Children's Home run by Brighton and Hove City Council in Brighton and Hove

Unique reference number SC044880 Inspection date 18/10/2011 Inspector Gaynor Moorey Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 17/02/2011 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

Young people with a learning difficulty stay at this home. Up to five young people can be accommodated for respite care in one section of the unit and a further three young people can live full time in the other section of the unit.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make outstanding progress in relation to their starting points and thrive in a supportive environment with consistent boundaries. Young people’s complex needs are supported fully and understood by staff. They are enabled to make choices and contribute to making decisions. Outstanding support from staff helps them to develop confidence to enjoy new experiences.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people have excellent attendance at school and the home works with the school to set progress and development goals. They are safe at the home and staff are well trained and supervised in order to offer the young people a secure environment to live in. Young people enjoy staying at the home and are able to develop life skills and learn how to be independent and maximise their own abilities.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is well managed with comprehensive systems in place to ensure the young people continue to be happy, enjoying care there.

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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

Overall, outcomes for children are excellent. Children benefit from highly individualised support which helps them develop their life and social skills. Their life experiences and confidence are enriched in a caring and nurturing environment at a pace commensurate with their cognitive ability. They receive carefully and sensitively delivered support. For example, some young people are practicing independence skills and preparing for adult life while other young people are just starting their visits and need very patient specific support to manage this process, taking into consideration their specific disability and need. One parent said: 'You’re second to none as far as I'm concerned and have enabled my daughter to become a confident girl.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children engage in a full range of activities outside the home, such as swimming, youth clubs, holiday clubs and camping. Children, with support from staff, engage with two of the local youth groups in the community. This imaginative approach maximises the opportunity for children to develop their social skills. Children's confidence is further developed through other innovative and creative approaches, such as a camping trip where the children stay overnight, which is a really big achievement for most of the children using the home. Staff ensure all children have equal opportunity to participate in activities, for example, all children can use the garden, as the flower bed is filled with edible plants so there are no concerns if children eat any of the plants while playing.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children's psychological, physical and health needs are met. They have the best possible care and support through staff engaging with a variety of other professionals to ensure individual needs are being met. There is a cohesive approach, giving children the optimum opportunity to progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children's privacy and dignity are protected using individual risk assessments addressing specific issues such as personal care. Staff are sensitive to the needs and abilities of children. All necessary consents are on file such as permission to administer medication and administer first aid when necessary.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are in education and making ‘evident’ or ‘achieved’ progress in literacy, inclusion and personal development, for example, being able to use the washing machine or learning to cook a meal, and very good abilities in information and communication technology.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people receive carefully delivered and sensitively planned independence programmes. Input from key adults, such as the children's parents, helps to formulate these plans and to enable the children to develop their social and independence skills. Young people are proactively supported and prepared for transition to adult establishments. Young people visit the next placement with staff and their parents and carers. For two young people who have moved on, one parent said: 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you are doing for my son', and one young person said, 'Thank you for the amazing support you have given me in the past couple of years.’

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy spending time and living in an environment that offers support, care and understanding of their specific needs. Rigorous assessments are made on all relevant and available information regarding the physical, social, behavioural and emotional needs of the individual young person. Care plans clearly guide staff in meeting the individual needs of each young person. Young people benefit from their plans being assessed and updated for their changing needs. The quality of the plans enables the staff to provide an excellent standard of care and a record of the development and progress young people continue to make. Young people are enabled to attend and have input into their reviews where ever possible or DVDs can be used to show their progress and time spent at the home. Young people's views and opinions are valued and encouraged. While some young people may not be able to partake in formal meetings or key-work sessions, the staff

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Quality of care

have a detailed knowledge of how each young person voices their opinions and feelings and which is their preferred method of communication. This approach ensures that the staff are sensitive to young people's preferences and creates an inclusive environment. Every young person is able to communicate, and staff facilitate ways for this to happen.

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Quality of care

Young people receive information about health and social issues including sex and relationships, bullying, and protecting yourself, on a very individual level, and staff carefully plan the best way forward to give this information to the young people.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported by staff to attend either local schools or colleges. Young people are ready for the school day with the care and understanding of the staff who know the routines and complex needs of each individual.

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Quality of care

Young people are provided with a wide range of activities, which is excellent, and a strength of the home. Members of staff know each young person's likes and dislikes as far as activities are concerned. Young people partake in activities in a safe and supported manner which takes their vulnerabilities and limitations into account. Staff organise activities both within the home and out in the community, and the staff also source age-appropriate clubs for the older young people. Young people and staff have also undertaken camping trips, which are difficult to organise and assess, but committed staff feel the experience is invaluable for the development of the young people.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported with their individual needs, including ethnicity; these are woven through their time spent at the home. Staff and parents/carers work together to ensure time spent at the home meets the young people’s needs and enables them to get the best out of their time spent away from their own family. Excellent provision and facilities and organised activities help this to be achieved.

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Quality of care

Young people live in an environment which offers a very good standard of accommodation. Each young person is afforded the opportunity to personalise their own rooms with posters and pictures during their periods of respite care. The home also offers a permanent home for some young people who have their own rooms, and they are able to choose décor and furnishings of their rooms. Young people enjoy the facilities at the home, including a sensory room and a soft play area, arts area and comfortable lounges. A large garden offers outdoor activities such as the trampoline, bike riding and varied play equipment.

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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 protected in time by staff who understand and support them. Young people have different ways in different levels of communication; staff caring for young people understand the different ways in which they show how they feel and if they are becoming distressed and angry. All members of staff receive regular child protection training and are up to date on safeguarding procedures. Clear procedures provide a framework for the staff to act on if they need to share concerns with safeguarding agencies. Any issues that have arisen are robustly dealt with and investigated to the highest level to ensure the safety of the young people while staying at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people have an accessible complaints process in place which is also made available to their relatives or representatives. Young people do not have the cognitive ability to understand the concept of a formal complaint. However, the staff are very aware of each young person's method of communication and how they make their displeasure known. Formal complaints, which are rare, made on the whole by parents or carers, are promptly addressed and detailed records kept on how each complaint has been resolved.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people have very complex needs so staff are very sensitive to the group dynamics in the home and plan the mix of young people carefully. Young people may struggle to understand what bullying is, so the staff ensure that behaviour which may cause distress is carefully managed to ensure that all the young people are protected. The staff work closely with some of the young people about what behaviours are acceptable and the right for each young person to feel safe, both in the home and community.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people have a risk assessment which identifies their vulnerability should they go missing, and what levels of support and supervision they require individually both within the home and in the community. The staff team are extremely aware of the young people's vulnerabilities should they be left unsupervised or go missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people have detailed behaviour management plans in place; these identify what strategies should be used to encourage positive behaviour and manage challenging behaviour. Young people also have a physical intervention risk assessment in place, which identifies what physical intervention is appropriate should staff need to physically control a young person. Young people are closely supervised to ensure their safety and that of others around them; consistent teamwork and an excellent understanding of each young person's needs and behaviour, ensure that incidents are addressed and resolved swiftly.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people's physical safety is protected by excellent robust risk assessments, which are created with regards to the premises, fire and activities in which the young people partake. They are regularly reviewed and updated. The approach to risk management means that young people are able to take part in activities and outings with the support they need. Young people are supported in taking part in regular fire drills, and fire equipment is checked on a routine basis.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected by a rigorous recruitment procedure for new members of staff, which includes the young people being part of the interviewing process.

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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

Young people receive an outstanding service from the staff. The service given encompasses the known objectives, aspirations and ongoing development of the home. Young people benefit from a well-managed home which has two experienced managers, who both bring skills and knowledge about the management of the home and the children and young people in their care. A Brighton councillor commented on the ‘tireless work for the benefit of the children, young people and their families by the staff of the home.’

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Leadership and management

The home's Statement of Purpose is up to date and accurately reflects what the home intends to achieve. There is a children's and young people's handbook, presented in pictorial style, with symbols and writing, and within DVDs which explains what it is like to live in the home.

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Leadership and management

Practice is monitored by external managers who carry out regular visits to assess the standard of care provided. The overall monitoring of records carried out is of a very high standard and ensures that excellent care of the young people is rigorously and constantly assessed and promoted. Staff consider best care practice and children's needs at staff meetings. At the last inspection the home received no recommendations or requirements.

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Leadership and management

Young people are closely supported and supervised, and for some young people this can mean one-to-one or two-to-one staffing. A team of senior care workers are in place to support staff when the managers are not at the home. Staff receive individual supervision and appraisals, and informal support is also readily available. A new member of staff said: 'I have been fully supported in coming to work at the home and have been given supervision regularly and have a buddy who I can speak to for support, and I have had lots of informal support from the team.’

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Leadership and management

Young people benefit from a staff team who receive training which is varied and regular. Training ensures the staff expand their knowledge, development and keep up to date with current legislation. The staff team has enough experience, qualifications and skills to offer excellent levels of support to the young people and enable them to develop and reach their full potential.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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