Children's Home run by S P Homes Limited in Lambeth

Unique reference number SC065535 Inspection date 23/08/2011 Inspector Cheryl Carter Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 19/10/2010 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 company-run children's home caters for six young people aged 13 to 17 years. It provides supervised care and support for young people from all cultural backgrounds on a medium to long-term basis.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The young people in this home have made good progress due to practice. Young people's rights and needs are very much at the centre of the practice in this home and it is clear that their welfare is paramount.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff have good positive working relationships with the young people based on mutual respect. However, young people have mixed feelings about the care that they receive in the home. The young people say that they feel safe in the home. The home provides the young people with individualised care plans that identify their needs and how these will be met. Staff and young people maintain a mutually respectful working relationship. Young people receive support from staff who are committed and who enjoy working with young people. The management are fully aware of the areas requiring further development and an action plan is in place to address the concerns. Shortfalls relate to maintenance issues, staff appraisal and training, and the recording of complaints and the promotion of equality and diversity. The home has demonstrated the capacity to improve and the outcomes for young people are good.

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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 all parts of the home are reasonably decorated and maintained (Regulation 31(2)(e)) 26/09/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that a written record is made of any complaint (Regulation 24(5)) 26/09/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure all staff receive appropriate vocational training (Regulation 27(4)(a)) 26/09/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure staff receive appropriate appraisal. (Regulation 27(4)(a)) 26/09/2011

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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 that children are encouraged to take responsibility for their behaviour, in a way that is appropriate to their age and abilities, (especially relating to the mocking of other cultures and religions). (NMS 3.6)

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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 appreciate that the home provides them with a secure living environment and that they are treated well by the staff working in the home. However, young people feel that there are times when staff do not listen and find this frustrating. Staff work with and support young people from various backgrounds and the key workers do their best to engage young people to help them develop emotional resilience and self confidence. However, there are times when young people make the choice not to cooperate and this presents difficulties for young people to progress with the plans for their care. Social workers spoken to say that young people have made progress since arriving at the home and there have been marked changes in behaviour and levels of going missing from the home. Young people demonstrate a good understanding of their rights and the services that they can expect for the home. Staff take every opportunity to engage with the young

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Outcomes for children and young people

people effectively and promote their self-esteem. Young people are, therefore, able to deal with challenges of living together in the home and areas where conflict can arise.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are aware that discussion and negotiation are essential factors in their relationships and this is evident from the interactions with each other and with the staff in the home. It was noted that the home promotes an understanding of difference and diversity, however, records did not give sufficient details about how the discussions were undertaken.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported to understand their health needs and the healthy choices and options available to them. Education in healthy lifestyles, rather than instruction, has allowed the young people to gain insights and develop an awareness of their own responsibilities in making lifestyle choices. The same philosophy is evident in educational development and, while support and guidance is provided, young people are encouraged to consider the benefits of education for current and later life. Liaison with education provisions is consistent and it is clear that the support that the staff in the home provided has led to greater progress than may have otherwise been the case.

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Quality of care

Young people are well looked after by staff that understand their needs and are motivated to provide them with good quality care. Young people benefit from relationships with staff based on mutual respect. Staff members engage effectively with the young people and this is evident by the progress young people make in this home.

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Quality of care

Staff promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging young people to eat healthy meals and to take regular exercise. Staff provide nutritious and culturally diverse meals with fresh fruit readily available. Young people receive additional emotional support as part of their individual care plans. Routine healthcare checks are provided and all young people attend core health services in accordance with their needs. All young people have detailed healthcare records, which are well maintained and regularly reviewed.

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Quality of care

Communication is effective and young people’s views and wishes are respected. House meetings and key work sessions provide an opportunity for young people to influence decisions about how the home is managed and operated. Young people gave examples of how they routinely contribute to menus and activity planning.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to complain. The relationship with staff enables them to regularly express their concerns. However, their concerns are not always recorded with the action taken and outcomes. As a result, young people occasionally feel their grievances are not listened to. The approach to equality and diversity is satisfactory. Care plans detail the ethnicity, faith, language, disability and sexuality of young people. However, key work sessions do not always include any discussions with young people around these areas of difference. As a result some behaviour of young people acting out negative stereotypes are not always challenged.

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Quality of care

Staff have had some success in engaging young people in education and training. All young people have assessments of their educational needs and the staff are aware of their role in supporting plans. There is clear evidence that young people have progressed educationally since being in the home and progress is monitored effectively. Young people are encouraged to pursue their hobbies and interests and staff support the young people in any reasonable request.

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Quality of care

This home is currently undergoing a maintenance and refurbishment programme. Furniture and fixtures especially in the bedrooms are broken and have not been replaced. Not all young people have a lockable space in their bedrooms in addition to locks on their doors. Staff are respectful of privacy and always know on doors and wait for an invite before entering rooms.

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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 are cared for by staff that are trained and receive refresher training in matters of safeguarding. Young people are aware of their rights and expectations to feel safe and protected from risks and danger. Safeguarding procedures are operated by this home. There are procedures in place for staff to follow if there are any child protection concerns.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Behaviour management strategies are in place and there are also anti-bullying procedures in place should bullying emerge. All staff receive training in recognising signs and symptoms of bullying. Physical intervention is extremely uncommon in this home and very few sanctions are used. Challenges and disputes in the home are usually resolved through discussion and compromise. There are systems in place to record sanctions or physical interventions if used. The system of recording is in place to ensure situations are addressed and managed effectively.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are frequently missing from this home. Missing person's procedures are in place and reflect well-thought through and effective procedures for staff to undertake when a young person goes missing from the home. Specific risk assessments are carried out in relation to absence and all relevant parties are informed if a young person is reported missing from the home. Missing persons procedures have been agreed with the local police to ensure young people are safely returned.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Risk assessments are carried out in respect of each young person in the home and the impact of any individual risk to others in the home. The home is also risk assessed to ensure that environmental risks are reduced or removed from the home. Young people therefore benefit from good risk assessments and the staff awareness of the importance of safeguarding. Fire risk assessment and heath and safety assessments are well managed with regular fire evacuation drills.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All visitors must identify themselves and sign in and out of the building. No visitor is allowed unsupervised access to the home or young people. All staff working with the young people in the home are carefully selected and vetted through well established recruitment and employment panels. No staff members begin work with the young people until all statutory checks and references are in place.

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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

Young people's individual needs are considered in all assessments and development of their care plans. This home has consistently improved and, despite the shortfalls, is providing good consistent care to the young people.

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Leadership and management

There have been moderate improvements since the last inspection. Two of the three requirements and both recommendations from the last inspection have been addressed. The educational attainment of young people is actively promoted and young people are encouraged to develop and pursue appropriate leisure interests and activities and the recording of sanctions have improved. The menus reflect all the meals prepared for young people in the home and all persons working in the home and there have been regular fire drills to ensure that all staff and children know what to do in the event of a fire.

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Leadership and management

The records in the home are maintained to a satisfactory standard. The children’s register contains all the necessary information. All young people have an up-to-date placement plans and risk assessments. The Statement of Purpose and the children's guide have been updated and young people receive a copy of the guide on arrival at the home.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels are sufficient to meet the needs of the young people. Young people receive care from a culturally diverse staff team. However, there is an imbalance in terms of gender among the staff team. As a result there are insufficient positive male role models for the young people in the home. Staff are receiving supervision and mandatory training, however, staff appraisals have not been completed. As a result staff training specific to their development and the needs of the young people have not been undertaken. This means that the professional development of the staff has not been addressed.

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Leadership and management

Independent Regulation 33 monitoring visits to the home consider and report on performance and any maintenance that need to be completed. Regulation 34 monitoring by the manager provides assessment and evaluation of the home to support planning and development. Improvement in this home has been evident from the previous inspections and steady and sustained progress has resulted.

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Leadership and management

All young people are supported in their care planning with detailed and comprehensive files of their historic and current needs. Files are kept up to date and secure. Staff are aware of the need to keep their personal and more sensitive details private. Significant events and incidents in the home are reported to the appropriate authorities and action is taken following incidents, which ensures that young people’s safety and well-being is maintained.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is satisfactory .

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