Children's Home run by Action for Children Services Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Unique reference number SC424103 Inspection date 09/08/2011 Inspector Anna Williams Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 08/04/2011 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 is a short-breaks service run by a national charitable childcare organisation. The home accommodates children and young people with disabilities aged between eight and 17 years of either gender. The young people’s needs range from moderate to severe learning disabilities with associated physical, health and sensory impairment and/or complex multiple needs.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The strengths of the home lie in the stability and experience of the staff team together with the 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, have fun and are supported to learn new skills. Staff ensure that children's individual needs are met and their dignity is maintained. Children are very happy in their environment and by the use of alternative methods of communication, staff offer children choices in many aspects of their daily life.

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Overall effectiveness

Areas of shortfall in the service concern an outstanding fire safety requirement; ensuring the Registered Manager has opportunity from time to time to undertake training to keep up to date with legislation and practice developments; some aspects of physical intervention records; keeping children's records and risk assessments up to date; and including the Children's Rights Director and independent reviewing officer information within the children's guide to the home.

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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 the Registered Manager shall undertake from time to time such training as is appropriate to ensure that she has the experience and skills necessary for managing the children's home (Regulation 9 (3)) 01/11/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline is kept as a written record in a volume kept for the purpose and shall include the information detailed in Regulation 01/11/2011 17B (Regulation 17B (3) (a - i) and Regulation 17B (4) (a - b))

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure a permanent record is kept in respect of each child accommodated in the children's home which includes the information, documents and records specified in Schedule 3 relating to that child, and is kept up to date (Regulation 28 (1) (a - b)) 01/11/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the children's home. (Regulation 32 (1A) (b)) 05/09/2011

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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 risk assessments are carried out to identify any potential sources of harm to the children, are recorded in writing, and regularly reviewed (NMS 10.5)  ensure the children's guide to the home includes how a child can contact the Children's Right Director, and their independent reviewing officer (NMS 13.5)  review the building access risk assessment to ensure the use of swipe keys and the locking of doors allows children as much freedom as possible, consistent with the need to keep them safe. (Volume 5, Statutory Guidance, para 2.108)

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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

Staff work in partnership with parents and professionals to thoroughly assess children’s individual needs prior to accessing the service. Together they draw up clear care plans, protocols and agree a package of care.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children have a tailor-made transition which includes visiting the service to meet staff and joining in with activities before building up to an overnight stay; this helps to develop children’s confidence and trust in the staff. This well-planned transition means that children are prepared emotionally and practically to embark on their short-break care package.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children benefit from robust planning of short-break stays to ensure a balance of need and appropriate peer group, which leads to positive experiences for the children.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children receive good support to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. Children are able to access the services which they need through multiagency relationships which the staff team has with local health services. Children’s health care needs are detailed in care plans which provide staff with guidance to follow to ensure individual health needs are met. The service closely monitors children’s health during their stays and responds promptly to any emerging health concerns.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children’s individual preferences and dietary requirements are catered for in addition to the daily menu which offers balanced options at meal times. Children are actively involved in the creation of menus. Mealtimes are relaxed and social occasions where children are offered support in a discreet and sensitive manner while ensuring that independence, choice and experimentation of new food is promoted.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children’s educational needs are fully supported. As this is a short-breaks service, the primary responsibility for children’s educational planning remains with the parents. However, the home promotes good communication between themselves and educational settings. This is further supported by home staff attending educational reviews as appropriate. This proactive approach to educational achievement ensures children are provided with support and guidance to reach their individual goals. Comments from parents include: ‘The home and the education team for my child have worked really well together and it has been comforting to know that professionals are sharing information in the best interests of my child’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children have access to a wide variety of activities within the home, including a newly extended sensory room, extensive garden area and a computer room. Children use the garden area to run and play or use the trampoline and other outside play equipment. Children can access the community through the use of a fully accessible minibus, and local facilities are a short walk away. Children take part in off-site activities such as visiting the local parks, or going on trips further afield such as to theme parks. Children are encouraged to try new activities and games and to make new friends when visiting. Comments from children include: ‘I play in the garden on the trampoline when I visit, or play on the computer’, and ‘We go on the big bus sometimes and go visit places’. Children also benefit from specific on-site activities which are often themed, and are coordinated by a local youth action group, who visit

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are supported and encouraged with personal hygiene and with the development of daily living skills such as dressing, eating and drinking. This means children are supported and encouraged to learn important life skills during their visits which benefit them now and in the future. Comments from parents include: ‘Staff work hard on independence skills with my child’, and ‘Staff are patient when teaching my child self-help skills’.

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Quality of care

Children benefit from positive relationships with experienced and committed staff members. Comments from children include: ‘I like the staff. They help me and look after me when I visit’, and, 'I love coming to my overnight sleeps’. Staff interact with children using appropriate verbal skills and alternative methods of communication. This ensures children can make choices during their stays, for example in relation to food, snacks, drinks, activities and personal care needs. Staff observe non-verbal communication and reassure children when they demonstrate distress or upset through a sensitive approach and a good understanding of their needs. Children are also encouraged to make their views known about the running of the home through the review system, which staff support children to take part in as fully as possible. This means children’s views about the quality of care are sought and listened to.

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Quality of care

A recent parent participation meeting allowed opportunity for parents to meet and discuss their views on the quality of care the home provides. The feedback from this meeting is being used to further improve outcomes for children visiting.

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Quality of care

Children can access child-friendly complaints forms which are on display within the home. Since the last inspection there has been one formal complaint, which the home has fully investigated. This demonstrates the home’s capacity to learn lessons from complaints and feedback, in order to improve outcomes for children.

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Quality of care

Children’s individual care needs are identified and positively addressed in daily living and care planning. The home is effective at promoting all aspects of the children’s lives, irrespective of their disabilities, ethnicity, faith, gender, language, or religious belief.

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Quality of care

Children’s diverse health and medication needs are met. Arrangements for dealing with medication are safe and appropriate. There is a clear audit trail of medication coming into and leaving the service. Some children have complex health needs, and these are understood and well managed by staff. This supports parents and carers in the knowledge that their child is being cared for by competent, appropriately trained staff. Comments from parents include: ’I feel the staff are well trained to meet my child’s health needs’. Parents confirm there is good communication and liaison around children’s health and welfare.

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Quality of care

The presentation of the building is good, and has recently benefited from extension works to the ground floor. It is decorated, furnished and equipped to a good standard. Children have their own bedroom when staying, and some bedrooms have en-suite facilities. The home has appropriate adaptations to ensure the individual needs of children accessing the service are met, such as ceiling hoists and adapted baths. Communal lounge areas offer children space to play games, watch a DVD or play a computer game. Comments from parents include: ‘The place feels homely and spacious, and the colours and the way it is decorated is lovely’.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Parents say that their children’s safety is given a high priority within the home. Staff receive regular training on safeguarding and they recognise the particular vulnerabilities relating to the needs of children with disabilities. Children are cared for in an environment which is physically safe. Regular fire alarm tests and drills take place and are recorded, and specialist equipment within the home is checked and serviced regularly. However, following a fire service audit in June 2011, there remains one outstanding requirement which has not been met; this relates to fire door closures on children’s bedrooms. Although the current fire risk assessment has been amended accordingly to reflect this outstanding issue, the fire safety of the building is compromised while this matter remains unresolved.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The building is kept secure through the use of key pads and swipe keys on external doors and the locking of a rear access door. The risk assessment which relates to the access to the building does not consider the securing of the identified doors, while recognising the need to allow the children as much freedom as possible, consistent with the overall need to keep children safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Behaviour is well managed. Children say they know what the home’s ‘rules’ are. Groups of children receiving care are planned to reduce the potential that challenging behaviour may distress other children. Sanctions are not used within the home. Positively, there have been no physical interventions recorded since the last inspection. The home has a bound log for recording any physical interventions. However, the bound volume does not capture all the required information as detailed in the relevant regulation, and this makes it difficult for the Registered Manager to monitor the effectiveness of interventions and look for patterns and trends.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Written procedures are in place for responding to incidents if a child is missing from the home, although there have been no related incidents.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a sound recruitment process which ensures all necessary checks are completed prior to a member of staff starting work. Visitors are checked upon arrival, sign the visitors’ record and are supervised on site as appropriate.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

Children are provided with written and pictorial information about the service which summarises the home’s Statement of Purpose. However, the children’s guide does not contain information on how children can contact their independent reviewing officer or the Children’s Rights Director. The Statement of Purpose comprehensively outlines the aims and objectives of the service. This means that children, parents, carers, and placing social workers are clear about the service provided and the support available to meet individual children’s needs.

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Leadership and management

Staff work together well and there is a good team spirit which impacts positively on children. Staff report feeling supported by senior staff and benefit from daily handovers and the opportunity to attend regular staff meetings. Staff receive regular, good quality supervision and appraisal. Staff access a wide variety of training courses. However, the Registered Manager has not undertaken any professional development for some time. This means she is not up to date with new legislation and recent practice developments, which may impact on the sharing of such knowledge with staff to improve the quality of the service.

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Leadership and management

The home has a comprehensive development plan which outlines targets for the forthcoming year. This focuses on improved outcomes for children accessing the service.

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Leadership and management

Children’s files are stored securely and contain documents which are relevant and contribute to an understanding of the child’s life. However, the children’s records are not all up to date. Files sampled demonstrate inconsistencies between files regarding how accurate and up-to-date information is. Some children’s files are completely up to date and with recent reviews, and other files hold out-of-date information. Staff demonstrate detailed verbal knowledge of the children’s individual needs; however, staff may refer to out-of-date written risk assessments and file information which could lead to confusion.

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Leadership and management

There are records of regular visits under Regulation 33 of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2001 and there is evidence that children are observed and consulted during these visits. The Registered Manager undertakes Regulation 34 checks on a monthly basis, and these checks include evaluation and actions to further improve the service. There have been no notifiable events since the last inspection.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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