. Staff provide clear information to young people on how to keep themselves safe when away from the home and provide taxis from reputable firms to ensure they return home safely from contact visits.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Bullying is not an issue for young people. Staff are aware of the potential for bullying, but state this is not an issue at this time as they are proactive in helping young people to resolve any disagreements amicably. These discussions enable young people to examine their feelings towards others, different situations and come to an appropriate resolution. Young people are assisted in developing socially acceptable behaviour through positive reinforcement of good behaviour and constructive responses to inappropriate behaviour. Young people are clear on the house rules, such as times to be home, and acknowledge that they do not always follow them.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people's safety is considered when their whereabouts are unknown, as staff instigate the agreed reporting procedures for these circumstances. Staff provide gentle reminders to young people regarding the times they are expected home and the action staff will need to take if they do not return at that time. This positive reinforcement is handled sensitively by staff and enables young people to take responsibility for their actions and the consequences of these actions.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There has been minimal use of physical intervention by staff since the last inspection, there are no issues arising. Young people are aware of the sanctions policy and feel that ‘it’s fair’. The sanctions record is in place but, does not meet the minimum standards. For example, pages are not numbered, the reason for and duration of some sanctions is unclear. Any significant events that have occurred within the home since the last inspection, have been reported to the appropriate authorities under the regulations.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Health and safety matters are managed well. General and individual risk assessments enable staff to put appropriate plans into place to lessen or eliminate risks to young people or the environment. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly and updated to ensure they remain current. Fire, gas and electrical equipment are checked and young people take part in fire evacuation drills to help keep themselves safe in an emergency. However, the fire drill record does not show the actual times of the fire drill. This means it is unclear as to whether fire drills are carried out during the night and the minimum standard in this area would be that at least one fire drill takes place of a night within a twelve month period.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Secure procedures are in place to ensure all staff undertake the necessary vetting checks before they commence employment at the home. Information relating to staff is held securely in the organisation's head office. All visitors to the home are monitored and required to sign the visitor’s books. The home is appropriately secured to prevent unauthorised individuals gaining access to the premises. These procedures ensure young people are protected from potential risks.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people are seen as individuals and are respected. They receive educational support to help them succeed and achieve. This includes knowing someone from the home will attend all school events. The staff ensure resources are accessed to aid learning, such as young people having access to computers where they can learn and sustain contact with friends and family. Young people are supported to develop a sense of self-worth and self-direction in relation to the choices and challenges they make in everyday life. However, young people do not have a person educational plan is place which identifies and documents their individual specific educational needs.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff actively encourage young people to enjoy their spare time and to take part in leisure activities at home and in the community. Young people enjoy a wide range of activities and are able to follow their particular interests, such as volunteering to help out at youth clubs. They also enjoy bowling, visits to the beach, fairground, shopping and meals out. Young people as a result are able to build confidence in their own abilities and make friends with young people from different social and cultural backgrounds.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The home’s records provide an good insight into the individual needs of young people. Staff keep detailed records about young people’s progress and experiences. Young people’s care is reviewed regularly to make sure that practice is up to date and that the home continues to meet the needs of the young people. However, information from placing authorities is not consistently maintained, with particular reference to placement planning documentation. However, some information was faxed through on the day of inspection. Staff and independent advocates actively seek young people's views and ensure that they are listened to and their views about their lives taken into account.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are actively encouraged, where appropriate, to have regular contact with their families to help them maintain and build positive relationships. Staff can provide support for contact arrangements to promote and safeguard young people’s welfare if necessary.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The home plans placements well with the placing authority and the relevant agencies. Time and effort is taken to gather knowledge about young people before they move in to ensure that the home is able to meet their needs and make sure it is the best possible move for them. Young people's introduction to the home is carefully and sensitively planned to address the family and young people's anxieties. Also, the home is very good at helping young people move on. Young people are involved in preparing to leave the home and know where they will be moving to. Staff provide emotional and practical support for young people leaving their care. Staff contribute to the assessment of young people's needs and work well with leaving care services to ensure that young people continue to get the support they require.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are encouraged to make decisions about their lives and to influence the way the home is run. They are involved in decisions about what food they eat and what they do in their spare time. The provider and staff actively seek young people’s views about how well they feel they are looked after. Young people have regular access to an independent advocate to enable them to express their views effectively.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff based on honesty and respect. Staff view young people in a positive light. Staff are helpful and enjoy spending time with young people. Staff have safe, consistent and understandable boundaries with young people consistent with good parenting.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The staff are able to support young people of different ages to develop skills and knowledge which will be useful to them when older. For example, they help young people to develop cooking skills, to learn how to spend money appropriately and to develop cleaning and laundry skills. This results in them developing a wide range of life skills to support them in the future.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people receive regular pocket money and clothing allowance money and records of their use are maintained to act as a safeguard for young people. However, these records are not sufficiently monitored and basic administration errors have occurred.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The premises themselves are clean, generally well-maintained and homely. Young people have a say and help to decorate areas personal to themselves. This helps them to feel included and valued. However, the flooring on the ground floor is heavily worn in parts and efforts to patch and repair detract from the environment the service strives to create.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. The individual needs of young people are given full and proper consideration and priority. Effective implementation of the key worker system helps to ensure individual needs are met appropriately. The staff receive training and information about the implications of culture, race and religion, day-to-day routines, and how such issues affect young people's identities.

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Organisation

The home has a clear Statement of Purpose and this sets out the aims of the home and how it will operate. Young people also receive a children's guide to the home and this gives them useful information including advice about how to seek external support if necessary. However, information about how young people can contact Ofsted directly if they wish to, has been omitted from the children's guide, since the last inspection.

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Organisation

Staff are supported by the manager and have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities. They confirm that when they need support and guidance the manager is always available and helpful. Although staff are well supported on a daily basis they are not all consistently receiving one to one supervision for an hour and half each month, which is the timescale recommended in the standards. This is to monitor their performance, accountability and identify their individual development needs. Team meetings take place regularly every month to allow the whole staff team to discuss and review individual young people, the running of the home, and look at ways to improve the service they offer.

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Organisation

Young people are looked after by a competent staff team who have a range of skills and experience. The skills within the team match the needs of young people living in the home well. The staff team reflects cultural backgrounds of the young people living in the home and provides both positive male and female role models for young people. The numbers of staff on duty meets the needs of young people. This includes the support they need for activities, visits and appointments.

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Organisation

Staff have good access to suitable training. The training programme covers the needs of the young people and provides staff with the skills and knowledge to effectively do their jobs.

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Organisation

The home has systems in place to review the quality of care provided. The manager consistently monitors the running of the home every month. The management identifies areas for improvement and takes action to ensure that the home meets young people’s needs and promotes their welfare. A representative on behalf of the owner of the home also visits the home every month to monitor how well young people are being cared for.

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Organisation

The home’s written records provide a clear picture of individual young people’s needs, development and progress. Young people’s records are organised and contain up-to-date information about them. Young people are encouraged to read and make comments about what is written about them.

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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 Provider(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Std. Action Due date

16 ensure the complaints policy includes the name, address and telephone number of Ofsted (Regulation 24.4 (a)) 30/11/2010

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Std. Action Due date

1 ensure that the children's guide includes the address and telephone number of Ofsted. (Reg 4 (3)) 30/11/2010

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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 at least four fire drills, including the evacuation of staff and children from the building and fire drills held at night, take place within a 12 month period and are recorded (NMS 26.8)  ensure the sanctions record is held in a dedicated bound and numbered book, which includes all the required information especially in relation to the reason and duration of the sanction is made clear (NMS 22.10)  ensure that each young person has an personal education plan which explicitly addresses their educational needs (NMS 14.4)  ensure that there is an up to date placement plan for each young person accommodated at the home, that details sufficiently their assessed needs and describes how the home aims to meet them (NMS 2.1)  ensure that the policy on personal allowances is implemented in practice, and makes clear the arrangements for children receiving them, reasons why they may be withheld and the monitoring of their use, in particular with reference to pocket

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Recommendations

money (NMS 11.9)  ensure that the interior and exterior of the home are maintained in a good state of structural and decorative repair. This is with particular reference to the flooring on the ground floor (NMS 24.3)  ensure all staff receive at least one and a half hours of one to one supervision from a senior member of staff each month. (NMS 28.2)

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