Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children‟s Services (2) Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC398481 Inspection date 03/08/2010 Inspector Andrew Hewston Type of inspection Key

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Date of last inspection 04/02/2010 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 a four bedded unit offering care and accommodation to young people with a range of differing needs. This includes services for young people that experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. The accommodation is within a semi rural area, and consists of a detached house, with individual bedrooms for all of the young people and sufficient bathrooms. Communal areas include two large lounges, a dining room, kitchen and conservatory. There is office space for the staff team and manager. Externally the house has a garden.

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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 in all outcome areas were assessed. Good practice recommendations from the previous inspection were also considered. All young people within the home were spoken to during this inspection with relation to the care that they received.

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Summary

The home provides a good standard of care and there are areas of outstanding practice especially relating to activities. Young people enjoy very good caring relationships with staff which helps them to feel settled and to make good progress. Staff are consistent in their approach to young people and behaviour is managed well. Although some of the planning is not specifically in line with the expectations of the standards there is a wealth of information that shows that the staff know how to respond to the wide range of young people's needs.

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Summary

Young people are cared for safely by a competent team of staff, who work well together and who are supported by clear policies and procedures, supervision and relevant training. Staff encourage young people to develop a healthy lifestyle and work hard to ensure that they are able to pursue their education and achieve to their individual potential. Staff also support young people to maintain positive relationships with their families and significant others although these arrangements need to be clear within young people's files.

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Improvements since the last inspection

One action was made at the last inspection to improve care delivery and this related to the use of restraint in the home. The manager has put in place a good behaviour management programme to ensure that no restraint is excessive or used in inappropriate circumstances.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people's health needs are fully supported by the staff team. All young people are registered with local health professionals and regular appointments are completed to ensure that any specific health needs are highlighted and responded to. Young people have health plans. These are discussed as part of the review process. Staff ensure that their responsible areas within the health plans are completed although it is not always clear within placement plans how the home has responded to needs highlighted within reviews. The organisation's psychologist supports the staff team through team meetings as well as working with young people on an individual basis where appropriate. They also have involvement with the review process.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff are appropriately trained in the administration of medication and first aid to ensure the safety of young people. Medication details are fully recorded when brought into the home and when administered to young people. Medication audits are also completed on a regular basis to ensure that staff are completing all necessary paperwork appropriately. Staff are sufficiently trained in first aid and recordings relating to accidents are fully completed.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are kept safe within the home through robust systems and a caring staff team.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Privacy arrangements for young people are appropriate. Young people have sufficiently private access to the home's telephone, although some young people's calls are monitored. This is only done following written agreement from the placing social worker to ensure young people's privacy is supported as well as ensuring their safety. Staff respect young people's privacy within their own rooms through knocking prior to entry and where room searches are necessary these are fully recorded.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

If young people are unhappy they are aware of how to make a complaint to the staff team. Information regarding how to make a complaint and how it is responded to is within young people's handbook and discussed in key work meetings. Complaints made are fully responded to and recorded both within the young people's files and the home's recording systems. Staff are fully trained in the area of safeguarding and this is updated on a regular basis to ensure the safety of the young people. Staff take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and they are supported by good policy and robust procedures. Clear information is available for all staff regarding these procedures.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has information available for young people and staff with regard to bullying behaviour and how this is responded to. Young people state that staff respond to problems between individuals through key working meetings. Systems and paperwork are in place if young people are absent without permission although instances of this behaviour are extremely limited.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Behaviour systems within the home are positive and encourage improvements through rewards as well as sanctions. Good behaviour management programmes examine the differing de-escalation techniques that are used with individuals, these show an effective way of responding to differing young people. All recordings of behaviour management are fully completed and referenced within the home's records as well as individual files. All staff are trained in the use of differing restraint techniques and this is updated on a regular basis.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people are kept safe through thorough risk assessments of areas that they are involved in, including activities and areas around the home. Health and safety checks are completed on a regular basis and the majority of fire safety checks are in line with expected timescales. An insufficient number of fire drills have been completed over the past year.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The organisation’s staff recruitment checks were inspected in May 2010 and show that there are robust procedures in place that ensure the safety of the young people. All checks as required under the regulations are appropriately carried out. Where issues have arisen these are discussed within the recruitment process, responded to and recorded. Checks against the disqualification for caring for children regulations are also completed as part of recruitment procedures.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people are supported through a good range of highly individualised plans. Different professionals, both internal to the organisation and external, work to support the young people. Young people have access to an independent visitor and young people receive support within reviews from advocates where appropriate.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All young people attend full time education and this is fully supported by the staff team both at the home and within the classroom environment when required. Education and behaviour plans are linked between the school and home environments to ensure consistency across these two areas. These plans are updated on a regular basis. Young people have educational statements and personal education plans and these are reviewed on a regular basis including input from the care staff team. The staff team within the home promote external educational trips and accompany young people with these.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people are involved in a wide range of activities both within the home and externally. Young people are positive about the differing activities that they enjoy and how staff have supported them with individual interests. They are able to discuss achievements that they have gained within activities with pride. Staff take young people away on holidays both within the United Kingdom and abroad on a well- organised basis. Young people are able to discuss how they have been involved in the planning of holidays and where they would like to go in the future. In addition to planned activities, the staff team responds quickly to meet the interests of young people and promotes the concept of play in different ways. Young people are seen to gain a lot from this high awareness of the staff team in relation to meeting their needs in an imaginative way.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Plans are in place to support young people. Specific placement plans are generic and do not state the individual needs of the young people and how these are being met within the home. Additional care plans and monthly reports show this information which is in line with the expectations of the standard. Staff are also able to competently discuss differing young people and how they are being supported within the home. Young people's plans are reviewed on a regular basis and they are fully involved in the meetings and decision-making processes relating to their care, where appropriate. Records of plans show young people's development and progress within the home and this information is made clear to placing social workers. Minutes of reviews show that the staff from the home and others within the organisation have a professional approach to the care being provided. Young people are as involved in the review process as they wish to be. Staff promote young people's ability to be

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Helping children make a positive contribution

part of their reviews and will advocate their views where required.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff support a range of differing contact arrangements although these are not always clear within placement plans. All young people are supported with making decisions about their lives and the running of the home through regular house meetings and good key worker meetings. Minutes of young people's meetings show that young people are able to discuss a good range of topics relating to living at the home. Key worker meeting records show that young people are able to discuss differing areas of their life on a one-to-one basis regularly.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people live in a well-maintained and comfortably furnished home that provides plenty of space and facilities to meet the needs of three active residents. There are enough downstairs rooms for young people to spend time alone, or in company. Children have a say in the way the house is decorated and take care of their bedrooms and possessions with staff help. Young people state a sense of ownership of the home. Young people enjoy the gardens around the home.

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Organisation

The home's Statement of Purpose and young people's guide are reviewed on an annual basis and these give a good awareness of the purpose of the home and how young people are supported while living there. The Statement of Purpose includes a staffing policy in line with the expectations of the standards. The home is well staffed to meet the needs of the young people and additional support is given and received from staff at another of the organisation's homes. Staff are well supported by the home's management, through regular supervisions and ongoing annual appraisals to ensure that training needs are highlighted and responded to.

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Organisation

Competent, confident, and experienced staff provide good care for young people and current staffing levels ensure a high level of one-to-one support. There are clear deputising arrangements and staff in charge have substantial experience. Young people benefit from a stable staff team that includes a mix of male and female staff from a diverse range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Good training and development opportunities are linked to the needs of the children and the purpose of the home. Staff are supported and guided in safeguarding and promoting the children’s welfare through frequent professional supervision.

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Organisation

The home is well managed and the manager has a high level of awareness of the ongoing issues relating to all aspects of the care provision. However, necessary management monitoring of the home's systems are not completed on a monthly basis.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Staff attempt to give a full range of information to young people with regard to different cultures in a variety of ways. Staff respond to young people's needs on a highly individualised basis and challenge young people who do not accept others differences.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Std. Action Due date

26 ensure by means of regular fire drills that everyone is aware of the fire procedures (Regulation 32(1)) 10/09/2010

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Std. Action Due date

2 ensure young people have placement plans setting out how care will be provided on a day to day basis (Regulation 12(1)) 30/09/2010 33 ensure effective monitoring of all areas within Schedule 6 is completed on a monthly basis by the Registered Manager. (Regulation 34(1)) 30/09/2010

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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 health plans are up to date within placement plans following reviews (NMS 12.2)  ensure all contact arrangements are clearly detailed within placement plans. (NMS 4.2)

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