Children's Home, Residential special school run by Cambian Autism Services Limited in Dorset

Unique reference number SC065261 Inspection date 24/02/2011 Inspector Clare Davies Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 07/10/2010 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 school provides care and accommodation for up to 57 students with autistic spectrum disorder between the ages of nine and 19 years. It operates as a residential special school which also provides accommodation for a number of students requiring 52 weeks boarding and is therefore registered as a Children's Home.

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Brief description of the service

Students are accommodated in eight on-site living units and one off-site in a neighbouring village. Four living units providing 38 week care are located within the main building and the remaining four living units providing 52 week care are located in the school grounds.

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Brief description of the service

The school is set in sufficient grounds to support outside activities and close proximity to the town ensuring that the school is integrated into the community. The provider has additional registered services for children and young adults with autism.

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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 interim inspection was unannounced. The purpose of this visit was to assess how well the home is working to keep children and young people safe, and to consider the two recommendations made at the last inspection. All key standards in staying safe were assessed.

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Summary

There is an outstanding commitment to the safety and welfare of the students. This stems from sound policies and procedures that support trained staff with safe working practices. The staff have a very good understanding of their responsibilities and by having an acute awareness of the particular needs of the students in their care, they take prompt and robust action to protect them. A multi-disciplinary team supports students with their personal development and behaviour. A creative approach considers the diversity of autistic spectrum disorder and students' individual needs are met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Two recommendations were made at the last inspection and these have been satisfactorily met. The toilet and bathroom locks have all been assessed to ensure they can be opened by staff in an emergency. The percentage of care staff who have achieved a National Vocational Qualification at level 3 has increased and the provider is preparing to support staff with the new qualification, the Health and Social Care diploma.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Students live in a safe environment where their welfare is paramount. Staff have a good awareness of the need for privacy and respect in caring for the students. Good practice is underpinned by policies on matters such as; physical contact with young people, one-to-one time alone with young people, and intimate care. Generally, personal information on students is located within student care plans in a locked office. One care plan document was observed on the wall outside a student's bedroom, this could compromise their privacy. The manager arranged for it to be removed immediately.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Details of the complaints procedure is provided in each parent's pack of information when their child joins the school. Students are informed through picture symbols in a booklet and through display boards around the school and residential accommodation. Many students are reliant on other people advocating on their behalf; records show how staff have supported students in making a complaint and ensuring that they are heard. A central log of any complaint details how the senior managers thoroughly investigate any concerns that are raised and strive for satisfactory outcomes. Complaints are dealt with effectively and within a reasonable timescale.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are robust safeguarding procedures in place. All staff are trained on how to respond if they are concerned for the safety and welfare of any student. Such training is refreshed annually and at least six senior staff have received a higher level of multi-agency training from the local authority. This ensures that there is someone with this level of knowledge available 24 hours a day. An internal system encourages staff to report any concerns they may have about the safeguarding of students. This provides the senior managers with an overview of any practice that may need addressing and promotes an open culture of reporting. Senior managers work well with the local authority safeguarding teams for children and adults as some students are over the age of 18 years. The commitment to safeguarding is reflected in the robust recruitment procedures adopted by this provider, with accurate information collated on to a single central record of all staff appointments. All checks are

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

completed before anyone commences their employment to ensure that they are suitable to work with children and young people. Visitors are checked for identification and escorted around the site. These systems help protect students from unauthorised individuals gaining access.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Good staffing levels and supervision of students enable a good awareness of bullying behaviours and, therefore, keep it at a low level. Staff are fully conversant with the procedures to follow if a student should go missing. There is always on-call support from a senior member of staff and an established protocol with the local police ensures that any incidents are managed quickly and efficiently.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The students receive an outstanding level of support based on their individual needs. Behaviour support plans are produced and reviewed regularly with the support of the in-house psychologist, therapists and staff who work directly with the students. Alternative strategies and reflective practice is promoted to support students who may be experiencing varying levels of crisis. When behaviour has an impact on the safety of a student, others and the environment, the staff attempt to diffuse the situation and provide an opportunity for the students to express themselves in a different manner. When staff need to physically intervene they follow an accredited method that they have received training on. Comprehensive records are made and an analysis of patterns and trends.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Placement plans detail likely behaviours and strategies on how they can be managed and minimised. There are individual risk assessments for each student. Three risk assessments were reviewed during this inspection. One did not reflect the current changes in behaviour and therefore increased risks, the review date of this document was also not recorded. This could compromise information sharing with the care teams working directly with the student though it was evident that measures had been taken to reduce these risks.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The commitment to high standards within fire risk assessment, safety checks and general maintenance over the premises is outstanding. During the inspection external contractors were on site completing electrical safety checks and ongoing maintenance to the external part of the building. Students and staff practice evacuation of the premises including a night time drill, this ensures everyone knows what to do even when they may be disorientated late at night. Communication systems and risk assessments are being further developed to identify any deficiencies from the evacuations, in particular for individual students who become distressed by the fire alarm and therefore uncooperative with the evacuation.

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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 home and staff respect a child's wish for privacy and confidentiality as is consistent with good parenting and the need to protect the child. In particular, ensure personal information is not displayed publicly (NMS 9.1)  ensure that individual risk assessments for students are up to date and reflect current practice. (NMS 26.2)

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