Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Barnsley

Unique reference number SC363630 Inspection date 10/05/2011 Inspector Helen Walker Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 17/12/2010 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.3

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.

p.3

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

p.3

Brief description of the service

This service is a privately run children's home. The home provides accommodation for up to three young people of either gender, aged from 10 to 17 years. It is registered to provide care for young people who have behavioural or emotional difficulties.

p.4

Brief description of the service

The home is a detached property situated in a residential area and set in its own grounds. The home has a lounge, kitchen, dining room, two bathrooms and all bedrooms are single. A separate building within the home's grounds is registered as a school with the Department for Education. This is for young people placed in the home that are unable to integrate into mainstream education either temporarily or on a permanent basis.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be satisfactory .

p.4

Overall effectiveness

Young people have made good progress from the start of their placement to their current position. A satisfactory level of care is provided with some good outcomes. Staff positively promote young people's education and their access to health services. Communication between the home and other professional agencies is strong and benefits young people. Staff ensure young people have consistent daily routines such as those usually found within a family home. Young people feel safe in the home with people they can talk to and who listen and support them. Young people say bullying is sometimes an issue and they are not always confident to talk about it. Additionally, the views of young people and their family are not routinely sought for them to have a say about the delivery of care in the home.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

Relationships between young people and staff are mostly positive. Communication between staff is weak which leads to inconsistencies in managing behaviour. The manager enables young people to fully understand their reasons for being in care but young people are not familiar or involved with their placement plans. Several staff have worked here for a number of years and know the routines of the home very well. Within the last year there has been a high staff turnover which has disrupted the continuity of care given to young people. Staff have good support from the manager but formal staff supervision has been variable and limits staff opportunity to discuss care practice and personal development.

p.4

Recommendations

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

p.5

Recommendations

 ensure young people's views and wishes are taken into account across all aspects of the running of the home (NMS 1.1)  ensure sanctions and rewards for behaviour are clear, reasonable and fair and are understood by all staff and young people (NMS 3.8)  ensure staff and young people understand bullying is unacceptable and that staff working in the home understand their role in helping to prevent and counter bullying by any adult or young person living or working in the home (NMS 3.11)  make every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that young people's attachments are not overly disrupted (NMS 17.8)  ensure staff are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff (NMS 19.4)  ensure that within their level of understanding, young people understand the purpose and content of their plan. (NMS 25.1)

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are settled in the home and have long-term placements here. Young people have staff support to access services that enable them to enjoy good health. Young people attend routine medical appointments and there are good links to specialist health professionals to ensure their individual health needs are met. This includes contact with therapists and a paediatrician. Young people talk about the positive arrangements for psychological support and feel this benefits their emotional well being.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people

Staff encourage young people to lead a healthy lifestyle. Young people are involved in food shopping, preparation and cooking of meals which helps them to learn about different foods and gain skills for independence. The advice of a dietician is sought as necessary to support the young people. Young people have good information about anti-smoking and one said, 'I used to smoke but I don't now'. Young people are involved in sporting activities such as badminton, football, walking and swimming which benefits their physical health.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's school attendance is excellent and they engage positively with education. Staff are enthusiastic to motivate young people and successfully support them to achieve their goal, such as a placement at a local college. Young people make very good progress from their starting point at the time of the placement to their current educational position. Young people make successful transitions from the onsite school to mainstream education provision. The manager ensures effective partnership working between schools and the home so that young people's educational progress is maintained. Professionals say communication between the home and school is very good, young people arrive promptly and in uniform and staff always participate in relevant education meetings.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people

Staff are fully aware of contact arrangements between young people and their family, friends and significant others. This helps to ensure young people maintain and keep links to their family heritage and culture. Where barriers arise to jeopardise the level of contact, the manager is responsive and staff act in the best interest of the young people. Parents and young people praise staff for the involvement of an advocate to promote and increase their contact.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people engage in activities that involve and inform them about the wider community. They participate in local fund raising events for charities such as the children's hospital, armed forces charities and the hospice. This helps young people gain an understanding of how illness and disability affect other people. Young people talk about baking and selling cakes, and walks undertaken for different charity events. Young people's religious beliefs are fully recognised and staff support them to attend their chosen place of worship. Young people are pleased staff sought information on their behalf about church Baptism.

p.6

Quality of care

The quality of the care is satisfactory .

p.7

Quality of care

Young people live in a caring environment and say they have positive relationships with most staff. Staff understand young people's differences and promote friendships in the home. Young people feel friendships are not always achieved. The staff team present as caring and know the individual and diverse needs of the young people. However, young people are unhappy about what they feel there are inconsistencies in the way staff manage their behaviours. This is borne out by comments in the home's sanction book and staff actions.

p.7

Quality of care

Young people are settled in this home and clearly know the reasons why they are in care. The manager provides clear explanations and gives a simple analogy to young people about their care situation which young people understand.

p.7

Quality of care

Staff obtain, listen to and act on the views of young people through key working sessions and young people's meetings. Requests through meetings from young people for the purchase of gardening items, such as a hosepipe are considered and purchased. However, young people say there is a lack of consultation as they are not routinely asked to give their views about the delivery of care or influence the running of the home.

p.7

Quality of care

Young people have a detailed placement plan and key workers discuss with them their individual needs. Staff use information in the placement plan to meet young people's needs. The placement plans are lengthy and young people say the plan is not something they are familiar with. This shows young people have little involvement and understanding about how their care needs are to be met.

p.7

Quality of care

Staff ensure young people have very good access to engage in services to promote and meet their health needs. Medication arrangements in the home are safe and effective with all medicines stored securely. Staff encourage young people to participate in a range of leisure activities both on and off site which allow them to be involved with the wider community and mix with their peers. This includes membership of sports clubs, educational visits, community activities, trips to the seaside and other places of interest.

p.7

Quality of care

Young people live in very homely accommodation which is well maintained, spacious and comfortably furnished. Good health and safety measures support young people and staff to live and work in a safe environment.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

The service is satisfactory at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Young people say they feel safe in and outside of the home and that staff talk to them about keeping safe. Staff have child protection training and understand the need to keep young people safe from harm. Social workers, justice professionals, parents and grandparents say they feel young people are 'well looked after and definitely safe'.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people know bullying is unacceptable but say there are occasions when this happens in the home and they 'feel intimidated by this'. Young people say they feel confident to talk to the manager but do not always report bullying matters as they arise. Staff promote anti-bullying and work with the young people about this. However, risk assessments and key worker sessions show little evidence of how the home tackle bullying and effectively deal with incidents to ensure young people's welfare is promoted.

p.8

Safeguarding children and young people

There are no issues relating to young people missing from the home. Young people say they 'used to go missing and don't now, I feel I don't need to'. Good protocols exist between the home and the police to help ensure young people's safe return in the event of a missing-from-home episode.

p.8

Safeguarding children and young people

Staff generally have a positive approach to managing young people's behaviours although at times this can be inconsistent, particularly with sanctions for poor behaviour. Placement plans do not fully inform staff of how to respond and manage young people's individual behaviours in an agreed and consistent way.

p.8

Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team are trained in the appropriate use of physical restraint and say this is used as a last resort in order to help keep young people safe. The placement of another young person in the home several months ago had a significant detrimental impact on the behaviour of the young people already resident. During this period a number of physical restraints were used. These incidents are properly recorded, give young people an opportunity to comment and are monitored for effectiveness by management. The young people are now much more settled and confirm there are no recent physical restraints and few sanctions. Professionals involved with young people comment on the 'tremendous job' staff do working with young people. They say staff have brought about very positive changes and improvements in young people's behaviour.

p.8

Safeguarding children and young people

Good health and safety procedures help to ensure young people live in a safe physical environment. Two new staff have been employed at the home since the last inspection. The provider follows a robust selection and vetting process to establish staff suitability to work with young people.

p.8

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are satisfactory . An established and experienced manager supports staff to provide a stable home environment with good care outcomes for young people. A Statement of Purpose outlines the aims and objectives of the home which are met and made known to those with an interest in the home.

p.8

Leadership and management

The requirements from the previous inspection are met. The manager ensures new staff have appropriate training to care for young people safely. Complaints are now properly recorded and action taken as necessary for the benefit of the young people. Recommendations are mostly met with one outstanding matter relating to records of work undertaken with the young people. These improvements demonstrate the home's capacity for positive progression.

p.9

Leadership and management

The home is adequately resourced and employs a sufficient number of staff. Professionals and others involved with young people comment on the level of staff turnover, for example, they say, 'There are staff changes which have not always been good as it's a different face for them to get used to'. The provider recognises young people's need for continuity and stability of care. Although staff changes are sometimes unavoidable, the home now employs a permanent staff team.

p.9

Leadership and management

Parents and young people are pleased the manager ensures both male and female staff work in the home. Parents consider this arrangement takes account of their child's need for positive role models of the same sex. Young people say they get on reasonably well with staff and have the opportunity to give their views about care in the home. However, consultation with young people is not routinely undertaken. Young people say they do have a view about how they are looked after. They feel able to talk to the manager but say their views are not specifically sought and considered.

p.9

Leadership and management

The provider ensures thorough and independent monthly visits to the home involve young people. Reports from the visit detail areas of good practice and raise issues for improvement in the home. The manager responds effectively to the report and complies with actions raised. The manager's arrangements for monitoring the home are satisfactory. The manager has yet to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home to consider ways in which to enhance the service for young people, for example ways in which to promote consultation.

p.9

Leadership and management

Supervision of staff has been inconsistent although staff feel they have good management support. A temporary deputy manager assists the manager in her work. The provider demonstrates a commitment to staff through the provision of training to develop their skills and competency to work with young people. Regular staff meetings mean staff have the opportunity to discuss the work of the home and care of young people. However, staff communication is weak as not all staff are aware of changes to young people's care needs and routines.

p.9

Leadership and management

The manager takes appropriate action and notifies the relevant agencies of significant events relating to the protection of young people accommodated in the home. Very positive working relationships with other agencies show staff commitment to partnership working in the best interests of the young people. Professionals say communication between them and the home is excellent and staff keep them well informed. They also say, 'There are always enough staff to look after the young people and they are absolutely fantastic with activities and what they do'.

p.9

Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

p.10