Children's Home run by Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited in Southampton

Unique reference number SC389180 Inspection date 22/06/2011 Inspector Brian Mcquoid Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/03/2011 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

The home is registered to accommodate up to six young people aged 9 to 17 years with multiple disabilities that can include a learning disability, a physical disability and in some cases a sensory impairment. The home is managed by a private company and provides long-term placements. While the home consists of an older property, it has been extensively renovated and extended to meet the specialised needs of its residents, including those with mobility difficulties. All the young people are accommodated in single rooms on the ground floor. Other facilities include a specially designed garden/play area at the rear of the property. The home is situated in a residential area of the city and is well served by public transport. It is also accessible to a range of local amenities and services including a number of special schools.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness of the home is outstanding with positive outcomes being successfully promoted for all young people. Young people are treated with respect as individuals and enjoy extremely positive relationships with the staff caring for them. They receive a very high standard of individualised care in a nurturing and supportive environment where they are happy, where they are safe, and where they make real progress in areas of their lives. Parents and placing authorities visit regularly and comment extremely favourably on the care the home provides for young people. Staffing is a strength of the home with one parent describing the staff as 'fantastic'. Staff receive high quality training which enables them to meet the diverse and complex needs of young people exceedingly well.

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Overall effectiveness

There are close working relationships with all external professionals involved with young people, including education staff at the schools where young people maintain excellent attendance levels. Consultation with young people is an integral aspect of how the home operates and they are provided with lots of opportunities to do things they enjoy doing, both within the home and in the community. The home provides a very high standard of accommodation which is made as homely as possible, is extremely well maintained and well equipped to meet the needs of young people being cared for. Established systems provide for close and effective monitoring of all aspects of welfare as well as the homes overall operation.

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Overall effectiveness

There are two recommendations arising from this inspection which relate to staff supervision and the contents of young people’s case records.

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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) ensure that all persons employed at the home receive appropriate supervision at regular intervals. Regulation (27 (4) (a)) 01/10/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all individual case records contain the results of any review of the placing authority's plan for the care the child. Regulation (28 (1) (a)) 01/09/2011

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

The outcomes for young people at the home are outstanding. They are happy living there and make significant progress in areas of their lives, which include their behaviour, their ability to communicate and be more independent. Individual case records and conversations with parents and placing social workers fully support this view. Those young people with complex health needs are cared for remarkably well and in accordance clear plans supported by health professionals which are designed to enhance their health as much as possible. Individual protocols provide clear guidance related to individual health related procedures and there is excellent provision for the management and administration of medication. Close working relationships with education staff ensure a consistency of approach to working with young people which supports their progress in both care and education settings. Liaison with school based professionals such as school nurses, physiotherapists and

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Outcomes for children and young people

speech and language therapists is excellent and staff have attended joint training provided by these. Staff ensure young people are prepared for school each morning and established transport arrangements mean they have exceptionally good attendance. Annual education reviews are attended by staff from the home who provide detailed reports and fully contribute to the process. Records of these show clearly that young people make significant progress while at school.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from regular contact with their families and friends and staff routinely support the individual arrangements in place. These include visits to the home, telephone contact, and overnight stays with parents. Lots of opportunities are provided for young people to do things they enjoy doing and this includes activities in the community such as shopping, meals out, theatre trips, and attending a youth club. National fund raising days are supported by the home and staff enable young people to participate in fun related activities on these occasions.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding . Young people benefit from an outstanding quality of care being provided for them. They enjoy positive and constructive relationships with the staff caring for them and are clearly happy living at the home. Comprehensive and extremely detailed care plans address all areas of young people's lives with individual and complex needs being met exceedingly well by staff who were described as 'fantastic' by one parent. Working relationships with the schools attended by young people and with external health professionals are excellent. These relationships contribute very effectively to ensuring that young people's physical, emotional and psychological health needs are being met. Training provided by the community nurse and staff attending joint training at a school attended by young people are examples of how these relationships benefit young people's welfare.

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Quality of care

Staff at the home have an intimate knowledge of each young person being cared for and are able to communicate effectively with them, and to respond appropriately to individual behaviours, signs and symptoms. Seeking the views of young people is integral to how the home operates and staff are acutely aware of their responsibility to advocate for them. All young people attend school regularly and there are excellent relationships with education staff that they benefit from. These relationships contribute to providing a high level of consistency for young people and also assist them in making significant progress in both care and education settings. 'Really, really good' was how one headteacher described his school's relationship with the home.

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Quality of care

The home's location is well suited to it's purpose and provides a very high standard of accommodation for young people which is made as homely as possible. The physical environment is safe and secure and is being extremely well maintained. All young people have their own rooms which are highly personalised and there are facilities and specialised equipment which enable the needs of young people to be appropriately addressed. Young people's interests are very well catered for with individual activity plans in place and staff having a detailed knowledge of what young people like to do. Listening to classical music, going for walks, horse riding, and dressing up are examples of things young people are able to enjoy doing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. The home provides a safe and secure environment within which young people feel safe. Staff are well trained and their practice is consistent with providing safe care which ensures young people are suitably protected from harm at all times. High staffing levels enable young people to receive individual attention according to their needs and allow for appropriate supervision and monitoring. This includes night waking provision which includes close monitoring of those young people who have epilepsy. Staff have an acute awareness of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding young people and have received relevant training in this area. Young people's views are being sought on a regular basis and staff are acutely aware of young people's behaviours, enabling them to be able to detect if something was troubling any individual. The home has clear complaints procedures and the

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Safeguarding children and young people

complaints log shows no recorded complaints having been received since 26 July 2010.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Provision for the management of risk is excellent and helps to ensure young people's safety both within the home and when in the wider community. No concerns were identified in relation to bullying and young people were observed during the inspection not to present any risks to one another. Incidents of challenging behaviour do occur on occasions but are dealt with very effectively by staff who adopt a positive approach by actively encouraging and reinforcing positive behaviours. Young people's achievement are also routinely celebrated within the home. The use of sanctions is at a very low level and there has been only one incident of physical intervention being used since the previous inspection. Young people do not leave the home unaccompanied and none are considered to be at significant risk of running off and going missing. However the home does have clear procedures for dealing with this event should it happen. Staff recruitment procedures

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Safeguarding children and young people

provide suitable safeguards for the welfare of young people.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good . The home is being effectively and efficiently managed and has a history of addressing all requirements and recommendations from previous inspections. Excellent information is provided for young people, parents and placing authorities. A comprehensive Statement of Purpose outlines the aims and objectives of the service and these are clearly being met. There is close and effective monitoring of the overall quality of care and the welfare of individual young people. The appropriate authorities are notified of any significant events relating to the welfare of young people and appropriate action is taken. In addition to monthly monitoring visits there are detailed reports on all young people being completed regularly by key workers. Young people's social workers are visiting the home as required and some parents are also regular visitors.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels at the home are excellent and enable the individual needs of young people to be well met. The staff group are extremely enthusiastic about working at the home and contribute effectively to creating a happy atmosphere where young people enjoy being cared for. They possess a detailed knowledge of young people's needs and routinely reflect on their practice in order to enhance the quality of care provided. Staff receive high quality training which enables them to meet the individual and complex needs of young people. They describe the staff team and management as being very supportive; however they are not all receiving supervision on a regular basis. Comprehensive and up to date policies and procedures support and promote good practice and are easily accessible to staff. Established systems provide for effective record keeping with all case records being stored securely and seen to be up to date. The one exception to this was reports of

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Leadership and management

young people's reviews which were not seen to be up to date in all cases.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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