Children's Home run by City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in Bradford

Unique reference number SC065552 Inspection date 10/06/2011 Inspector Robert Curr Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 01/03/2011 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

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for eight young people of either gender between the ages of eight years and 14 years. The home is a purpose-built property with communal space and offices on the ground floor and bedrooms upstairs.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people live in a caring and nurturing environment. Staff are very dedicated and are clearly working as a team to support both the management and the young people. Young people receive support and encouragement from staff to participate positively in their education and to celebrate their achievements. Young people are presented with opportunities to develop personal and social skills, talents and abilities. One of the main benefits is the range of activities that has gone some way in building up young people's confidence.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people enjoy positive supportive relationships with staff at the home. They are encouraged to identify and discuss their care needs and to contribute to their care plans. Strategies are put in place, and regularly reviewed, to ensure that young people's identified needs are being addressed. Young people are consulted about all aspects of living in the home and their views are taken into account.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from living in a comfortable environment. Health and safety matters are managed well, meaning the home is a safe place for young people. Young people have access to a range of activities and are encouraged to pursue their own leisure interests.

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Overall effectiveness

A requirement has been raised following this inspection in relation to some young people's freedom of movement being restricted due to the locking of peripheral doors.

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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 there are no measures of control which are unreasonable, in particular by reviewing the door locking system to ensure young people can exit and enter the building independently. (Regulation 17(1)) 01/08/2011

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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

Before young people come to live at the home assessments are undertaken to ensure that it is an appropriate placement for them. Young people have individual placement plans, detailing how their needs will be addressed by the home. There are regular recorded statutory and internal review meetings taking place to monitor young people's progress. Members of staff support the young people by attending reviews and writing reports to inform these meetings of how the young person is progressing.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family and friends. Contact arrangements are recorded so young people, their families and social workers know when they will see each other. The staff team are supportive of young people, providing transport and supervision. Families are made welcome when they visit the home. Staff input ensures that both young people and their families feel supported when difficulties arise which may previously have discouraged regular contact from taking place.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team work closely with placing social workers and a range of health professionals to help ensure that young people access the health services that they need. Detailed records maintained at the home demonstrate how the health needs of young people are met. Managers ensure that these records are monitored regularly. All of the staff team are trained in first aid. The storage, handling and recording of medicines is well organised and safe.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All young people are encouraged to meet their educational potential. Educational opportunities are tailored to meet individual's needs and are supported by care staff. Young people's educational achievements are celebrated and recorded to demonstrate the progress they are achieving. Staff liaise effectively with education staff to support the regular attendance of young people and to help them to achieve. Good records are maintained which helps demonstrate this. One young person has not been in full time education for a little while but is now attending and enjoying school. Young people describe positively how staff encourage and support their school attendance.

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Outcomes for children and young people

From admission staff work with young people to develop their life skills. This practice goes some way in preparing young people for independence. Young people's participation is designed to build confidence in these areas and provide them with knowledge about healthy eating in readiness for adulthood.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding . In this setting young people receive individualised support which encourages them to make positive decisions about their future. Young people are encouraged to review incidents when they have not reacted appropriately, learn from them, refocus and move forward.

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Quality of care

Staff understand young people's needs and deliver the care set out in their individual development plans. Young people's views are sought on all aspects of their care and the manner in which the home is run. When their views cannot be accommodated staff give clear explanations of the reasons for this.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to complain, if they are unhappy or worried about anything. Young people confirm they are able to speak to any member of staff for advice or support if they feel unhappy or have any problems. Any complaint made by a young person at the home is taken seriously and will be promptly investigated, documented and dealt with in accordance with the organisation’s complaints policies and procedures. Young people also have access to an independent advocacy service. This further enhances young people's opportunity to share their thoughts or concerns.

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Quality of care

Staff have an open, transparent way of working with young people, which enhances their relationships. Young people are consulted about important events in their lives. Young people's meetings are held regularly and each young person has a key worker who they can talk to about their worries or private problems. Parents and social workers are consulted and kept up to date about how young people are looked after and their views are also sought about the home's operation.

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Quality of care

The home is within easy access to local public transport. The home is spacious and well furnished. Young people have the use of a number of different communal living areas in a comfortable, homely environment. Each young person has their own individualised bedroom. Easy access is available to the range of activities available in the nearby town and city.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Young people benefit from the skills that staff employ to help them manage their behaviours. The staff team are trained in the management of challenging behaviour and the appropriate use of physical intervention to keep young people safe. Staff are skilled in using a range of de-escalation techniques to help reduce the need to use physical intervention. Young people confirm such intervention is used. Documentation clearly indicates why a physical intervention was necessary. It also evidences that staff and young people are encouraged to reflect on alternate ways of managing such incidents in the future.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff routinely use the positive relationships built up with young people to diffuse difficult situations. Young people's individual behaviour management plans focus on reducing negative behaviours and encouraging and developing positive behaviours through rewards, incentives and praise. When young people do challenge boundaries, the response by staff is to work through the issues positively, without immediately reverting to sanctions. There is agreed guidance for staff to follow where sanctions are seen to be appropriate. Documentation shows that staff assess the effectiveness of sanctions given and use staff meetings to reflect on whether less punitive measures can be implemented in future incidents. These measures show that young people are protected by the practice of a trained staff team, who reflect on their actions to ensure they are continuing to meet the needs of the young people in their care.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are good systems in place to safeguard and protect young people. Staff receive training to update their knowledge and have a full understanding of safeguarding policies, procedures and actions they should take, if an incident arises. Young people indicate that they feel the home provides them with a safe place to live in.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The registered manager has established links with the missing from home and police liaison officer to ensure that the home's practice reflects locally agreed protocols. Young people's care plans and risk assessments take account of their potential to go missing and assess their vulnerability should they do so. Appropriate missing from home records are in place. These indicate that once young people have been welcomed back home they are offered the opportunity to speak to someone external to the home with regard to the reasons they went missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Individual risk assessments are in place for managing individual young people who could be harmed or go missing if they could get outside without an adult. Staff use a number of diversionary techniques to deter young people from leaving the home. However, some doors are routinely locked both internally and peripherally in an attempt to keep young people safe. This is restricting the freedom of movement for young people who are not vulnerable to such risks.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff and young people are protected with a range of risk assessments which are regularly updated. Service contracts for fire, gas and electrical equipment are in place. Young people participate in regular fire drills and understand the evacuation procedures. Regular checks are taking place to the fire alarm, smoke detectors and emergency lighting systems. Risk assessments take place of young people's likely and known activities as well as the premises and grounds. These practices ensure that young people's physical safety is a high priority.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home continues to recruit new staff in order to develop numbers to achieve their optimum complement. Checks are completed on staff team members to ensure they are suitable to work with children and young people. There are good arrangements in place to ensure that visitors to the home are supervised by the staff team and that young people are kept safe when visitors are present.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

The management team provides a safe, well managed setting for young people. They promote a supportive environment for staff and young people. The staff team is sufficient in number, is competent, motivated and professional. Members of staff receive good levels of support, training and supervision to maintain their professional development and monitor their performance. The whole staff team have a strong commitment to meeting the needs of young people. Management practice ensures that staff have the competences and skills required to work effectively with the diverse needs the young people present. Young people receive good individual support. There is a clear commitment at the home to anti-discriminatory practice and supporting young people's cultural needs.

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Leadership and management

The registered manager is qualified and experienced in her role. There are clear arrangements in place to ensure appropriate management of the home when the registered manager is absent through an experienced assistant manager.

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Leadership and management

There are a range of quality assurance processes in place at the home, including monthly monitoring visits by the Quality Standards Manager. These report on the quality of the service provided to young people. There is evidence that any actions highlighted in these different processes are followed-up and that these lead to improvements in facilities and practice.

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Leadership and management

There were no requirements or recommendations were raised at the last inspection.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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