Children's Home run by North Yorkshire Council in North Yorkshire

Unique reference number SC034189 Inspection date 02/11/2010 Inspector Mick Earl Type of inspection Key

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Date of last inspection 04/01/2010 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 is run and operated by a local authority. The purpose built accommodation provides placements for up to six young people aged 13 to 17 years. There are two communal lounges for young people that are furnished to a high standard. Computers are available for the young people that have internet access. The bedrooms are single occupancy with en-suite facilities and all are situated on the first floor. The home is located in grounds shared with social services offices and a small local authority home catering for adult service users who have learning difficulties. There are good public transport links close to the home.

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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 unannounced inspection using the key national minimum standards (NMS).

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Summary

The NMS were sampled in all of the outcome areas and identified that the home has many good strengths. These include promoting young people's health, supporting young people's education, providing and supporting activities and interests, involving young people and obtaining their views, providing comfortable accommodation and individual support. The home has strong leadership from its management and there is an experienced staff group. The staff are child-centred and this is reflected in the positive relationships seen between staff and the young people.

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Summary

There are areas for improvement and these include making sure formal staff supervision takes place at the right times; ensuring that all fire tests, checks and drills take place at the right times; ensuring the restraint and sanction log books meet the regulations; ensuring that all staff receive at least six days paid training and the arrangements for the monitoring of the home.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection there was one recommendation. The service was asked to make sure that a written record is kept of all medication given to children, giving date and time the medication was administered. This recommendation has been met.

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Helping children to be healthy

The home provides young people with a healthy, balanced diet that includes fresh fruit and vegetables. The menu reflects the diverse preferences of the young people and they said that they appreciate the food prepared at the home. Young people have the opportunity to plan menus with the assistance of staff and an alternative to the main meal is available where appropriate.

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Helping children to be healthy

Young people's health needs are well met and services are provided to meet their needs in line with national minimum standards. The young people are all registered with the appropriate services and all health assessments and plans are up to date. There is very good quality health information available on the young people's files. Staff are trained in the safe handling of medication and first aid. There is additional training available to staff in areas such as the administration of controlled drugs and any individual health needs.

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Helping children to be healthy

There are good systems in place which ensure that young people's welfare is safeguarded by the home's procedures for the administration of medicines. These are checked and cross referenced to ensure that any medication prescribed is administered safely and correctly to young people.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people’s privacy is promoted. They have their own bedroom with en-suite facilities. Staff make sure information about young people is handled confidentially and stored securely. There are policies and procedures in place to help ensure this happens.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are clear procedures for managing complaints appropriately and ensuring young people are listened to. Staff make sure young people are aware of who they can go to if they have any complaints or concerns. The home has received two complaints from young people since the last inspection and these were managed and recorded appropriately.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has good procedures for safeguarding young people from abuse. There are suitable arrangements for making sure that staff receive child protection training. This helps staff protect young people from abuse and ensure they respond appropriately to any allegation or suspicion of abuse.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people benefit from being looked after by a team of staff who create an atmosphere where bullying is known to be unacceptable. The home has a clear anti- bullying policy and there is guidance in place for staff on countering bullying behaviour. Staff try to help young people to develop an understanding and tolerance of people’s diverse needs. Staff take appropriate action when young people go missing or are absent from the home without permission. There are suitable policies and procedures in place and each young person's assessment includes the risk of them going missing without permission.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff encourage and support young people to develop and maintain socially acceptable behaviour. They give positive messages to young people to reinforce acceptable behaviour. Sanctions in the home are appropriate and fair. There are clear procedures and guidance for staff regarding how they should manage the behaviour of young people and staff have received training in the safe restraint and holding of young people. However the format of the logbooks for recording the restraints and the sanctions does not ensure that pages can not be removed or inserted. This is needed to help to show that young people are being sanctioned and physically managed by members of staff in a safe way.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are clear systems in place to keep young people and adults safe from the risk of fire and other potential hazards. This includes carrying out a range of risk assessments and providing information for young people. However, the records do not show that fire alarm tests, emergency lighting and fire equipment checks, and fire drills take place at the right times. This could put young people, staff and visitors at risk. Staff take part in regular fire training and there are good arrangements for carrying out regular checks of gas and electrical appliances.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has appropriate procedures in place to help make sure it employs suitable people. This includes carrying out Criminal Records Bureau disclosure checks on new staff before they start work at the home. There are suitable arrangements for monitoring and managing visitors to the home and these help ensure that they do not have inappropriate access to young people.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people receive high quality individual guidance and support which meets their needs. Each young person is allocated an individual worker, who takes responsibility for making sure that their identified needs are met.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

All of the young people living at the home, have a school or college placement. Members of staff actively support, encourage and promote the young people's education and there is often a marked increase in their attendance once admitted. Regular attendance helps to promote the self-esteem and life chances of young people.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff are excellent at meeting the individual needs of the young people living at the home and they provide high levels of individual support . Young people have access to educational materials, both at the home and via local community facilities. Staff liaise with education professionals, establishing good communication, so they can provide support, help and advice to young people. The home is very good at providing a range of equipment, books and leisure opportunities and the young people are involved in a wide range of regular trips, outings and activities. This helps young people to socialise and enjoy new experiences.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Care plans ensure that young people are appropriately placed and will fit in with the current group of young people. Care plans are comprehensive and usually set out how young people's needs will be met in conjunction with plans set out by placing authorities, although one young person's action plan did not match the current review decisions.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The arrangements for young people's involvement are very child centred and ensure that young people are fully aware and understand the plans that are set out for them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people regularly have the opportunity to provide their views on the way that the home is run in a number of ways including link worker sessions and the reviewing system. Records and observations indicate that young people are comfortable in discussing a wide range of matters that affect their everyday life and that these are taken seriously and acted upon.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are able to maintain constructive contact with their families, friends and other people who play a significant role in their lives in accordance with plans as set out by their placing authority.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The home has systems in place to assist young people to prepare for adulthood. They encourage and support young people to develop the knowledge and skills within their abilities that they will need for independent living and formal pathway plans are put in place when appropriate.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

Young people enjoy homely accommodation that is decorated, furnished and maintained to a very good standard and they said that they liked living in the home. Members of staff help to maintain the building and to keep it clean and tidy. Young people living at the home are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and to help keep their home clean and tidy.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Young people's individual needs are assessed and included in their care plans and staff support young people to follow their interests. Staff meet the cultural needs of individual young people and consider individual preferences.

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Organisation

There is a clear Statement of Purpose in place that informs others of what to expect from the home and how young people are cared for. This is to enable and assist in the appropriate admissions to the home and ensure individual needs can be met.

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Organisation

Young people receive the care and services they need from a highly competent staff team. Most of the members of staff are trained to a minimum of National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at level 3 in Caring for Children and Young People and they can also access short courses that cover specific needs of young people. Training records show that staff have completed all areas of mandatory training, but could not confirm that they had received six paid days training a year.

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Organisation

There are sufficient staff working in the home to provide a good quality of care to the young people, and staff rotas have designated handover periods built into them. The records do not confirm that members of staff receive the right amount of formal supervision each month. Some sessions are missed and the manager's supervision is not included in the records in the home. This is needed to show that the work of staff members is being monitored by the managers of the service and staff are looking after young people in a safe way.

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Organisation

There are systems in place to allow the manager to monitor the home's records and to create monthly reports and recommendations. However, no written evidence was available to show that the shortfalls in some areas had been identified and acted upon. The management monthly visits take place at the right times and copies are sent to Ofsted.

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Organisation

Young people’s case files are well kept and the records of their needs, development and progress, reflects each young person’s individuality.

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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 that the registered person implements the requirements of the fire authority to the timescales agreed, to include recorded fire drills, weekly fire alarm tests and monthly equipment and emergency lighting checks (Regulation 32) 10/01/2011

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Std. Action Due date

2 ensure that there is an up to date placement plan for each child or young person accommodated at the home which is consistent with any plan for the care of the child prepared by the placing authority (Regulation 12 (4)) 10/01/2011

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Std. Action Due date

28 ensure that all staff receive appropriate formal one-to-one supervision each month (Regulation 27 (4) (a)) 20/01/2010

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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 the record of restraints and sanctions are held in separate dedicated bound and numbered books (NMS 22)  ensure the records show that all staff receive at least six paid days of training per year (NMS 31).

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