Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Blackpool

Unique reference number SC415710 Inspection date 04/08/2011 Inspector Elaine Clare 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 service provides short, medium and long term care for three young people aged ten up to the age of 17 years who experience serious emotional behavioural difficulties.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Outcomes for young people are good, they enjoy spending time in the home and are happy there. Young people make excellent progress from their starting points as they are supported to develop and gain confidence. There is a strong emphasis on promoting positive relationships and this helps young people to develop positive behaviour. Staff understand the needs of young people and are well motivated to ensure that these needs are met. Young people are treated as individuals and specific needs are identified and met. The current staffing team, excluding the manager, is permanent and long standing and this helps to ensure consistency for young people. Positive links have been developed with schools and health care professionals. This helps to ensure young people's positive progress in these areas.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are focussed on good outcomes and understand safe working practices and this promotes young people's welfare. There is a strong regional management presence and a commitment to improvement and this goes some way to promoting young people's well-being. There were no actions made at the last inspection and this continues with no requirements and recommendations made during this visit.

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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

The strong relationships that young people enjoy with staff ensures that young people benefit from individualised care. Staff are clear about young people's goals as these are clearly detailed in care plans. This helps staff to provide personalised and well planned care which promotes positive outcomes for young people. An example of this is the educational programme which has been tailored to meet the very different individual needs. Young people are treated with respect and this helps them to develop a positive self-view.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The health needs of young people are well understood by staff and this helps to ensure that these needs are met. All young people have a health care plan that is kept under review. There is close liaison with parents and health care professionals such as the child and adolescent mental health service and dentist. This helps to ensure that young people's health care needs are kept under review and fully addressed. Staff receive training in a wide range of health care issues which ensures that young people receive support from competent and knowledgeable staff.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to make good progress in their education as education is viewed as important. Staff liaise closely with schools, colleges and school integration projects to help promote consistency to help them reach their full potential. Young people are able to engage positively in activities in the community. One young person said that they enjoyed going out with staff for walks at the seaside and to the park and this promotes active involvement in community activities. Another showed photographs of their charity day, baking cakes for an autistic charity. Young people are well supported to develop skills for independence. Young people engage in activities such as washing up and meal preparation. This helps to build young people's confidence and enhances their life skills.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy warm relationships with staff who are committed to, and focused on, outstanding practice. Young people know what to expect as staff are consistent in the way they treat them. All young people have a very clear plan of care that details positive behaviour management techniques. This positive approach helps young people to behave appropriately. Staff are clear that physical restraint is used rarely in this home. They are all trained in de-escalation techniques which help to ensure that challenging behaviour is handled calmly and effectively.

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Quality of care

There are very good ways in which young people are enabled to express their views, wishes and feelings. Regular young people's meetings are facilitated and young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. One young person said, 'I can choose what I do in my free time and I like listening to music'. Staff confirm that young people take the lead on planning activities. These measures help to ensure that young people's views inform the running of the home. This also helps to ensure that young people can make a complaint is they wish. Complaints are responded to positively and used, where appropriate, to make improvements to the service.

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Quality of care

Staff are committed to working closely with parents, health and educational professionals in order to offer planned, high quality care to young people. There is a competent and well trained staff team who have developed skills in areas such as the safe handling of medication, self harm awareness and first aid. Staff understand the needs of, and are sensitive in the way they work with young people who have attachment issues as they are also trained in this area. This enables young people to access the support they need to meet their physical, emotional and psychological health needs.

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Quality of care

The very proactive and positive approach to education promotes young people's educational attainment. Staff engage with schools and promote getting the young people to attend. There are varied and enjoyable activities made available which young people enjoy for example, trips out in the local community. There is space for young people to enjoy privacy and quiet time in their own bedrooms and in the lounge and dining room. Needs relating to young people's cultural background and personal identity are identified and positively addressed. This includes providing make up and acrylic nails and facilitating positive social relationships outside of the home. Any such needs are detailed in care plans and kept under review and this helps to ensure that staff meet these needs. The home is situated in a residential area and is easily accessed. It is cosy and a part-time maintenance worker helps to ensure that young people benefit from living in a very well-maintained home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are kept safe and are protected from harm. A parent commented on how well the staff have kept their child safe. They have a plan of care that clearly identifies any risks and how they can be reduced or safely managed. These risk assessments are kept under regularly review and this helps to ensure that changing needs can be addressed in order to promote young people's safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people go missing from the home rarely. There are clear written polices and procedures regarding young people going missing. These are compatible with the police and local authority protocols, are understood by staff and these measures help to keep young people safe. Staff encourage and create opportunities for positive behaviour by ensuring that young people have a positive experience of the home. This includes being rewarded for positive behaviour. This helps to ensure that there is minimal use of restraint. When restraint is used, it is done by trained and competent staff in accordance with the legislative framework, with clear records kept. Bullying is not a major issue in this home. Staff help to keep young people safe through close monitoring and by keeping up-to-date with issues such as cyber bullying. Staff have been proactive in preventing such bullying by talking to young people about this issue.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are robust staff recruitment polices and procedures that promote young people's safety. These ensure that staff do not work with young people until a thorough and vigorous checking process has been followed and they are deemed suitable. Training in child protection for staff promotes the effective protection of young people. Young people benefit from living in an environment which is very safe and secure. There are regular checks on equipment in the home and on the fire safety equipment which help to promote young people's safety. Fire safety is taken extremely seriously in order to keep young people safe. This includes safe training, regular fire drills and the completion of fire evacuation plans every day to reflect the needs of individual young people. Checks on the home's hoists and lift help to ensure that all young people are able to move around the home safely.

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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 home has not had a stable Registered Manager in post since the home was registered in September 2010 with the last manager resigning after five months. The home is currently effectively and efficiently managed by an acting manager and a regional management team and this promotes positive outcomes for young people. A parent said, 'I am very happy with the service'. A social worker said the home was 'fantastic'. Effective measures are in place for continuous improvement. These include a commitment to staff development and on-going staff training. Staff confirm that training opportunities are good. They say that they are helped to develop a wide range of skills to understand and meet the needs of young people. Recent training has included attachment disorders and safeguarding. Regular supervision and induction for new staff members helps to ensure that there is a committed and focused staff team. Such measures also help to ensure that staff keep up-to-date

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Leadership and management

with professional and legal developments.

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Leadership and management

Robust quality assurance takes place and this ensures the effective running of the service. This involves regular in-house checks of safety systems and regular regulation 33 visits. The arrangements for consultation with young people and their parents are good. An annual questionnaire is sent out to parents and a separate questionnaire is sent to young people. Questionnaires have been designed to help young people use them easily. The feedback provided is used to improve and develop the service to meet the needs of those who use it. There is good record keeping, including the secure storage of confidential information and this contributes to staff's understanding of young people's lives.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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