Children's Home run by Keys Education Ltd in Herefordshire

Unique reference number SC062074 Inspection date 04/01/2011 Inspector Martha Nethaway Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 21/05/2010 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 home is registered to accommodate up to four young people of either gender from 11 to 17 years of age. At the time of the inspection there were three young people accommodated. The service is operated by a private company. The home is a detached property standing in its own grounds in a rural location.

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Brief description of the service

The overall purpose of the service is to provide medium to long term placements for young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home's stated aim is to provide an environment in which young people can feel safe, cared for, supported and valued as individuals in their own right.

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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 interim unannounced inspection that mainly concentrated on all key national minimum standards in the outcome area of staying safe. It also looked at the six actions made at the last inspection and all of these have been met. At the previous key inspection the home was judged as achieving an overall satisfactory outcome.

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Summary

The overall quality rating remains at satisfactory. The staying safe outcome area has moved to good and this is as a result of the improvements taking place at the home with effective work and good outcomes for young people being achieved. The staff team are working more cohesively and the staff group dynamics are positive. This leads to improved quality of care for young people.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection, the provider was asked to ensure that the home improve the quality of record keeping in relation to medication and this has now been fully addressed. This means that young people's medicines are being properly managed.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The home has now replaced the previously broken phone and this means that young people can make contact with their family and social worker when it is convenient for them.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The company reviewed their policy on how to counteract bullying and provided training so that staff always foster an environment where bullying is never accepted. This means that vulnerable young people are being protected effectively.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Staff completing the records related to behavioural intervention ensure that all records are accurate and up to date. This means staff are following the company's stated policy consistently.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The home has improved the quality of the care that young people receive through more structured management support and external monitoring by the company.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The home has improved how it records the actions set at the young person's review meetings which are now included in the care programmes. This means that the aims and objectives of the placement are being monitored and reviewed.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The home has demonstrated by addressing all of these areas its strong commitment to continuous improvement and advancing good child care practice which leads to better experiences and outcomes for young people.

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Helping children to be healthy

The treatment and administration of medicines within the home is good. The home's medication policy is detailed and comprehensive. Staff receive good levels of in- house training on how to manage medication safely. Since the last inspection, staff have improved the level of record keeping by ensuring that all medication records are accurate and up-to-date. This means that the home has improved the systems to check that the details in the home's records are always correct. As a result, these clear records help to prevent drug errors and help show that medicines have been handled properly. This protects and safeguards young people's welfare in relation to health.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people's welfare is well promoted at the home. Staff are provided with a good range of policies that specifically address staff recruitment, counteracting bullying, unauthorised absence, complaints, behaviour management and health and safety. Staff practice at the home has improved because of the appointment of a new manager and improved monitoring and performance systems at the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff ensure that young people are cared for in ways that meets their needs, takes account of their choices and young people are treated in a dignified way. Young people understand that staff speak to them respectfully and listen to what they say.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are well informed about how they can make a complaint and are appropriately encouraged to do so. Records show that all outcomes of complaints are being systematically evaluated so that improvements and positive outcomes for young people are achieved.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff take a positive lead to ensure that the welfare of young people is promoted. This is because staff are provided with good guidance and training related to child protection and safeguarding. Staff understand their role in terms of multi-agency involvement.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people know and understand that any incidents of bullying will be taken seriously and dealt with immediately. This is because bullying is monitored by staff on a day-to-day basis, through staff supervision and staff meetings. Young people are not reporting concerns related to bullying because staff promote a clear understanding of the home's anti-bullying ethos and the positive implications for young people.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people learn about why their safety and welfare is important when they go missing from the home. This is because staff want to create a stable environment. Staff take a positive and proactive approach. Staff complete a thorough risk assessment of young people who are vulnerable so that there is a strategic approach and a shared plan of action to address and reduce the likelihood of young people going missing. Staff have successfully helped young people to reduce incidents of going missing and prevent repeated incidents.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people benefit because staff create a warm homely environment in which young people feel welcome and accepted. This is because young people are learning about the expectations of behaviour, which are clearly understood and negotiated. Relationships between staff are generally positive and any disagreements are dealt with reasonably. All staff are trained in the use of physical intervention and the use of this type of intervention is relatively low given the complex needs of young people. Staff use specific techniques related to de-escalation which places emphasis on positive techniques such as distraction, talking, persuasion and negotiation. Young people are encouraged to learn about the consequences of unacceptable behaviours and staff do occasionally use sanctions which are time limited, fair and are positive and meaningful for the young person.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff understand their role and levels of responsibility in respect to health and safety legislation. All young people have an individualised risk assessment which is kept under review as circumstances change. Staff are provided with good health and safety information and training. As a result, this ensures that health and safety strategies and policies are discussed and developed. Young people are further protected because all young people participate in fire evacuations so that they know what to do in an emergency.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The company has a centralised recruitment system with a human resource team that pays good attention to the recruitment procedures for recruiting and appointing staff. This ensures that staff are only employed at the home if they are suitable to work with vulnerable young people. The recruitment records checked showed a consistent approach with the home's stated recruitment policy.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people have their needs assessed and written placement plans outline how these needs will be met and effectively implemented. Young people in the home are appropriately placed there. Staff continue to complete well-written care programmes that reflect the needs of young people. Staff address the day-to-day care for each young person. The home has improved the quality of the care plans to now include the outcomes of the review meetings are clearly incorporated in the home's care programmes. This demonstrates that staff are using effective consultation and collaboration with external professionals which guarantees that young people's needs are fully met.

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Organisation

The home has improved the arrangements in place for the day-to-day management of the home. The home is run in a way that promotes and protects young people. The company has appointed a new manager to the home who is currently making application to Ofsted so that they can progress forward to become the Registered Manager.

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Organisation

Since the last inspection the new manager has reorganised the staffing group which ensures that the mix of skills, experience and abilities is more even across the staffing rota. This means that the team are working more cohesively and provide consistent good quality care for young people. The manager and the company is carefully monitoring how the home is performing and these continued improvements have been observed by young people and staff.

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