Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Durham

Unique reference number SC423407 Inspection date 28/11/2011 Inspector Michael McCleave Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 07/06/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.3

About this inspection

The report details the progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011).

p.3

The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

p.3

Brief description of the service

This children's home provides care and accommodation including full time education for up to 8 children and young people aged 11 to 17 years. The building is a large detached premises located and the school is an integral part of the building where young people will attend as part of their care plan.

p.4

Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress.

p.4

Progress

The manager has complied with the requirement made at the last inspection for the Statement of Purpose to include key information about staff who work at the home. Recommendations made about improving the awareness of young people to see their records have been met. However, the need for more detailed information to be recorded when young people go missing has not been met. The manager was asked to develop links with the local authority safeguarding service in order to maintain a professional dialogue on safeguarding matters. Contact has been made by the manager with the appropriate safeguarding officer although this has yet to be developed further. A permanent staff team are now in place and a review of the management at the home has resulted in two seniors being appointed to support the manager. This has improved the capacity of the management team to ensure that staff are provided with appropriate support and supervision. It also demonstrates a

p.4

Progress

commitment from senior managers to support the operations at the home that keep young people safe.

p.4

Progress

The home provides the young people with on-site education and this continues to be a positive feature with all young people attending classes each day. They are encouraged to work to their abilities and benefit from one-to-one tuition as required. Although young people demonstrate challenging behaviours, the teacher is nevertheless, achieving positive educational outcomes from them. This is impressive when compared to their previous home situations where education was not deemed important to the young people.

p.4

Progress

Young people have a good relationship with the care staff and they respond well to praise and encouragement. There are tensions among the group and staff use dialogue and discussion to resolve any difficulties. The care provided for the young people is good and they are benefiting from a more stable staff team in terms of consistency. The home has clearly moved on from the previous unsettled situation where temporary seconded staffing was the norm.

p.4

Progress

The most recent Regulation 33 visit highlighted a number of areas requiring management oversight in respect of the way key documents are completed. An action plan has been put in place and requires the manager to complete this as soon as possible. The administrative operations are somewhat weak and this is an area that clearly requires more attention from the manager.

p.4

Progress

The home is showing signs of capacity to improve. This is now dependent on the management team taking a more proactive role in ensuring that the day-to-day operations are efficient and the quality of information recorded is of a high standard reflecting outcomes being achieved by the young people.

p.5

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.5

Recommendations

 ensure there is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping and take action when needed. (NMS 22.1)

p.5