Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Unique reference number SC061158 Inspection date 24/06/2011 Inspector Jacqueline Malcolm 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

The service is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for 1 young person of either gender between the ages of 12 to 17 years of age who have experienced behavioural and emotional difficulties.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from a well managed service that delivers consistent care. This means that the outcomes for young people are good in relation to their starting points. Young people's needs are well met by experienced, enthusiastic and well informed staff who act as good role models, take their responsibilities seriously and provide good, safe care. Young people have developed positive relationships with staff and understand the boundaries. Young people have a range of opportunities to express their wishes and feelings. Their views are listened to and acted on as appropriate. Young people enjoy good access to health, educational and leisure facilities. Young people are making good progress.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are safe and say that they feel safe. This is underpinned by good systems that promote their safety and welfare. Young people live in a homely environment that is accessible to local community facilities. The home has developed positive relationships with parents and placing social workers who comment positively about the care provided. The provider and manager show a clear commitment to improving the service to benefit outcomes for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Requirements and recommendations have been made at this inspection. These relate to ensuring that when young people leave the home there is a placement review and the volume of measures of control, discipline or restraint is properly maintained. Good practice recommendations relate to recruitment practices, staff qualifications and obtaining the views of young people during the monitoring process. There is an outstanding recommendation from the last inspection in relation to a review of the education policy.

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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

12A (2001) ensure that a review takes place before a young person is moved to another placement (Care Planning and Case Review Regulations 2010) 29/07/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that all measures of control, discipline or restraint in a children's home include a full written record, made in a volume kept for the purposes. (Regulation 17B 3(a) to (i) and 4 (a) and (b)) 29/07/2011

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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

 revise the education policy to show how the home intends to promote and support the educational attainment of children throughout the time that they live at the home (NMS 8.5)  ensure consistently good recruitment practice is followed, especially in relation to providing a clear audit trail when alternative referees are followed up (NMS 16.2)  ensure that all existing care staff have attained a minimum level 3 qualification (NMS 18.5)  ensure that there are clear and effective procedures for monitoring and controlling activities in the home, in particular regularly involve young people in contributing to monitoring the operation of the home, and their views and any concerns are seriously taken into account. (NMS 21.1)

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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 are developing a positive self view of themselves and staff support them to understand their individual histories, identity and future plans. Young people enjoy a good healthy lifestyle because they are encouraged to get involved in healthy eating, regular exercise and are actively discouraged from smoking. The home makes contact with the looked after children's nurse when young people are placed so that health needs assessments can be completed to inform young people's health plans and ensure personalised support. Young people have access to the doctor, dentist and optician and staff have a good overview of young people's health needs and ensure that appointments are attended.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have good attendance at school or other educational provision. This is actively promoted by staff who value the importance of a good education and prepare and motivate young people. Young people benefit from a constructive timetable of activities that stimulate their learning and development. Young people are making good progress. Their achievements are recognised in the form of incentives and points towards recognised certificates.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people decide whether or not they want to join social clubs. However, staff continue to promote young people's involvement in the community. Young people are accompanied on a range of activities, such as walking, biking and swimming in the community to counter isolation.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have regular telephone contact and visits with family and significant people and staff facilitate this well. This promotes young people's positive sense of identity and belonging when they maintain positive contact.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from good opportunities to develop practical skills to help them when they get older. For example, young people are encouraged to tidy their room and keep well groomed. They are also encouraged to cook and bake, which teaches them about weights and measures and ensures edible food.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is good . Relationships with young people and staff have developed positively over time. Staff work with placement plans and make sure they are well informed about the young people and work effectively as a team to positively engage with them. This has been achieved, despite the regular requests for placement information from the placing authority. Staff practice reflects a consistent concern for young people's welfare and they work within clear, safe boundaries. Young people and those involved with them are aware about the boundaries and although some young people may not always agree with them, they understand why they are in place. This provides young people with opportunities to develop and make good progress. Staff are aware about the arrangements to manage young people's behaviour. They are trained in an approved behaviour management technique. Staff de-escalate challenging behaviours before

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Quality of care

they reach crisis point. In one incident which led to a restraint, lessons have been learned and there are changes in practice and this has resulted in improved outcomes for young people. Young people are rarely restrained and sanctions are few.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported to develop a positive self awareness and value diversity. Staff appropriately challenge young people's values and beliefs, which make young people think about the impact of their behaviour on others.

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Quality of care

Young people moving from the home are not afforded a review before they do move outside of an emergency. This does not make for good planning and does not make young people feel valued. This is practice the manager will discuss with placing authorities when a placement is made at the home.

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Quality of care

Young people enthusiastically express their wishes and feelings and have a range of formal and informal means to do this. For example, young people attend and contribute to their statutory reviews. They have regular key work time and their views are promptly responded to. Young people are invited to attend youth board meetings, which involve young people from different homes within the organisation. The minutes are approved by young people and they have a real say about how the homes are run. The views of young people have positively influenced the way that the home is run and the delivery of care.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to complain and use the complaints procedure accordingly. One complaint made since the last inspection has been appropriately addressed at the informal stage and the young person was involved in the process. This ensures that complaints are taken seriously and issues are quickly resolved.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a homely environment that is clean and well maintained. It is located in a residential area that has good access to educational, good outdoor and community facilities. Young people have their own bedroom, which provides them with privacy and opportunities to personalise their environment. The recently fitted kitchen and conservatory are well maintained. The lounge provides additional space where young people can watch television with staff or engage in indoor activities. Repairs and redecoration of the home forms an ongoing programme of maintenance.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safe and confirm that they feel safe. Young people have identified adults with whom they can speak to about any concerns and staff talk to young people about the importance of keeping safe. Young people are protected by improved safeguarding procedures that clearly identifies who must be contacted if staff are not able to speak to the registered manager with their concerns. Staff are clearly aware about their responsibilities in the event of a safeguarding concern. There have been no safeguarding incidents at the home. Staff are aware about the risks that young people may present to themselves and others and work with risk assessments as a team to minimise risk. These are updated. These measures ensure the safety and protection of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people know that bullying is not acceptable and young people confirm that this is not an issue for them. Young people who go missing from home return quickly. Staff follow clear reporting procedures with the local police force to ensure that any young person missing from home is safely returned. The number of times that young people go missing from home has lessened over time.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people's behaviour is managed in accordance with their placement plans. Staff are appropriately trained and focus on de-escalating negative behaviours. Young people are positively rewarded for good behaviour. Sanctions are few and there has been once incident of restraint. The volumes used to record sanctions and restraints do not accurately record a full account of events in order to meet the regulations and ensure the consistent views of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in an environment that promotes their physical safety and security. The manager ensures that the environmental risk assessments are undertaken and are regularly monitored. Checks on electrical and gas installations are undertaken and the fire risk assessment is up to date. Staff are trained in fire evacuation procedures and young people are involved. This ensures that they know what to do in the event of a fire.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected by good recruitment practices to ensure contact with suitable adults. However, in one instance one of the two references did not feature on the application form. This practice undermines the current arrangements. Visitors to the home are appropriately vetted and monitored around the home. This promotes young people's safety.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good . Young people benefit from a well managed home. The manager is qualified, experienced and provides good leadership to this newly developed staff team. Staff are enthusiastic and positive and feel well supported, valued and enjoy the learning and development that is evolving within the team. Clear deputising arrangements are in place and staff know who to contact in the absence of the manager.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels meet the needs of young people and no agency staff are used. This ensures continuity of care and consistency. The staff team is made up of people from different social backgrounds and experiences. This means that they bring individual strengths to their role. They demonstrate a strong commitment to caring for young people and have the skills and experience to deliver good quality childcare. Staff know what the needs of young people are and how to meet them. The manager and staff are regularly supervised, supported and communicate about the progress and changes to young people's plans. Staff say that they enjoy training opportunities and benefit from ongoing learning. This includes recent training and refresher training in safeguarding, safe food handling and equality and diversity training. All staff are either qualified, working towards or will be registered on a childcare course to

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Leadership and management

The home works within its Statement of Purpose. It has been reviewed to include the details of the manager. The manager has a good understanding of the homes strengths and areas for development and can demonstrate that the home has capacity for continued improvement. This is based on the action taken to address the requirements and all but one good practice recommendations made at the last inspection. There is a realistic and regularly reviewed improvement plan and the manager and staff have a positive attitude to continual improvement and development. These practices promote good outcomes for young people. Monitoring systems ensure the quality of care is regularly checked and stakeholders are consulted and report positively about the quality of care. However, not enough effort is made during Regulation 33 visits to consult with young people. The reports following these visits are not written in accordance with the national minimum

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Leadership and management

standards and regulations and they are not evaluative. These shortfalls provide no known impact on the quality of care provided to young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people's files are in good order. They provide a clear account of young people's progress, are up-to-date and are stored in a secure environment.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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