Children's Home run by Lincolnshire County Council in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC042967 Inspection date 21/09/2011 Inspector Caroline Oldham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/03/2011 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 home is managed by a local authority and provides longer-term care for up to six young people between the ages of 10 and 18 years. Admission to the home is on a planned basis. The home aims to provide young people with care and support for their emotional and behavioural needs. This home is purpose built. The office is situated in a separate building behind the home.

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Brief description of the service

Six young people, all males, currently live in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

All aspects of care planning and practice are highly personalised; each young person has a care plan carefully designed to meet their specific needs. These are frequently reviewed and updated as the young people make progress. Staff have high aspirations and clear goals to help young people and consequently young people make exceptional progress. Young people are actively involved in their care plans and reviews and know their plans for their future.

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Overall effectiveness

The young people speak very highly about the quality of care in the home. Young people's surveys and discussions with them demonstrate that they think the home is great. They are fully involved in the running of the home including regular young people's meetings. They are able to influence projects and activities, menus and most aspects of the daily running of the home. Young people say that they like all of the staff team and think they are consistent, fair and genuinely care about them.

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Overall effectiveness

Leaders and the manager use the monitoring processes very well to gain a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. There are development plans in place drawn up in conjunction with the whole staff team. The manager has a good strategic overview of the home and its role in the authority's plan but also has a very good understanding of the operational issues and providing a flexible and imaginative service. The manager is very aware of providing good supervision and support and training opportunities to enhance the service provided and develop the staff team. Staff are passionate about their work and talk with enthusiasm and vigour about the young people and their progress.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say unequivocally that they feel happy and safe in their home. They are kept safe through excellent working practices, good risk assessments and imaginative and innovative strategies to enable young people to start to take risks in measured and controlled steps. Staff go to great lengths to help young people understand the dangers that they may place themselves in by some of their behaviours. Staff have a very good understanding of safeguarding issues and consistently review safe working practices to ensure they meet individual young people's needs.

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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

Staff help young people to understand their background and most importantly how they can make the very best of their opportunities and turn their lives around. Consequently young people are making exceptional progress in developing a positive self-view and building emotional resilience. Examples were shared of young people being able to hold up their heads and look people in the eye where previously they had not been able to do so. Young people engage well in discussions and conversations knowing that their views are valued. They talk with enthusiasm about their projects, hobbies and activities and enjoy school and college.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff consider all aspects of the young people's health. When a young person is admitted, they are registered with the local health professionals and all health needs are actively pursued. Young people are helped to recognise their own medical needs and seek help and support appropriately. Young people enjoy an active lifestyle including gardening, riding their bikes and playing football. They are involved in preparing freshly cooked meals with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and have a very good understanding of living a healthy lifestyle.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff actively supported young people to attend education and work experience. Staff are acutely aware of potential difficulties in securing suitable school and college placements and champion the cause for the young person to ensure they receive a good service. Consequently young people enjoy their school, college or work placements and are making excellent progress. Most importantly they are enjoying their opportunities for learning and are developing personal interests such as cookery, gardening, electronics and music.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are actively involve in the day-to-day running of the home through the young people's meetings and regular discussions with staff. They help with housework and the vegetable garden and talk with great enthusiasm about the projects and activities including activity awards and music awards. Some young people are actively involved in the community working in local charity shops. They excel at this and receive awards for their volunteering.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family, friends and other people who are important to them. The staff are extremely sensitive in arranging, monitoring and supporting contact visits to ensure that they are fruitful, enjoyable events. They also welcome family members and friends into the home. Young people confirm that they have contact as agreed in their care plan.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Preparation for greater independence and leaving care is integral to the care provided by the staff. Key workers develop sessions according to needs arising from independent living skills targets. Consequently young people are developing budgeting skills, home keeping skills, cooking and staying safe. When young people leave the home, they make a successful transition, sometimes initially into supported lodgings and go on the have work and families of their own. Many keep in touch to report on their progress and many achieve very well.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people clearly enjoy positive and constructive relationships with all of the staff team. Staff speak enthusiastically and with warmth about the young people and have high aspirations and hopes for them. Young people respond to the positive feedback from staff and behave exceptionally well generally respecting staff and one another. Each young person has an individual crisis management plan which is reviewed monthly, and following any incidents. The staff look at risks, potential trigger points and behaviours causing concerns and how to intervene in the crisis cycle. For example they look at behaviour management strategies when a young person is agitated by another young person, causing friction in their relationship.

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Quality of care

Young people significantly influence the running of the home through well managed meetings and discussions with staff. For example young people are involved in planning activities, projects and holidays. One young person is given responsibility for chairing resident's meetings and collecting items for the agenda. Staff are very skilled at helping young people understand why it may not be possible to act upon their wishes and to set clear limits in place. Young people say that sometimes there can be a compromise, but they also understand why sometimes staff have to say 'no'. Young people are learning they can have influence but also that there are limits and boundaries in certain areas of their lives.

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Quality of care

Young people are given a clearly written guide prior to admission to the home. This includes the complaints procedure. Young people feel confident to make complaints and say that they feel listened to and their views taken into consideration. In addition there is a more informal system for dealing with minor complaints without going through the formal process. Young people are taken seriously at every level, and their views influence the running of the home and their care.

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Quality of care

There are detailed placement and care plans for all the young people, these include cultural background and personal identity. They detail the specific, individualised needs of the young person and where appropriate their religious and cultural needs and interests. Where young people have specific needs these are met through, for example, offering attendance at church. Staff regularly review the plans, revise strategies and extend boundaries when young people make progress. All staff are made aware through thorough handover meetings and staff meetings. Consequently staff offer consistent care and young people remain at the centre of care practice. The staff team are exceptionally good at tailoring the care to meet individual needs so often evening and weekend activities focus around individual interests with some group activities. Social workers say that staff make the same effort with every child,

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Quality of care

meeting their needs and 'standing by them'. Key work is given a high priority and young people have two key workers who cover a broad range of areas as defined in the placement plan. Staff ensure the sessions are engaging and purposeful for the young people and make them feel special. They often go out somewhere to talk or to take part in an activity such as negotiating public transport.

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Quality of care

The home provides a very healthy environment and staff are highly committed to ensuring that all the young people's needs are met. These include medical and psychological needs. Young people are actively involved in choosing the weekly menu with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in the daily diet. Regular opportunity for physical activities are incorporated into daily living through household chores, cycling, gardening and football.

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Quality of care

Young people are consistently supported and encouraged by staff to engage in education. Staff champion the needs of the young people pressing for appropriate school and college placements. Staff maintain good communication with all settings. Consequently young people are positive and enthusiastic about their studies and work and engage well with the courses and experiences provided.

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Quality of care

Young people are actively involved in choosing how they spend their time from a very broad range of opportunities provided by the home. Staff are always coming up with a new activity or project and often these will offer opportunities to achieve awards. Recent projects include vegetable gardening, learning magic tricks, activity awards, fishing, music making. In addition they enjoy trips to the cinema, meals out and bowling.

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Quality of care

The home is well designed and the surrounding grounds are spacious; all are very well maintained. The location enables young people to access local shops and services and there are good public transport links to nearby cities. Young people are actively encouraged to personalise their bedrooms by choosing their own bedding and displaying posters. They take responsibility for cleaning their bedrooms, managing their laundry, helping with meals and sharing household chores. Young people have keys to their rooms and their files are kept securely locked.

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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 say with confidence that they feel safe in the home and they are aware and confident about making a complaint, and they know their concerns will be acted upon. Staff all receive training in child protection procedures and have a good working knowledge of what to do if an allegation is made against a member of staff. Investigations into allegations or suspicions of harm are handled fairly, quickly and consistently to ensure effective protection for young people. There are comprehensive individual risk assessments for each young person, that are regularly updated as situations progress. Young people very rarely go missing. Protocols are in place for when young people go missing. The home works closely with the police, Local Authority Designated Officer and others, to build up good channels of communication and support. This ensures that the welfare of the young people remains paramount and young people are kept safe at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people think that the rules of the home are fair and that good behaviour is rewarded and recognised. Staff provide consistent boundaries and have high expectations and young people rise to these and achieve exceptionally well. Physical restraint is a very rare occurrence and most behaviour is managed through negotiation. Sanctions are also rare and focus on repaying money when young people have tried to claim for something twice or making contributions for damage or loss. There is no culture of bullying, indeed young people are very supportive of one another.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff recruitment and selection process is rigorous, and comprehensive checks are made to ensure that young people are always cared for by appropriately experienced staff. However, there has been no staff recruitment in recent months. This ensures that all staff are suitable to work with young people and they are kept safe from harm.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The environment is very well maintained and kept safe through a system of weekly and monthly internal safety checks and risk assessments. In addition, services such as electricity, electrical appliances and fire fighting equipment are regularly checked by the appropriate professional companies. Fire drills are carried out regularly, and particularly when a new young person is admitted. Visitors to the home have their identification checked and they are signed in.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The manager is held in high regard by the staff team and staff say they feel actively involved in the running of the home. The recent development plan is a culmination of work by the whole staff group. There were no actions or recommendations from the last inspection, however, the home continues to make improvements and develop staff skills. The registered person carries out excellent monthly monitoring visits which are rigorous and always include consultation with young people. The manager also has a comprehensive system of internal audits which are now being delegated to a member of staff for their development. However, the manager retains full oversight. Appropriate and timely action is taken to notify the appropriate authorities and persons following significant events and incidents. Issues are imaginatively followed through to ensure that young people are well supported and reoccurrence minimised.

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Leadership and management

Staff speak with enthusiasm about the dedication and cohesiveness of their team, and their ability to actively contribute to the running of the home through additional responsibilities. They are sensitive to the needs of the young people and aware of their complex backgrounds. There is a clear Statement of Purpose, which is regularly reviewed to reflect changes. It provides an accurate reflection of what the home provides. Placing authorities are clear about the aims and objectives of the home and what services and facilities it provides. They say that the home excels at bringing out the best in the young people placed in the home. Young people are very clear about the purpose of their placement in the home and their future plans, and they are actively involved in the review process. Staff are also clear about their roles, and how to access additional support for young people.

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Leadership and management

The home has a very stable staff team with few changes and very low sickness levels. Additional cover for annual leave can be provided through additional hours of part-time staff ensuring good continuity for the young people. Staff confirmed that staffing levels are always sufficient to keep young people safe and rotas support this. Appropriate risk assessments are made according to staffing levels and young people in placement. Staff receive excellent training some is on-line and more specialist training is provided to meet the complex needs of the young people. All staff are suitably qualified or completing their qualification. All staff receive frequent supervision and staff say that they are able to seek advice and support when necessary. The manager confirms that he is well supported by senior management. The home is financially well resourced.

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Leadership and management

Care planning documents demonstrates that staff have a thorough approach to meet young people's individual needs. They have working documents with high levels of detail that are reviewed and revised as progress is made. All documentation is kept in a locked filing cupboard within a lockable office. Positive interactions with the community agencies are encouraged, such as the police, and this has sometimes involved taking a young person to the police station to look around and see the cells.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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