Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Calderdale

Unique reference number SC001016 Inspection date 19/01/2011 Inspector Russell Shackford Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 02/06/2010 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

This service is a children's home. It provides accommodation for up to four children of either sex aged from 10 to 17 years. Placements at the home are medium to long- term and are planned. Education can be provided by the organisation on a separate site.

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Brief description of the service

The home is a large detached dormer bungalow in a residential area. It is two miles from the town centre and there are regular transport links into the town. Each young person has their own bedroom and there is a shared open-plan general living and dining area. Two bedrooms have en-suite shower facilities and there is a further shared bathroom. Part of the house is a self-contained flat that is used as part of preparation for independence. The staff office is on the first floor. There is an enclosed garden to the rear of the house and an enclosed paved area to the front.

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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 interim inspection to check on key standards and related regulations under the Every Child Matters outcome group of staying safe.

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Summary

This is a good service. Children's privacy is well respected in all aspects and complaints are well handled. Very good safeguarding policies and practice around child protection, bullying, missing from care and 'e' safety promote and protect children's welfare. This is a notable area of strength. There is a very good, constructive approach to behaviour management. Staff demonstrate a good awareness of the risks to the children during their known and likely activities. Good quality written risk assessments are particularly well acted upon and provide clear detail of the action required to minimise the identified risks and comprehensively promote children’s safety. Good policies and procedures help to protect children's physical safety in the event of a fire at the home. Staff recruitment checks are satisfactory. All staff are trained in appropriate safety subjects including fire safety, complaints, child protection and physical restraint.

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Improvements since the last inspection

There were no actions or recommendations raised at the last inspection.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's privacy is well respected. Children can have a key for their bedroom to help them feel that they control that private space. Details about children's care is recorded and stored appropriately to maintain good levels of confidentiality. Children have access to a private telephone which is free to use for reasonable periods. Staff show good appreciation of the importance of children's privacy and describe a number of ways in which children's privacy is respected. They always knock on doors before entering.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Complaints are well handled. The children know how to make a complaint because the staff have explained what to do and there is information in the children’s guide about how to complain. Children receive regular visits from the children's rights officer, complaints officer and an advocacy service. Details of external agencies and contact numbers are displayed clearly in the home. The complaints records contain the required details. There is good written guidance for staff around complaints to ensure that they know what to do if a person complains about the service.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The welfare of children is exceptionally well promoted, they are protected from abuse and bullying and an appropriate response is made to any allegation or suspicion of abuse. A 'Red Flag' system is used to ensure that matters are given the appropriate level of importance and response. The provider has a good safeguarding procedure for staff to follow in the event of any allegation or suspicion of abuse. The manager and staff have received child protection training. Staff demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding procedures to promote and protect the children's safety. The staff take a robust, proactive approach to keeping the children safe, working well with other agencies concerned with the protection of children. Staff describe a range of strategies used during some of the very good work done with children about staying safe in the home and in the community. This is a notable area of strength. Anti-bullying training is provided to all staff and the

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

staff collaborate with other agencies to support children. There is good written guidance for staff to follow in the event of a child being missing. This is supported by recorded risk assessments for staff to follow. All significant events at the home have been notified to the relevant authorities including Ofsted.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are assisted to develop socially acceptable behaviour through the encouragement of good behaviour and through constructive staff responses to any inappropriate behaviour. The sanctions policy is effective, promoting the use of praise, encouragement and de-escalation of behaviours. Staff confirm that their training helps them to manage the behaviour of the children. They are also supported through the use of individual positive handling plans which describe individualised approaches to behaviour management. Sanctions are relevant and reflect the age and understanding of the children. They are reviewed regularly for effectiveness. Physical restraint is rarely used to manage behaviour. Staff are trained in the provider’s policy and authorised techniques. The training is designed and delivered in a manner that ensures that as much as possible, incidents are managed without the use of physical intervention.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff are knowledgeable about the risks to individual children. There is good evidence of the strategies identified to minimise risks being implemented and recorded. Good risk assessments are recorded to enable staff to know what action to take to minimise the risk to each child during their known and likely activities. Written risk assessments relating to children being absent without authority have also been completed.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's physical safety from fire in the home is protected. All staff working at the home have received up-to-date fire safety training to assist them in minimising the risks to children in the event of a fire at the home. The fire safety check records are well ordered and information is easy to retrieve. The records are up to date and accurate. All staff and children have been involved in a fire drill to ensure that they are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire in the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All staff have been appropriately recruited and they have undergone suitable Criminal Records Bureau checks to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

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