Children's Home run by CareTech Community Services Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC005041 Inspection date 22/12/2010 Inspector Jackie Callaghan Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 01/09/2010 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 registered to accommodate up to 10 young people with a range of disabilities including physical disability, learning disability and complex needs. The provision may be for either settled care or short-breaks.

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Brief description of the service

The home is set back from the road, within a quiet residential area. The home has a two vehicles which are used to take young people on activities. Good bus routes and rail networks are nearby, giving access to both local and more distant amenities and facilities. The young people are supported to attend appropriate educational facilities and a wide range of leisure opportunities.

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Brief description of the service

There were eight young people present through out this inspection. All young people were observed in their interactions with staff and some young people were able to contribute verbally.

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Summary

This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Summary

This was a interim unannounced inspection that mainly concentrated on all key national minimum standards in the outcome area of staying safe. It also looked at the four recommendations made at the last inspection. Three of these recommendations have been met, however, the recommendation about involving young people in the recruitment process will be repeated.

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Summary

The inspection found that the home continues to provides a good standard of care that supports and helps young people in their personal, social and emotional development. However, one new recommendation has been raised with regard to recording sanctions appropriately. Nevertheless, staff relationships with young people are caring and very supportive. As a result, young people benefit from living in a home that is consistently managed and organised to achieve good outcomes for those individuals accommodated.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the manager was asked to develop the physical intervention recording and the systems for ascertaining young people's views. The manager was also asked to improve fire evacuation drills and to develop the recruitment process.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The recording of any physical intervention now documents the duration of the restraint. This helps the manager fully monitor if any patterns or trends are occurring. Fire drill practice evacuations now take place to recreate a night time scenario. This means that night waking staff are involved and that young people are given a different experience of fire evacuation. As a result, young people's welfare is being protected.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The home has purchased some software that converts text into symbols. This has enabled them to produce pictorial questionnaires, posters and other prompts. It is acknowledged that it is in its infancy; however, there has already been an improvement in developing young people's active participation in sharing their views.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The week prior to this inspection new staff recruitment interviews took place. Staff were shown around the building; however, no young people were present. The manager recognises that if this was done when young people were around then young people's observations could be bought into this process. Therefore, the recommendation about developing the recruitment process to include young people's observations of applicants is to be repeated at this inspection.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff are sensitive to young people's needs and promote their privacy and dignity. Confidential information held about young people is appropriately maintained to ensure personal data remains protected. There is a complaints system in operation with no complaints being made since the last inspection. A young person commented that 'I would talk to staff if unhappy. I would find it difficult to choose which staff member, as they are all nice'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There is a robust protocol for managing unauthorised absences to keep young people safe. However, no young people have ever left the home without permission. There is an anti-bullying policy and bullying is known by all to be unacceptable. Staff are vigilant and mindful of the impact bullying can have on young people and explore this topic using a range of methods to develop young people's understanding. A young person confirmed this saying 'I know what bullying is and nobody bullies me here'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There is a strong emphasis in the home on recognising and rewarding positive behaviour and effort. Staff develop positive relationships with young people and are supporting them to manage their own behaviour in a way that is socially acceptable. Staff are trained to manage challenging behaviour, including the use of physical interventions. The physical intervention book, however, on one occasion, recorded a sanction given to a young person. The home does have a separate bound and numbered sanctions log but it does not detail this sanction. This means that the full information about the sanction is not recorded as required by national minimum standards.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The management of health and safety processes is appropriate, which helps to protect young people from the risk of harm or injury in the home. Equipment and installations are serviced regularly and there are regular fire safety tests. Young people take part in evacuation drills. This is so that they understand what to do in the event of a fire or other emergency. Risk assessments on the environment and young people’s activities are robust and are regularly reviewed to make sure that information is up to date.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home operates a robust staff vetting procedure and staff demonstrate proactive awareness of the need to safeguard young people. However, there continues to be no children involved in this process. Therefore the home is not assessing or observing if young people are happy with the selection of staff in advance of appointment.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are supported to make choices and decisions which affect their lives. For example, what they wear, what they eat and where they want to go. The home takes innovative action to remove the barriers to participation and belonging for all. They do this through symbol prompts and other individual communication systems. This ensures that the young person's opinions and feelings are paramount in the decision making process.

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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 all sanctions are recorded in a separate dedicated bound and numbered book (NMS 22.9)  develop the recruitment process to include young people's observations of the applicant. (NMS 27.7)

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