Children's Home run by Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC420876 Inspection date 17/05/2011 Inspector Rachel Ruth Britten Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 20/12/2010 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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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 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This is a home that provides accommodation for up to four young people, aged from eight to 17 years old, at any one time. The home is situated in a rural location about four miles from a large town centre. Bus routes into the town and surrounding areas are about one mile from the home. The home is a detached, stone-built, modern house arranged over three floors. On the ground floor there is a large kitchen and family room, games room, office, lounge, utility room and staff/visitor toilet. On the first floor there is a staff sleeping-in room with en-suite bathroom, a young person's room with en-suite bathroom, a further young person's room and a family bathroom. On the second floor, there are two further young person's bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small lounge/meeting room.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be satisfactory .

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Overall effectiveness

Despite only being in operation for five months, the home is already successfully promoting improving outcomes for each of the four young people currently in placement. Young people feel at home here and express positive views about the quality of care that they receive. Young people’s progress is, however, only measurable in relation to starting points of a few months or weeks ago.

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Overall effectiveness

The main staff group are positive and committed. Many of them bring good levels of experience and training. There is a core staff and management group who are used to working together at the organisation’s other home. Staff operate an effective key working and co-key working system so that young people receive proactive and well- planned care. The relationships between staff and young people are supportive and consistent. However, the quality of these relationships is necessarily somewhat compromised when agency and inexperienced staff are working.

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Overall effectiveness

The home’s procedures are robust overall. They mostly promote safe care practices and safeguard young people’s welfare. However, there are a number of minor shortfalls in records and procedure which have the potential to hold back young people’s individual safety, progress or rights. The potential for this is increased if safe and consistent working practices are not adopted by all staff.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are settled and receive suitable routines and boundaries to stay safe here. They state that they feel safe. However, there are significant ongoing issues relating to the drainage which affect health and safety. In addition, the current change in staffing arrangements, necessitated by the broken bedroom door alarms, adversely affects the quality of care and safety in the home.

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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 person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) include in the Statement of Purpose and the home register, the number, relevant qualifications and experience of persons working in the home, including the manager, and ensure that the staffing structure is accurately stated in the Statement of Purpose. (Regulation 4 (1) Schedule 1.4, 1.5, 1.7 and Schedule 4.2(e)) 17/06/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the visitor record is used for every visitor to the home and includes the reasons for their visit (Regulation 29 (1) Schedule 4.13) 17/06/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all parts of the children's home are kept clean and reasonably maintained, with specific reference to the drains; disposal of rubbish and recycling; maintenance of the bedroom door alarms; small oven door glass; worktop shelf and the garden areas. (Regulation 31 (1)) 17/06/2011

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 improve the records kept when a young person goes missing so that they better state the circumstances of the young person’s return; the action taken in the light of the reasons given by them for running away; and the consideration of arranging a meeting with the child's responsible authority (NMS 5.9 and 5.10)  ensure that medication records are clear, clearly understood and correctly completed, so that it is known what medication has been given to young people (NMS 6.15)  ensure that ongoing restrictions on communication, such as, handing in mobile phones, young person’s responsible authority, take the young person’s wishes and feelings into account, and are regularly reviewed in collaboration with the responsible authority (NMS 9.4)  provide a written policy setting out how electronic bedroom door alarms are used, including how they promote the welfare of young people, how young people are informed of their use, and how young people's privacy is protected

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Recommendations

(NMS 10.5)  include in the Children's Guide, information about how to contact their Independent Reviewing Officer and the Children's Rights Director (NMS 13.5)  ensure that the home's development plan is effectively devised, shared and used to improve the home's current operation and resource (15.2)  ensure that every effort is made to achieve continuity of staffing so that young people's attachments are not overly disrupted and they know who is looking after them, including no member of staff from an external agency being alone on duty at night in the home (NMS 17.8 and 17.12)  ensure that records of staff working in the home accurately demonstrate the staffing level (NMS 17.2)  ensure that all staff receive good support, advice and supervision in order to provide a comprehensive service to young people (NMS 19.4, 19.5 and 19.7)  ensure that information about young people is recorded clearly and in a way

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Recommendations

which will be helpful to them now and in the future. Ensure that young people are actively encouraged to read their files and to correct errors and add personal statements (NMS 22.5)  ensure that the monitoring system in place is effective to ensure that records suitably manage confidentiality, are adequate and of good quality. (NMS 22.1)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have been in placement for up to three months. They are progressing generally well towards developing a positive self-view. For example, they are taking increasing pride in their appearance and personal hygiene. They are increasingly able to talk and listen to staff and their peers, both on a one-to-one and a group basis. Some of them are displaying their photos and achievements around the home and staff have started to help them keep appropriate memorabilia of their time in the home and significant life events. Young people say that they feel safe in the home and they mostly show good levels of respect for the house and garden.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are enjoying good health and are participating in active sports, such as rugby, cycling, squash and swimming. For some young people, this helps them make friends in the local community. Staff provide support to help young people attend essential medical, dental and optical appointments. They also encourage and support young people to improve their emotional and psychological health through prompt access to professional help. Staff also provide the kind of care and support that good parents do, such as reading with young people before they go to sleep, or talking with them as they cook or garden.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are all accessing education and are maintaining good attendance. There are improvements in literacy skills for some young people, but the newness of most young people’s placements mean that measures of progress are not yet seen. The home’s linked education site is used for some young people. It is one hour’s drive away, meaning that young people are sometimes tired from the travelling and, on occasions, cannot attend the school at all if they have an appointment, for example with a social worker.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are making a positive contribution to the home and are developing their life skills. For example, some are very competent to cook healthy meals for the whole group. Others help build new furniture for new young people’s rooms. Young people have been planting flowers and shrubs at the front of the house. Everyone is helped by staff to keep their room clean and tidy and to help with maintaining a pleasant and tidy house. Young people are also supported to repair damage that they do around the house, although some broken outdoor furniture and pots are not yet mended or cleared up.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with friends and relatives who are important to them. Staff and managers provide good levels of support to enable this. Young people are able to have visitors under agreed arrangements. Staff provide access to the house phone at reasonable times and some young people can have their mobile phones during the day. Staff have set up phone contact through a computer for some young people to facilitate contact between countries. Staff also accompany young people to supervised contact occasions and provide necessary support for them to cope with the feelings and issues arising from this.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is satisfactory .

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy positive and constructive relationships with regular staff. Their individual cultural and personal identity needs are given satisfactory consideration, for example in their choices of food, clothing and toiletries. Their privacy, dignity, sexuality and gender needs are given due regard when staffing rotas are planned and bedrooms allocated. However, the quality of care is currently compromised when agency staff are used as either waking night or day staff. Young people’s attachments are disrupted when they do not know the people looking after them. Although agency staff are not alone at night, there have recently been occasions when regular staff are sleeping and young people have awoken to a person on duty whom they do not know.

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Quality of care

Young people are receiving clear boundaries and are able to behave appropriately. Staff work as a team to de-escalate potential conflict situations and manage young people individually according to their care plans and risk assessments. Key workers and managers work together to ensure that young people are supported and responded to positively. Time is taken to help young people reflect upon incidents and learn from them. However, the records made when there are incidents involving more than one young person do not all take sufficient account of confidentiality. In addition, some records for young people’s case record are not written or used in ways that really help young people to engage now or to make sense of their records if they read them in the future.

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Quality of care

Young people feel that their wishes and feelings are listened to and that they influence the running of the home. For example, they talk together weekly about their activity plans and what they want to eat for main meals. Staff help them to know and understand their individual rights and responsibilities. Young people are given a copy of the house rules and the children’s guide. Staff regularly remind young people how they can complain. They also help to facilitate young people’s wishes with their responsible placing authorities. However, some information which helps young people access their rights is missing from the children’s guide. In addition, there is no written policy explaining how the use of electronic bedroom door alarms is explained to young people or how it balances their welfare with their rights to privacy. There is also too little clarity about the individual reasons and agreements about restrictions on young people having mobile phones and access to

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Quality of care

a phone without need to go through an adult.

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Quality of care

Young people are cared for in line with their placement plan. Staff are proactive to support young people’s education and health. Most staff have the experience and ability to do good quality work with individual young people which follows the aims of their placement plan. Responsible social workers and officers express high levels of confidence in the care provided and the quality of liaison provided by the home’s staff and managers. However, this is sometimes compromised because newer, less experienced staff are not getting enough support, advice, supervision and training to equip them quickly to achieve effectiveness.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is satisfactory at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. The home is located in a rural setting amongst fields and woods. For some young people it is near to family and friends whilst others are a long distance from home or familiar urban environments. Nevertheless, all young people like the space and design of the house and say they feel secure there. The front door is sometimes ajar, but staff are alert to the whereabouts of each young person and ensure that visitors’ identification is checked. The visitors’ book is used to log in most visitors to the setting and the arrival and departure of staff is noted in the daily log. However, the directors do not routinely sign in and some staff forget to sign out in the daily log at the end of their shift. This means that it is not always known exactly who is on the premises at all times. Young people’s safety is potentially compromised by this, for

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Safeguarding children and young people

example, in the event of an allegation or complaint.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The persistent problem with the water and drains is not resolved yet and there is a bad smell and, on occasions, foul water coming out. On the day of inspection there was rubbish in a split bag outside and an accumulation of recycling materials blocking the utility room. These issues significantly affect young people’s health and safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Care is taken to safeguard young people from inappropriate contacts and communications through good supervision and some restrictions on ‘phone, film, electronic game and internet access. Staff are aware of young people’s individual triggers and vulnerabilities and practice safely to minimise these. For example, they ensure that young people are kept busy and have one to one time with adults. Young people rarely go missing and if they do, they return quickly. There have recently been some instances of young people going missing and losing control necessitating measures of restraint. These have been managed well overall and young people feel that restraints are properly conducted as a last resort. They say the sanctions imposed are fair and consistent, giving them opportunity to make reparation and earn back trust and privileges. Key workers and managers work together to ensure that young people are supported and responded to positively.

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Safeguarding children and young people

They have recently established clearer links with the police and aim to work together to avoid criminalising young people unnecessarily.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Time is taken to help young people reflect upon incidents and move on from them. However, the records made when a young person goes missing do not sufficiently state some of the circumstances or actions taken. Neither is there consideration of arranging a meeting with the responsible authority following the episode. In addition, the individual records made when there are incidents involving more than one young person are not always written with enough regard to each individual’s confidentiality. Furthermore, some records for young people’s case records are not written or used in ways that really help young people to engage now or to make sense of their records if they read them in the future. There is therefore little evidence of young people’s own views, wishes and feelings in the records kept about them.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are satisfactory . The home is new and this is the first inspection since registration. There is therefore no track record of improvements from previous inspections. The home has been set up based on robust systems, policies and procedures evolved by the organisation at their first home. The managers have transferred, along with a number of staff, to establish this setting. The experience of managers and directors in working together and in using familiar and robust procedures is promoting sound and generally effective leadership and management.

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Leadership and management

Managers model a high level of commitment to meeting the individual needs of all young people. They provide a generally good level of supervision and training to staff. Managers diligently organise rotas and staffing levels to provide for young people and manage crisis situations. They work extra hours and provide very good practical support and guidance to staff. Managers are successful in establishing good recording and working practices to underpin young people’s care. They are currently reviewing procedures in the light of the new minimum standards.

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Leadership and management

The home’s Statement of Purpose is based on the format used for the organisation's other home. It is sufficiently clear and detailed and imparts the aims, objectives, facilities and services of the home to placing authorities. However, the staffing structure stated in it is not the structure in use in the home. The managers keep an up-to-date appendix of staff information, including the experience and qualifications of each staff member. However, this is not routinely and timely passed to the provider for sharing with placing authorities. In addition, the home’s staff register does not contain details of each staff member’s experience of caring for young people. These weaknesses do not have a significant impact, but they are required in Regulations.

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Leadership and management

Managers have a good understanding of the Regulations for dealing with significant events and notifications. They work together to regularly review the records of the home and they amend these to improve them. However, managers have not identified weaknesses in their medication record forms. As a result, the records are misleading about whether medicine has been given or not. Nevertheless, managers take satisfactory action on most matters raised by Regulation 33 visitors and there is evidence that young people are regularly seen by this visitor. The home’s directors have a development plan in place, but this is not devised in association with the managers and is not shared or used by them. This limits the effectiveness of the plan in improving the operation of the home.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is satisfactory .

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