SC 040491

Unique reference number SC040132 Inspection date 05/07/2011 Inspector Chris Passmore Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 08/12/2010 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 registered children's home is run by a local authority and provides respite care for children with autism. At any one time it provides regular, short-break care facilities for a maximum of four children. The service supports approximately 32 children in total. Children stay for varying lengths of time and frequency depending on their assessed needs. Most visit weekly, arriving after school and staying the night, before returning to their family after school the next day. Some stays are longer and can be at weekends or during the school holidays. Visits follow a regular pattern to enable children to become familiar with the service and feel safe and secure.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The strengths of this home lie in the stability and experience of the staff team together with the leadership and support from the registered manager. As a result, children using this service have individual care patterns and experience positive outcomes. Primarily the service ensures that children enjoy their time in short breaks stay, have fun and maximise on the opportunities for new experiences. The environment is one that nurtures, supports and encourages children and young people as individuals. Staff have extremely good knowledge of the individual needs and characteristics of young people and promote assurance, confidence and improved ability. There are good relations with local schools and children's individual attendance and achievement supported. Children's general health is maintained and particular medical practices are supported. One requirement has been made relating to staff records of the home’s relief bank. Two recommendations have been made to

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Overall effectiveness

clarify and enhance certain standards or procedures.

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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 full and satisfactory information is available and recorded in relation to everyone working at the home. (Regulation 26 (3)(d)) 30/09/2011

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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

 ensure the legal status for every short breaks allocation is recorded in each child's file and reviewed regularly (Short Breaks Statutory guidance on how to safeguard and promote the welfare of disabled children using short breaks)  submit reports made by the registered person of reviews of standards of care made under Regulation 34 at least every six months. (Children's Homes Act 1989 regulations and Guidance Volume 5 (3.14)

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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

Children using the service enjoy very good relationships with staff who get to know them as individuals very well. They are cared for in a very individual way and develop their skills and abilities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children live in their family homes for the majority of their time and have short breaks for one or two nights each month. The emphasis in short breaks care is that children have a positive experience while away from their home. They benefit from having peer contact in a social setting and also mixing with adults other than family members. They enjoy opportunities for activities, trips and outings they may otherwise not have. These all enhance their life experience and awareness. Activities and outings are thoroughly researched and risk assessed but there is a commitment to them being inclusive activities. Children do not miss out because of any particular factor of their ability or disability.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people enjoy good healthy meals while in short breaks. There is recognition of their individual eating patterns and food tolerances. Meal times are fully inclusive social occasions and children were observed to enjoy both the food provided and the mealtime experience.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are supported to maintain their education and staff get involved with their education reviews and daily class experiences. Positive behaviour is promoted and children showed their progress in this respect by their actions throughout the inspection and their consideration for each other.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are continuously encouraged to make choices. Staff teach children and young people to take responsibility for their actions, with appropriate regard being given to their individual levels of understanding and ability. Children are given the opportunity to contribute to the day-to-day activities of the home in order to develop their progress towards adulthood. Young people are provided with gentle training in self care throughout their short break stays. There are also structured transition arrangements in place to support them through to their adult care period.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The service promotes a culture of children first, disabilities second. Within this children and young people using the service have fun times during short breaks. They are given real choices and their views are sought and listened to. They learn life skills and tolerance; they learn how to relate to adults and they develop as individuals.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding . The service offers an individual approach to care for each child based on comprehensive individual background assessments. Staff work closely with parents to form a comprehensive initial picture of each child and their individual needs. This close working relationship continues throughout the duration of the service provision.

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Quality of care

Parents who contributed to the inspection were very positive in their comments regarding the quality of the service and stated their confidence in the staff who care for their children.

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Quality of care

Children and young people using the service have detailed individual plans of care, individual risk assessment, behaviour management assessment and a personal emergency evacuation plan.

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Quality of care

Staff work closely with other professionals, such as education, through contact with class teachers, attendance at education reviews and using home/school communication books. Health care, like education, is not the primary responsibility of the service. However, staff continue any health care practices that are an established part of a child’s home based care.

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Quality of care

Staff are skilled at using a range of communication methods including picture exchange communication and sequencing strips. Their skills are enhanced through training and developed through meeting the range of communication needs children have.

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Quality of care

The quality of meals provided during short breaks is good. Favourite foods are known and incorporated into meals provided. At the same time there is encouragement towards healthy eating and trying new foods. On arrival from school healthy snacks are provided together with fruit juice and other healthy drinks. Mealtimes are social occasions where staff and children interact with each other and there is gentle teaching about social skills.

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Quality of care

Every child is given the opportunity to enjoy a full range of activities or experience various sensory stimuli. The service makes full use of the local area, both its natural and commercial facilities. The daily log lists the range of activities, outings, trips and treats enjoyed by children using the service. Staff are creative and adventurous in the type and duration of activities they provide especially at weekends and during school holidays. The approach to activities is totally inclusive. Children have choice and are enabled to be included in activities whatever their needs or disabilities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. There are records relating to personal history and detailed risk assessments based on known behaviours. From these staff are able to produce comprehensive plans of care for individual children nd young people. These are updated and reviewed regularly and care plans amended in light of new information and reflective practice. Staff are acutely aware of relevant safeguarding issues and have regular updating training.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are good arrangements for the sharing of information between professionals and good communication on a regular basis between staff and parents. There is joint planning, consultation and comprehensive coverage of all aspects of individual needs through reviews.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The responsible authority does not identify which section of the Act (1989) short breaks services are being made. Consequently it is not possible for the service to be sure that the placing authority has put in place all the appropriate measures to promote and safeguard the welfare of children using this service.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The registered manager has a comprehensive overview of individual children's cases and is proactive in advocating for children's individual safeguarding needs. There are extensive systems in place to monitor related issues, such as behaviour, sanctions and physical interventions. There is, however, very low incidence of either being required or used as staff are skilled in using their knowledge of the children and young people to encourage good behaviour. Each short break stay is well documented and provides insights into triggers, adaptive behaviour and outcomes.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are normally recruited centrally and an earlier inspection of central recruitment procedures and sample staff records showed the service provider systems to be robust and in line with the principles of safer recruitment. However, there are gaps in the home's records in relation to staff recruited to the home's relief bank. These relate to staff who have existing contracts with the service provider in a different setting. A request for the necessary evidence was made before the end of the inspection.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is operated from a split level building in a rural area. It has its own transport to enable access to the nearby towns, local school and other services. Children have single bedrooms and there are suitable pieces of play equipment to situated in the garden. All areas of health and safety are well managed and maintained by professional contractors or the home's own staff members.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good . There is a clear statement of aims and objectives in the Statement of Purpose which the service meets. Staff provide a stable and structured environment for children. Care practices help children to develop self awareness and ability in a safe, supportive environment. Children have appropriate staffing according to their individual needs and level of development.

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Leadership and management

Staff understand children's individual strengths and needs very well. There are consistent working practices which focus on enhancing children's individual quality of life and potential. Staff are committed to anti- discriminatory practice and will support and develop children's understanding in this regard. They are committed to providing children with individual needs equal opportunities to enjoy normal life experiences.

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Leadership and management

Children receive excellent care from a well-supported and balanced staff team. The team comprises members of each gender and reflects a range of experience and service with the organisation. Staff have plenty of opportunities for training throughout the year and are well supported through supervision and annual appraisal. There are also frequent opportunities and instances where informal discussion takes place with managers on care related issues. There is a free flow of information and ideas between staff and managers. Staff are encouraged to be resourceful and innovative in their approach to care.

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Leadership and management

The rapport between staff, managers and children is warm, friendly and respectful. Manager's have the welfare of children and staff at heart and encourage them each to high achievement. Staff are enthusiastic about their care of children and enduring in their own commitment to positive outcomes for them.

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Leadership and management

There are good systems of monitoring in place. The Statement of Purpose is regularly reviewed. There are monitoring visits made by the organisation and the manager makes monthly reviews of the issues specified in Schedule 6. Up to now there have been no reviews made of these internal monitoring records, nor have they been required. There is now guidance that promotes the formalisation of these arrangements into a review report at least ever six months. These then feed into the existing development plan for the service.

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Leadership and management

There was one recommendation made at the last inspection relating to staff training records. The system has been fully reviewed and changes made provide up-to-date information regarding staff training received and planned.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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