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

Unique reference number SC061924 Inspection date 02/03/2011 Inspector Sonya Robinson Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 18/10/2010 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 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

During this interim unannounced inspection the home's response to the actions and recommendations made at the inspection in October 2010 were discussed. In addition, staying safe was also examined and continues to be judged as satisfactory.

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Summary

The young people who live at this home achieve positive outcomes from their placement. Staff provide a safe environment. Safeguarding procedures ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities to keep young people safe. Staff have knowledge of young people's behaviour and this enables them to respond appropriately to behavioural issues that arise. The support for young people is based on promoting positive behaviour in a nurturing environment.

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Summary

As a result of this inspection six recommendations are made. These, in the main, relate to young people's documentation, staff training and the testing of electrical portable appliances.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection two actions and seven recommendations were made.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Both of the actions have been completed and these related to the name, address and telephone number of Ofsted being included within the home's complaints policy and the young person's guide. Recommendations were made: 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 are recorded; to 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; and that staff receive at least one and a half hours of one-to-one supervision from a senior member of staff each month. These have been completed and maintained. A recommendation was also made about the general household maintenance of the service, with particular reference to the flooring on the ground floor. New flooring

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Improvements since the last inspection

has been laid since the last inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Recommendations were also made regarding each young person having a personal education plan which explicitly addresses their educational needs, young people having up-to-date placement plans, and around the policy on young people's personal allowances. Although, the service has looked at these recommendations, these are raised again through this inspection as there remains ongoing issues in these areas.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff respect young people's privacy consistent with good parenting and the need to protect young people. Young people have single bedrooms to promote privacy and dignity. The accommodation provides space where young people can relax and spend time alone when they wish. Information about young people is managed confidentially and held securely in the office. Young people have the opportunity to use telephones to keep in contact with their family and friends.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people say they feel comfortable talking to staff about their worries and know concerns are taken seriously and addressed. Young people generally get on well. Staff are vigilant and act decisively to challenge unacceptable behaviour, such as swearing. Staff work effectively with young people to enable them to cooperate well with each other and learn how to share, for example, taking turns to use the games console.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff have not undertaken specific training around bullying and risk assessments regarding the times, places and circumstances in which the risk of bullying (including bullying amounting to abuse by other children) is greatest, are not in place. This means that there is the potential for young people to remain vulnerable if issues arise. Staff take the child protection of young people seriously. They work effectively with safeguarding agencies to protect young people by sharing information and putting safeguarding plans into practice. This includes when young people go absent from care. There are also procedures in place to notify Ofsted and other relevant authorities of serious events involving young people to ensure that young people are protected.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff encourage young people to develop socially-acceptable behaviour and challenge difficult behaviour constructively. Young people know what standards of behaviour are expected and the possible consequences of any poor behaviour. Staff view young people in a positive light and encourage acceptable behaviour by praising and rewarding them, talking to them, trying to understand their behaviour and building positive relationships with them. Staff have a good understanding of the issues that influence young people’s behaviour, such as family relationships, trauma, and the impact of separation and loss. These insights enable staff to work well with young people and identify the best ways to help them.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff keep accurate records of any sanctions used with young people. This provides useful information for monitoring the effectiveness of individual behaviour management strategies. Staff use restraints very rarely and only when young people or others are at immediate risk of harm. Staff are trained in managing challenging behaviour, this means they are competent and confident in the use of restraint to protect fully young people's safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people live in a safe environment. They are protected by a comprehensive range of detailed health and safety procedures and risk assessments. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks, including fire drills, to ensure the premises are safe and secure. However, the testing of portable electrical appliances has not been undertaken by a qualified person for over a year, to see if they are working properly.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home's procedures for the recruitment and selection of staff are robust. All staff are thoroughly vetted before they are appointed, to ensure that they are safe to work with vulnerable young people. The home has suitable systems in place to ensure that visitors to the home are suitably checked and supervised to protect young people.

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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 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 money (NMS 11.9)  ensure the registered person regularly carries out recorded risk assessments of the times, places and circumstances in which the risk of bullying (including bullying amounting to abuse by other children) is greatest, and takes action where feasible to reduce or counteract the risk of bullying (NMS 18.5)  ensure staff are trained in the awareness of, and effective strategies to counter

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Recommendations

bullying (NMS 18.2)  ensure all unnecessary risks to the health or safety of children are identified and where possible eliminated, for example, regular portable appliance tests being completed. (NMS 26.3)

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