Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Unique reference number SC403895 Inspection date 20/10/2011 Inspector Michelle Spruce Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 26/01/2011 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 children's home run by a local authority. It provides care for two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties between the ages of 10 and 17 years.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

This is an outstanding home that provides excellent care in a nurturing environment where young people feel safe. The quality of care is effective due to the personalised care provided to meet the individual needs of young people. The outcomes for young people are exceptional and staff fully understand and support how to meet the needs of young people, which enables them to succeed.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff receive a high standard of training to support them in the delivery of care. The home works hard to maintain positive effective relationships between both young people and staff. The communication between external professionals and the home is robust. One professional said: 'It's a pleasure to see such a person-centred service.'

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Overall effectiveness

Young people's health and well-being are central to their care and the home provides excellent support and access to a wide range of services that ensure their health needs are fully met. Placement plans are clear and detailed and reflect the highly personalised needs of the young people. Young people say about the staff: 'They should all have a gold medal.'

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are fully involved in the quality of care they receive, and their views and wishes are taken seriously. They contribute to the running of the home and feel the home is a warm, welcoming and homely place to live.

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Overall effectiveness

Records in the home are meticulously maintained, clear and detailed.

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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

Young people achieve positive outcomes and benefit from the consistent approach from staff, social workers and other professionals. As a result young people have become more confident and overcome personal issues regarding low self-esteem. This means they develop a positive self-view and build emotional resilience. Young people achieve outstanding development within education and maintain exceptional attendance. They have grown in confidence and are supported to make informed choices in their career paths. Young people are continually praised in their educational achievements and attainment. Recently young people attended an awards evening that recognised the goals they have reached, received recognition of their achievements and were presented with certificates.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive high quality healthcare supported by the staff. Routine health checks are attended and monitored in relation to their individual needs. As a result of the individualised care young people receive, some health issues have been addressed and remarkable results have been achieved. For example, one young person benefited from a change in diet and lifestyle which resulted in extreme weight loss which improved their general health and fitness. This means young people improve their health and well-being.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are successful in making a positive contribution to the home and the wider community. This is done by taking an active part in community activities. For example, young people contribute to the development of the leaving care group by taking part in raising awareness of how good it is to be in care. Young people have been involved in charity events and helped to raise money to support the fundraising. As a result, young people benefit from positive and rewarding community liaison.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people maintain important relationships with those who are significant in their lives by having regular contact both in and outside of the home. Young people recognise why they are in care and staff help and support them to identify with who they are and who they want to become. This is supported through excellent knowledge of individuals regardless of their faith, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from developing skills that will support them into adult life and take an active role in practising them. For example, general tidying chores and menu planning along with cooking are daily activities undertaken to improve self- management skills. This means young people are empowered to achieve independence and as a result make a successful transition into adult life.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

The quality of care young people receive is outstanding, as staff are focused on delivering a consistent service to young people in their care. Staff have high aspirations for all young people and place their well-being at the forefront of what they do. Relationships between staff and young people are built on trust, and as a result young people are confident about the care they receive. The positive behaviour young people present is testimony to the excellent hard work staff invest to maintain harmony within the home and towards each other. Young people say: 'The carers are really nice, the manager is awesome at her job.'

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Quality of care

The quality of care which staff provide is exceptional in relation to meeting young people’s needs. Young people are supported to access a range of services to maintain their health and well-being physically, emotionally and psychologically. This means young people take their health seriously and make exceptional progress in managing and monitoring progress. For example, young people can now administer their own medication while accessing off-site activities as a result of thorough risk assessment and consultation. Young people receive support in planning and preparing healthy meals which are reflected through a healthy menu plan. Staff provide a wide range of activities to suit individual needs while ensuring their health and fitness remain a high priority. As a result young people remain healthy.

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Quality of care

The views and wishes of the young people are sought at every opportunity. As a result staff have acted on their wishes and changes have been made. This means young people are listened to and taken seriously. The manager looks at the consultations and responds to the views of the young people. This means staff are proactive in ensuring young people express their views freely without fear or prejudice. Where it is sometimes difficult to meet the needs of young people due to safeguarding restrictions, staff are extremely sensitive in delivering feedback to explain the reason for not being able to meet certain requests. As a result, young people feel valued and listened to. There is a clear complaints procedure in place. This maximises young people's rights to address any concerns they may have in regards to the care they receive. This, along with additional support from an independent organisation, provides excellent access to external professionals for

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Quality of care

young people to raise concerns. As a result, young people feel safe and protected.

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Quality of care

Young people are central and consistently involved in their care planning and review. Placement plans are of a high quality and individually tailored to meet the needs of individuals. Staff regularly review and monitor placement plans and actively encourage the participation of young people. This ensures young people continually receive a high quality of care.

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Quality of care

Staff are proactive and consistent in supporting young people's educational achievement. The home regularly consults with the school and actively participates in maximising the education attainment. As a result young people have achieved 100% attendance. The home embraces and fully recognises young people's achievements and they are celebrated and rewarded.

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Quality of care

Young people's cultural background and personal identity are clearly identified and addressed in all aspects of daily living and care planning. Staff demonstrate a real focus in managing equality and diversity. Care files are clear in addressing culture and family history, demonstrating the young person's identity. Staff work hard to ensure special occasions are celebrated and respect provided in all areas of diversity to ensure discrimination is eradicated.

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Quality of care

Young people live in an environment that is of a high standard and provides a safe and comfortable home to live in which is suitably located to local amenities. This means young people can access a range of activities and communal services to meet their needs.

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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 feel very safe and protected from harm. This is because the home is extremely proactive in managing the safety of young people. Staff support young people to take reasonable risks within the parameters of their day-to-day living; they consider individual vulnerabilities while enabling reasonable risk to take place to promote personal growth and development. For example, there are clear and very detailed risk assessments to ensure safe care practice is delivered at all times.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from a highly trained and skilled staff team that embraces the diverse needs of the young people in their care. This ensures that young people continually receive the appropriate service and support while in the home. As a result of the training received by staff, the risk of exploitation, neglect and abuse is significantly reduced. Rewards are provided by means of incentives for reaching set targets and sanctions imposed where non-compliance occurs. Young people say they feel the sanctions and rewards are fair and reasonable. One young person commented: 'My behaviour was bad and now it's good. I used to have no boundaries but now I have them.' This means young people thrive and benefit from positive role models and firm boundaries. As a result, the use of physical restraint is not necessary and there are no incidents requiring young people to be held.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safe in the environment in which they live; there are no episodes of young people being missing, or unauthorised absence. The home has effective and efficient systems in place to manage such incidents and liaise with the police should there be a need for their support. Staff are vetted through a thorough recruitment procedure to ensure new staff do not commence employment until all relevant checks are completed, which ensures young people are protected.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home demonstrates within their high standard of record keeping that safeguarding issues are consistently monitored, evaluated and reviewed with all agencies concerned. Staff are extremely knowledgeable in the procedures for child protection and have no hesitation in raising concerns where there is compromise to a young person’s safety. Investigations into allegations or suspicion of harm are handled fairly, quickly and consistently in a way that provides effective protection for young people, the person making the allegation, and at the same time supports the person who is subject of the allegation. As a result young people are protected and staff are supported fairly and without discrimination.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are very good measures in place to maintain the home and keep it safe. As a result all young people in the home are protected from potential harm. For example, young people participate in fire drills, and following a recent fire in the home, demonstrated their full understanding of the fire procedure and how to evacuate the building safely. Where there is a risk to the safety of others in the home there are measures in place at night to monitor young people leaving their bedrooms by the use of door monitoring devices. There are comprehensive risk assessments agreed by the placing authority to protect young people. Young people fully understand the reason for the imposed restriction which helps to keep them safe.

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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 outstanding success of the home derives from a fully committed and dedicated team led by a proactive and innovative manager. The staff are very experienced and benefit from continued motivation, praise and personal development which enhances the quality of care and positive outcomes for young people. The home is effectively managed and monitored through robust effective systems that highlight the home’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result young people thrive within a high quality service.

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Leadership and management

Young people excel in a well-managed home where the focus is on providing a child- centred service where care is delivered with passion. Staff have excellent relationships with the manager built on mutual trust and respect. Staff receive excellent support on a day-to-day basis from the manager, through team meetings and supervision. Records in the home are kept and maintained to an excellent standard and information is shared on a need-to-know basis, ensuring confidentiality is protected at all times. Staffing levels in the home are sufficient and provide a good standard of support required to meet young people’s needs.

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Leadership and management

The home is monitored in relation to the Regulation 33 visits which provide a clear and concise overview of the service. The manager effectively monitors and evaluates the home by undertaking the Regulation 34 monitoring. As a result the home has very good development plans in place that outline key strengths and weaknesses. This means actions to address the shortfalls and implement change are met through clear timescales and objectives.

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Leadership and management

Young people thrive in an environment tailored to meet their specific needs with support delivered by a competent team of staff. Staff benefit from a mandatory training package that provides opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge. There is also additional training provided which specialises in particular areas necessary for staff development to provide the appropriate support to individuals.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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