Children's Home run by Essex County Council in Essex

Unique reference number SC044975 Inspection date 07/02/2011 Inspector Deirdra Keating Type of inspection Key

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Date of last inspection 15/10/2010 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

This children's home provides respite care and accommodation for up to 12 children with learning difficulties or disabilities and with emotional and behavioural difficulties; aged between five and 18 years, it is managed by the local authority.

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Brief description of the service

The home is a purpose-built property situated within close reach of the nearby town and local amenities. The home is made up of three self-contained flats, that link centrally. Each flat comprises a lounge with a television, kitchen, dining area, bathrooms, bedrooms and activity room. Each young person has their own bedroom, and there are two sensory activity rooms. There are gardens that are accessible from each flat with both hard surfaced and grassed areas.

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Brief description of the service

Separate facilities are provided for staff in a separate building adjacent to the home. The home provides disabled access for visitors to the home. 12 children are currently residing at the home of which six were present during 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

At this unannounced full inspection, all key standards were inspected. This is an outstanding service with many notable features.

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Summary

Children's welfare is superbly enhanced by the good relationships that exist between staff, children, and their families. Children are encouraged to work hard on independence so that they can gain new skills. The home works extremely closely with a wide range of outside agencies in order to comprehensively meet the full range of children's complex needs. Staff are extremely well supported by the dynamic manager who has an exceptional commitment to the home and a strong focus on continual improvement.

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Improvements since the last inspection

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

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy home cooked food that is fresh, nutritious and made to look appealing and appetising. The home benefits from a full-time cook who takes pride and care in presenting foods that meet complex dietary needs that children will like. The aroma of freshly baked cakes and meals helps children anticipate their food with enthusiasm. Children are also actively involved in serving and transporting food around the home. The home has complied comprehensive systems to ensure dietary needs are carefully adhered to. Each child on roll for respite care has a menu card which gives details of; allergies, diets, likes, dislikes and packed lunch preferences for school. Children are offered appropriate food choices that fully meet their health and dietary requirements.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are cared for in a clean, hygienic environment. Stringent cleaning routines and good hygiene practise promote a home where children are not at risk of cross- infection. Staff request information about contact with any contagious illness prior to admission and this ensures that children's health is not put at risk. Most children are on medication and meticulous details of this are requested during home visits by staff. Medication is all clearly labelled and booked into the home using clear recording systems that work very well. Staff are extremely competent and have undertaken specialist nurse training to ensure they deliver the best care to children. A specialist health care team provides on-call support and advice for staff.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's complex and diverse health needs are detailed in care plans and unified plans. This gives specific guidance about all aspects of health care for each child. The plans are succinct and up to date giving a clear picture of each child's health needs and how these will be met during their stay.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are physically safe and secure at the home, which is accessible via an intercom system operated by staff. All visitors are warmly welcomed and asked to sign in. Identification is systematically checked and visitor's whereabouts monitored carefully to ensure children's safety. All hazards in the home are minimised by vigilant staff. Fire prevention equipment is checked regularly and certified as safe and ready for use. The home carries out the required number of fire drills while taking care not to unsettle children. All safety checks are evidenced by valid certificates and this ensures appliances are working well and pose no risk to anyone in the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has a robust and stringent recruitment and selection process. Thorough checks are carried out on prospective staff before they work in the home. Each new member of staff provides written references that are verified and their proof of identity. New staff are selected with extreme care to ensure they are of a high calibre and strongly committed to promoting the best possible outcomes for children. This ensures that children are cared for by safe, suitable and dedicated staff.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's dignity and privacy is promoted extremely well by staff who provide personal care and some invasive health care procedures for children during their stay. Each flat provides good privacy as they are separate and self-contained. Bathrooms have been recently equipped with new storage facilities to ensure staff have equipment to-hand while helping children with personal care. Staff respect children's personal space and always knock before entering bedrooms. There are a number of activity rooms designed with specialist equipment where children can enjoy personal space away from the rest of the home.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has a "How to complain and say what you don’t like" book that sets out an easy to use format about all relevant aspects of the home. This is illustrated by a bank of photographs of the home, staff, and equipment. This enables children who have little verbal communication to make their likes and dislikes known. There have been no recent complaints but many compliments from parents and professionals. One parent summarises that staff treat the child as one of the family and (name) House is like home. Another from a professional says "Children thrive in an environment that will help them progress towards fulfilling their potential".

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's overall welfare and safety is placed first and foremost by staff. There are no incidents of children going missing from the home, although written procedures are available should this ever occur. Staff have a thorough knowledge of safeguarding issues and know how to implement the home's child protection policy. They receive good training during induction and this is updated regularly. All staff are adept at working with other professionals and agencies to support the best individualised care and safeguard children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are very few instances of bullying at the home. The group of children is not static and peer groups change every week. Staff manage the occupancy of the home extremely well, placing each child's individual needs above all else. For example, children are given the same room and link worker to promote continuity of care and help children feel secure. Children are carefully combined in each flat to ensure they feel comfortable with one another. Children are highly informed about bullying and what constitutes it. They are offered visual and pictorial resources to help them pinpoint any issues at the home and make their concerns known to staff.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff provide consistent and clear behavioural boundaries that help children understand the behavioural expectations of the home. This preventative approach helps children feel safe because they know what is expected. Each child has a concise behaviour plan that gives clear instructions on how to best manage each child's individual routine. This gives clear guidance on how to prevent issues and how to react to unavoidable incidents. There are very few measures of discipline; this includes physical interventions of which there have been none since the last inspection. Overall, children's behaviour is extremely good because staff have an exceptional understanding of each child's individual needs and work well as a team to provide a calm and consistent approach.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children attending this home have established education placements that they currently attend. Staff value education and fully support children in their attendance. The location means that some children travel a distance to their education provider. Staff work hard to help children get up and ready for school without feeling pressured or rushed. They work closely with providers of education to promote a two-way flow of information that provides excellent continuity between the home and school. The home has a designated member of staff for school liaison and school staff have visited the home. Home-school books aid communication about children's individual needs on a daily basis. Unified plans that address certain health needs ensure that staff in both settings know exactly how to meet the health needs of each child. Agreed targets are set on personal education plans and staff at the home know these and work with children to extend and support their learning targets at the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children continue to pursue their preferred activities at the home. Staff take children out to clubs and activities that children usually attend where possible. This protects children's leisure interests from becoming repeatedly disrupted. Exciting trips are provided by the home for children. These include summer camps where children stayed in a log cabin, sat around a camp fire and used an assault course. The home also makes use of a beach hut where children can enjoy the natural elements. The home has two fully equipped sensory rooms that provide different sensory experiences and materials. Books are promoted well and used at the home, children thoroughly enjoy acting out stories and making story books. Overall, children thoroughly enjoy their stays at the service.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The short-term break admissions are planned exceptionally well. Staff work closely with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals to establish how they will address each child's unique needs. A link worker from the home is designated to the child and completes a home and a school visit. Children visit the home prior to their stay incorporating a meal time, where prior information is used to provide preferred and familiar foods. This coordinated planning enables staff to gather all the information required to fully meet children's diverse needs. Children are warmly welcomed on arrival by link staff and taken to the flat they will stay in. The décor around the home includes points of reference to help each child develop a sense of belonging at the home. These include; photographs, displays of pictures and a friendship blanket made up of squares representing the unique characteristics of each child. As a result,

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Helping children make a positive contribution

children arrive confidently and settle well.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The staff at the home work in close partnership with parents and families. This begins with a home visit and evolves as children continue to use the service. Staff always take time to ensure that they have the information they need about children's changing routines. There is open communication between parents, children and staff at the home. Staff are polite, helpful and welcoming as they accommodate the needs of each family. Reviews of children's needs are attended by staff and feedback from outside professionals is extremely positive. The service is flexible and adaptable; staff strive to accommodate the changing needs of children and their families wherever possible. This is based on staff's detailed knowledge and understanding of each child using carefully compiled care plans. These working documents reflect the continual developmental changes in a child's life and are updated regularly. They provide very

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Helping children make a positive contribution

clear and detailed guidance about the care of each child and ensure that each child's routine is consistently followed. This promotes exceptional continuity of care and helps children feel secure while they are away from home.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's opinions are actively sought using innovative resources designed to aid communication. Staff work hard to help children make their feelings known. This is helped by the trusting and established relationships children have with staff. Simple questions accompanied by photographs help gain children's views of how the home and staff are meeting the child's needs and whether changes need to be made. Questionnaires outline feedback from children regarding making improvements to the garden and providing different cooking activities. These are both well underway and this is a clear demonstration of how children's views are valued and used to improve the home.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Children are cared for in a well-designed building that has been furnished to a high standard. The environment is decorated with warm colours and soft furnishings promoting a welcoming, homely atmosphere. The entire building is clean and hygienic ensuring that each child arriving has a pleasant and fresh environment. There is a wide range of different equipment and furniture designed specifically to encompass the complex needs of the children. Each bedroom is furnished pleasantly with coordinating furniture and décor that is restful and comfortable. The outdoor environment is highly valued by the children and staff and the gardens are easily accessible from each flat. The gardens presently vary in design and maintenance. However, there are secure plans to have them landscaped with sensory resources and plants.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Children are encouraged to bring in any favourite possessions, comforters and their own personal clothes. There are very good systems to ensure these are clearly accounted for and listed in order that they are all returned with the child. Staff encourage independence wherever possible, a transitional enablement group sets agreed targets for individuals to help them accomplish new independence skills. For example, making beds, changing bedding and unpacking clothes are all encouraged by staff for children able to do so. A specific programme to promote cooking and food preparation skills has been recently enjoyed by several children. This gives children the chance to prepare, cook and serve meals for both peers and family members while at the home. These activities all help prepare children develop some of the skills they need for more independent lives.

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Organisation

The home is managed with high levels of efficiency by an experienced and dedicated manager who leads an established staff team. Overall, children receive an excellent service from professional and experienced staff. Staff are given plenty of support and guidance, they attend a wealth of training and have regular supervision and performance management. The staff work well as a collective team with a clear focus on meeting each child's changing needs and adapting their practice and resources in light of these.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. Young people's complex and diverse needs are thoroughly assessed and regularly reviewed. Staff positively promote respect for difference and inclusion of children. For example, several different communication systems ensure that all children can make their needs known. Barriers within the physical environment are addressed and adapted continually to accommodate each child. This ensures that the environment is accessible and risks are assessed. Staff are committed to challenging any kind of discrimination that they may face. Expectations for all children are high. Children are actively encouraged to achieve their potential and make a positive contribution both at the home and within the community

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Organisation

The home is monitored very well, both externally and internally, by the manager. The home's records and administration procedures are expertly organised to underpin all aspects of children's welfare. These have evolved with hard work from the staff team and elements of these are shared with other homes as examples of best practice. This clear and concise record keeping has resulted in children's individual needs being comprehensively met.

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Organisation

There is a set management structure with an assistant home manager deputising in the Registered Manager's absence and senior shift leaders assigned to each flat. Staff are very well trained and stringently monitored to ensure they are competent in all complex care procedures before they can lead a shift. There is clear handover time to promote good communication between shifts. Staffing levels are increased to reflect the changing needs or numbers of children whenever required.

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Organisation

The Statement of Purpose gives a clear and detailed view of the home, the services and facilities available. The children's guide summarises this information in a useful and accessible way. This is in a colourful pictorial format that has a clear emphasis on helping children feel safe.

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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

 refurbish the gardens and exterior hard surfaced areas to ensure they are equipped well and maintained to a high standard. (NMS 24.3)

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