Children's Home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC363422 Inspection date 30/08/2011 Inspector Sharon Treadwell Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/03/2011 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 run by a private national company provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties, aged between 12 and 17 years.

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Brief description of the service

The home is a detached bungalow, situated in a rural area, within reach of a nearby town and local amenities. Each young person has their own bedroom, and a number of communal areas are provided for recreational activities. Separate facilities are provided for staff, together with office space.

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Brief description of the service

Two young people currently live in the home and both were present during the inspection and spoke about what living at this home is like for them.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be satisfactory .

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Overall effectiveness

Whilst being rated as an overall satisfactory service there are some very good care practices within this home. Care plans and placement recording is of a very good standard ensuring that there are clearly stated placement objectives and sound identification of how young people will be supported to achieve these. Staff have established positive relationships with young people, which have supported some of those young people to reduce the behaviours placing them at high risk. These positive relationships encourage some young people, who have experienced a number of residential placements, to feel that this is the best home they have lived in.

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Overall effectiveness

In general there is good promotion of positive outcomes for young people but, in some cases, there has been insufficient focus on young people's educational needs. The home is not sufficiently robust in challenging shortfalls where local authorities are not appropriately identifying provision to meet young people's identified educational needs.

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Overall effectiveness

Whilst the home is generally very well presented and provides a homely and domestic environment for young people, there has recently been a lengthy delay in replacing some broken windows and there are differences in the quality of furnishings in young people's bedrooms, which some young people feel is unfair. Other areas for improvement identified relate to staff training.

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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, where young people placed at the home are not on a school role for any reason, that staff work proactively with the authorities responsible for the welfare of the young person to support and enable them to resume full-time education in a timely manner (Regulation 18(1); Volume 5, statutory guidance para 2.119) 01/10/2011

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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

 provide staff with training where they are involved in supervising and facilitating contact arrangements for young people (NMS 9.2)  ensure that arrangements for maintenance of the home promote timely repair, when damage is inflicted, in order to retain a homely environment for young people (NMS 10.3)  ensure that all young people's bedrooms provide a comfortable and homely environment, which incorporates a lockable facility to store their valuables (NMS 10.3)  ensure that staff commence working towards the Young People's Workforce Diploma (previously National Vocational Qualification at level 3) within six months of confirmation of employment (NMS 18.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are satisfactory .

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Outcomes for children and young people

In the last year the home has largely accommodated teenage boys, many of whom have experienced extremely disrupted care and education histories and have had some past involvement in criminal activity. These young people often display very challenging, sometimes threatening and destructive, behaviours and find it difficult to trust the adults entrusted with their care. The staff have established some very positive relationships with the young people accommodated. These have been instrumental in supporting those young people to modify some of their behaviours and to be able to comment that, 'this is the best placement I've ever had'; 'staff listen to you and they're all Ok to get on with'. Where plans are in place for young people to move on they feel, 'glad to be going nearer home but sad to leave this place'.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Whilst the home generally provides a homely and pleasant environment for young people to live in there are substantial differences in bedroom provision. Two bedrooms have a double bed and good quality furnishings whilst the third has a single bed, fixed to the floor. In the latter all furniture is fixed and the wardrobe has no door. Young people feel this is unfair. All bedrooms are, however, clean and well personalised by the young people. There is no indication, in young people's care plans or risk assessments, of any reason for differential provision in terms of bedroom furnishings. Young people do not all currently have lockable storage, in their bedrooms, where they can safely store items of value to them. Such storage has been provided but, in some cases, has been broken by the young people during their stay.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Individual placement planning consists of a daily living plan, a health care plan, a contact plan, a five outcomes action plan and a positive handling plan. These ensure that all aspects of young people's daily care and support needs are fully considered by staff. Young people's placement plans are written in the first person to reflect their involvement in determining the support they think they need. Plans incorporate clear and relevant objectives and provide clarity about the support that staff, and other professionals, will need to give to help young people achieve them. Plans are regularly reviewed and updated. Young people generally receive regular visits from their social workers to support their placements and have regular looked after children reviews where they contribute their views. Young people consistently sign records at the home to demonstrate their agreement with the content and feel

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Outcomes for children and young people

confident to challenge what has been entered on records should they feel it is inaccurate. Records of regular individual key work sessions and young people's house meetings show that the young people play an active part in decision making at the home. Where young people have made requests, for example, for the inclusion of massages in the activity programme or for particular foods to be purchased, the staff are able to show that these requests have been considered in a timely way and, where appropriate, have been met.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff endeavour to provide young people with access to a range of activities. Young people regularly visit the local gym, go out to the cinema, enjoy a range of take away meals and go for massages. During the summer holidays some young people have enjoyed camping trips with staff. Often young people's age means that they prefer to go out and socialise with friends and this is facilitated by staff where appropriate. Although the home is in a very rural area the nearest town is only a twenty minute walk away and, where appropriate, staff provide transport to accommodate young people's social arrangements. Currently the young people resident at the home are sometimes subject to legal orders, which incorporate a curfew, and this imposes considerable restriction on evening activities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people generally enjoy good health and none are taking regular medication at present. Some young people have been offered, or have received, input from specialist workers in relation to drug and alcohol misuse, self-harm, criminal behaviour and mental health. Young people are not always co-operative in engaging with such workers and often have a long term history of involvement with drug and alcohol misuse. The result is that, despite encouragement by staff to appreciate the negative impact of these behaviours, young people often continue to engage in these potentially harmful practices. Records demonstrate that staff have been able to support some young people to reduce their involvement with drugs and alcohol and to think about the impact of their involvement in criminal activities on their future prospects.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Some of the young people previously accommodated at the home have achieved well educationally. A young person, who had lived at the home for a long period, recently made a very positive move into semi-independent living, having achieved a commendation for his school achievements, despite an initial reluctance to engage with education at all. At present, however, placement decisions, in one instance specifically, have not appropriately prioritised educational need. The outcome, in this instance, is that a young person has been virtually without education for almost a year, not all of which has been spent at this home. Although a reluctance to engage has played a very significant part, the failure of professionals to properly investigate alternative education options contributes to a young person's response of, 'I've missed too much now, I'd just fail' when asked about the potential for taking exams.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Placing authorities have not always managed arrangements for young people's access to full-time education in a timely or appropriate manner and the temporary arrangements made are unsatisfactory in meeting young people's needs or in meeting legal obligations to looked after children. In some cases, where young people have a statement of special educational needs, the statement has not been reviewed in a timely way and young people are no longer receiving the education services specified in the document. Young people's capacity to achieve is being seriously hampered. The home is insufficiently robust in challenging associated professionals where education arrangements are clearly unsatisfactory.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Arrangements for young people to retain contact with their families are clearly stated in their plans. Staff appreciate the importance, to young people, of retaining positive contact with their families and they support young people well with these arrangements, even where young people are placed at great geographical distance from their family home. However, staff do not currently receive training to support them in facilitating and supporting contact arrangements for young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The young people's guide provides young people with very good information about what living at the home will be like and gives them good guidance about their rights and responsibilities and about how to complain if they are unhappy. Young people's complaints are taken very seriously and records demonstrate that they are kept well informed of the progress and outcome of any complaints they make. Young people's personal care and support needs are clearly recorded in their care plans and are demonstrably largely met by the staff team.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is satisfactory . The home generally provides a homely and welcoming environment where young people say that they feel happy and well cared for. Staff make robust efforts to encourage young people to value and respect their home so that they can feel happy and settled there. Incentive schemes are in place to reward young people for finding ways to channel their anger without damaging property. Where the behaviours of young people result in damage to the property, repairs are not always effected in a very timely manner. Two large windows at the front of the property, broken at the beginning of August, are still boarded up awaiting replacement and this detracts from the external appearance and restricts light inside. In some instances staff have been responsible for securing the property when windows have been broken late at night and this is not appropriate or wholly conducive to promoting people's safety.

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Quality of care

The manager details that the home now has a contractual agreement whereby a handyman is available on 24 hour call should emergency repairs be required.

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Quality of care

The provider organisation has a good range of sound policies and procedures. Staff demonstrate good awareness of the content of these documents and of their relevance in guiding care practice with young people. Staff have good awareness of young people's right to privacy and of their responsibilities in relation to ensuring confidentiality of information. Young people's care plans, individual risk assessments and daily records are of an excellent standard and promote the provision of consistent care and support.

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Quality of care

The positive handling plan provides good information about the potential triggers for young people's adverse behaviours, details potential indicators that behaviour is deteriorating and guides staff in the most effective techniques for addressing challenging and unsafe behaviours. Staff demonstrate very sound awareness of the behaviours young people are inclined to exhibit, particularly those likely to place young people at risk of harm. Some of the young people accommodated have experienced a number of placement changes and some challenging life experiences. Staff have worked consistently to establish some very positive relationships with these young people and to encourage them to refine some of their most challenging and unsafe behaviours. The staff feel that, where young people have previously internalised their feelings, they have utilised their relationships with those young people to help them to open up and discuss their feelings and that this has been an

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Quality of care

important factor in managing behaviours positively.

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Quality of care

The home has positive relationships with local police and uses these to try to reduce young people's involvement in criminal activity. Some young people continue to commit crimes and are being helped to operate within the terms of legal orders imposed as a result. Key worker sessions and young people's meetings are used well to encourage young people to reflect on the impact of their behaviours on themselves and others. Although young people present some very challenging behaviours, restraint is rarely used and is always properly recorded. Records demonstrate good use of de-escalation techniques and reward systems to combat unwanted behaviours. The young people's guide provides young people with clear information about why and when restraint will be used at the home. Young people have individually-tailored incentive schemes to promote positive behaviours and records demonstrate that rewards are often given. Records demonstrate that sanctions are used appropriately.

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Quality of care

For example, breakage of an ornament has resulted in a young person paying towards its replacement and an instance of throwing food around the kitchen resulted in withdrawal of the option for a take-away meal.

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Quality of care

Robust policies and procedures guide staff practice in ensuring that medication is appropriately stored and that receipt and administration is properly recorded. Medication is securely stored in a locked cabinet in the office. At present no young people are receiving regular medication. Staff encourage and support young people to visit the doctor, dentist and optician when needed and, not always successfully, to make appropriate use of specialist input from, for example, youth offending workers or drug and alcohol support workers.

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Quality of care

When young people arrive at the home, often from other geographical areas, proposed educational arrangements are clarified in referral documents and care plans. In one instance the arrangement made involved provision of only five hours home education each week. Initial proposals to increase this provision have been hampered by young people's reluctance to engage with the private tuition provided and potential alternative options have not been considered in a timely manner. The arrangements made do not demonstrate that the placing and local authority are always meeting their legal responsibility in terms of educational provision. Although staff demonstrate good awareness of the importance of promoting educational attendance and achievement, there is insufficient demonstration that this failure has been properly challenged by the home. In some cases young people have legal orders in place, which state that care staff are providing the education component of

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Quality of care

the plan. However, no staff are qualified teachers. Staff at the home have been proactive in supporting young people, without appropriate education placements, to develop social and independence skills through the organisation's written independence development programme. They have additionally supported some young people to complete awards through the Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN). Young people have benefitted from this work and some have achieved well. However, this work does not negate the impact of inappropriate education on young people's life chances.

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Quality of care

Staff do show good awareness of young people's very individual needs, including any arising from their age, gender, religion or cultural heritage and the progress made by young people generally, from their starting point at admission to the home, shows that these needs are largely well met.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

The audit of the provider organisation in March 2011, conducted under Ofsted's National Provider Scheme, assessed the organisation's recruitment procedures and practices and concluded: 'There are very good systems in place to make suitability decisions about staff and records are maintained to a high standard'. Recruitment records and discussions with the manager confirm that great care is taken to prevent unsuitable people being employed to work with the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people all say that they feel very safe at the home, though their behaviours sometimes compromise that safety. The home has a robust safeguarding policy and all staff have received safeguarding training, know the procedures and are fully aware of their responsibilities in reporting and recording any concerns. Placement planning and risk assessments display very sound recognition of the potential risks created by young people's behaviours. For example, this includes where there are potential self- harming concerns or long-term misuse of drugs or alcohol. Robust efforts are made by the staff to manage and address these and to prioritise young people’s safety. Placement planning clearly identifies where one-to-one supervision is needed to enhance young people's safety. Records of key worker sessions undertaken with individual young people demonstrate that staff consistently try to raise young people's understanding of how to keep themselves safe. There are very

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Safeguarding children and young people

clear indications from young people's records and from discussions with them that being settled and happy in this placement has reduced the incidence of some of their negative behaviours. In some cases young people have a history, prior to placement at this home, of long absences without authority and of association with inappropriate adults whilst absent. Although there are still instances of young people leaving the home without permission, or failing to return when expected, these are less frequent and young people often now return to the home themselves on such occasions. At present no written protocol is in place with the local police in respect of absences without authority but meetings of the local care home forum, with the local police, have addressed this shortfall appropriately and a written protocol is in the process of being developed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is clear information in the young people's guide about what constitutes bullying and to detail that this is not acceptable in any form. Where instances of bullying have occurred, staff have dealt with these quickly and appropriately, providing guidance and support to both young people involved. Some young people display very inappropriate racially-prejudiced attitudes in their comments to peers and to staff. Although records demonstrate that such attitudes are fully explored and challenged, through individual sessions with young people, inappropriate comments are not always appropriately challenged at the time they are made. Staff say that some young people's prejudicial attitudes are very deep seated, often emerging from their upbringing, and staff sometimes find it difficult to identify the origins of such attitudes or to change young people's perspective. Not all staff have undertaken equality and diversity training to support them in this area. The home has a notice

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Safeguarding children and young people

board dedicated to raising cultural and racial awareness and young people are encouraged to learn about the history, culture and traditions of various other countries and to sample foods regularly eaten in those countries. Young people show good interest in this and are keen to experiment with foods. This week's country is Canada and young people have helped prepare a menu incorporating fresh salmon and asparagus. The staff have acquired a wealth of written information to promote this activity. Staff have good awareness of the importance of ensuring safe and appropriate use of the internet and mobile phones, for the young people, and are aware of the potential hazards that inappropriate access can present. Appropriate restrictions are in place in relation to computer access and staff are very aware of the need to supervise young people's usage.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Sound systems promote the safety of young people, staff and visitors within the home. There is appropriate servicing of electrical and fire safety equipment and young people are involved in regular fire drills to ensure that they understand the importance of evacuating the building quickly in case of fire. Staff conduct appropriate checks on fridge and freezer temperatures and have good access to relevant training, such as food hygiene, health and safety and first aid.

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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 provider organisation is a member of the Ofsted National Provider Scheme and an audit of the head office was carried out in March 2011. The organisation was judged to have sound policies and procedures in place to guide staff practice and to provide appropriate training opportunities for its staff.

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Leadership and management

The manager of the home is appropriately registered with Ofsted, has good knowledge and experience in the field of residential care of looked after children and is generally exercising effective leadership of the staff team. Only one member of staff has left the home since the previous inspection. The home is appropriately staffed to meet the needs of the young people accommodated. The staff team comprises a good mix of male and female staff, of varying ages and from a range of cultural backgrounds, giving young people a good range of appropriate role models. Staff feel that formal and informal support is good and that training opportunities are sufficient to support them in providing a good standard of care to young people. There are regular staff meetings, where young people's individual needs and presenting behaviours are discussed, and staff receive regular supervision to support their individual development.

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Leadership and management

There is a demonstrated organisational commitment to sound induction training to meet the required standards of the Children's Workforce Development Council and to enrolling staff for additional training once they have completed their probationary period. The manager is appropriately qualified and three out of six staff have achieved a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at level 3. One member of staff is currently on induction and another has just commenced the Young People's Workforce Diploma. However, one staff member, who has worked at the home for 12 months, has not yet been enrolled for relevant NVQ training. A range of general training opportunities are provided, such as first aid, food hygiene, child protection and Team Teach physical intervention, and staff are required to attend regular refresher courses to ensure that their knowledge is current. The manager is able to request specific training, to equip staff to meet the specific needs of young people

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Leadership and management

accommodated at any particular time. All staff completed drug awareness training in March 2011. A qualified psychologist visits the home regularly to offer advice and direction to staff in dealing with young people's presenting behaviours and problems. She is able to undertake direct work with the young people should their placing authorities commission it.

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Leadership and management

Three complaints have been received, from young people, since the previous inspection. Records relating to their investigation are clear and appropriate and good information has been provided to the complainant about the progress and outcome of the investigations. Guidance for staff about receiving and recording complaints is very thorough and ensures that all relevant professionals receive timely and appropriate information and that young people get good support.

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Leadership and management

There are thorough and robust systems for monitoring the operation of the home and the quality of care. The manager completes weekly checks on all records and regularly audits young people's files. Records are maintained to a good standard and information in young people's files is clearly recorded, well organised and easily accessed. Monthly visits to the home, on behalf of the provider organisation, incorporate regular discussions with staff and young people and identify any issues of concern. The reports of these visits are comprehensive and thorough and are regularly submitted to Ofsted for consideration.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is satisfactory .

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