Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Unique reference number SC062317 Inspection date 09/02/2011 Inspector Barbara Davies Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 12/08/2010 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 is a private children's home registered to take up to four young people aged between 12 and 17 years of age.

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Brief description of the service

The home is situated on a modern housing estate. Shops, bus routes and local amenities are within walking distance of the home.

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Brief description of the service

The house has three floors with a kitchen/dining room, lounge, conservatory and cloakroom on the ground floor. The bathroom, office and bedrooms are situated on the first and second floors. A garden and garage are situated at the side of the property.

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Brief description of the service

Currently four young people live in this home, two of whom were present for the inspection.

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Summary

The overall quality rating is outstanding.

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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 announced interim inspection. All of the key standards in staying safe were inspected together with a recommendation imposed following an inspection of the home in August 2010. At that time the standard of care was assessed as being outstanding and this continues to be the case following this inspection.

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Summary

This inspection found that the home continues to provide a very high standard of care for young people. Leadership and management is strong and provides clear direction. The staff team is trained, competent and fully conversant with the home's procedures. Robust policies and procedures are consistently implemented to protect young people. A strong emphasis is placed on sharing information and risk assessments with external agencies, such as the police, placing authorities and local safeguarding team, to agree joint strategies to keep young people safe. Young people say that staff try to keep them safe and really care about what happens to them.

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Summary

An action imposed in Staying Safe in August 2010 has been met. During this inspection minor omissions have been noted concerning the information noted in the record of sanctions and physical restraint.

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Improvements since the last inspection

In response to a recommendation imposed following the previous inspection, the timing of fire drills is now recorded. Records show that evacuation procedures take place at different times of the day and at night to test the promptness of response.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Robust procedures and policies protect young people. Staff are trained and skilled in implementing the procedures. The privacy and confidentiality of young people is promoted. They are provided with a room key and this means they can keep their possessions safe and control who enters their room. The locking system enables staff to enter in an emergency. Confidential information is stored securely. Young people are invited into the office only when staff are present and respect the boundaries around this.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home is able to demonstrate, by the comprehensive records that are kept, that complaints are investigated thoroughly and fairly. The effective management and resolution of external complaints by the Registered Manager has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of complaints received from neighbours. Complaints from young people are rare as they are generally pleased with the standard of care provided. Responses to complaints made by young people show careful reflection on practice and consideration about whether individual needs, such as those in relation to ethnicity, are being met. The home acknowledges and apologises when at fault and this promotes confidence in the complaints process.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Child protection has a high profile within the home. The Registered Manager is a qualified child protection trainer and is a representative on the local safeguarding board. Staff are trained to manage disclosures of abuse, are aware of reporting procedures and act in accordance with these should concerns arise.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Bullying is not reported to be an issue. Young people say they like living with each other and although there may be minor disputes, these rarely escalate into anything more serious. Staff are well informed about the anti-bullying policy and are trained to deal with incidents of bullying should they arise. A diverse range of strategies, such as restorative justice, mentoring and psychotherapy, are available for staff to access in order to support both the victim and the bully and help them resolve their differences.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home works proactively with young people who persistently abscond in an attempt to reduce the frequency. Excellent record keeping enables staff to monitor the frequency and patterns of absconding and take action to reduce the level of risk involved. Concerns about safety and risk assessments are shared with external agencies, such as the police and placing authorities. Regular and well-established meetings facilitate the sharing of information to protect young people and ensure everyone works consistently to the agreed protocols. The involvement of community advice groups in the home is promoted to educate young people about how to keep safe.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The training of staff and consistent application of the home's behaviour management strategies result in low levels of sanctions and physical intervention. The strong focus on working alongside young people and establishing positive and meaningful relationships is successful. Young people respond to the approach and say they think that staff really care about what happens to them. A record is kept of any incident of physical restraint. While this contains most of the information required, it is not evident in all instances why the use of physical restraint was necessary. The associated incident report does provide this level of detail and shows that restraint is sparingly and appropriately used. Similarly the record of sanctions does not make it clear that money deducted is as a result of young people not having achieved the full allocation of their reward money as opposed to being stopped from pocket money.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The latter would not be permitted under regulations. Failure to achieve the full reward money as a result of a behaviour or manager's warning is the most frequently recorded sanction.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All areas of the home are clean, tidy and free from hazards. Equipment and appliances are well maintained and are regularly serviced to ensure they remain in good working order and safe. Evacuation procedures, in the event of a fire, are visibly displayed and brought to the attention of visitors as they arrive at the home. Fire drills take place at a frequency in excess of standards ensuring that staff and young people are confident about what action to take in the event of a fire. In response to a recommendation made following the previous inspection, the time of fire drills is now recorded. The home is therefore able to demonstrate that drills take place at different times of the day, including at night.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff recruitment files were not inspected on this occasion. A key inspection conducted in August 2010 found that robust recruitment policies and procedures are in place. All the required checks are completed and recorded prior to anyone commencing employment at the home

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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 the record of restraint includes all the detail required by regulations; this refers to making it evident why the use of restraint was necessary and including a full description of the hold used in each entry or include a written description and diagram of each approved move in the front of the record of restraint (NMS 22)  ensure the record of sanctions includes all the detail required by regulations; this refers to making it evident which entries relate to the rewards system and which are measures of discipline (NMS 22).

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