Children's Home run by Wessex College Limited in Wiltshire

Unique reference number SC037596 Inspection date 05/12/2011 Inspector Peter Harrell Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 11/01/2011 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 home is one of four children's homes operated by the organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people of either gender, aged from 11 to 18 years, with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Brief description of the service

The home is situated in a rural area and offers single room accommodation to each young person. The organisation also runs a school which is registered with Ofsted and provides education for some young people accommodated in the company's homes.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people at the home benefit from individualised support from a stable child- centred staff team. Staff are consistent in their care and welfare of the young people. Young people are encouraged to communicate their views and wishes during regular key work sessions and young people’s meetings. Young people enjoy and benefit from a wide range of activities. They are encouraged to develop independence skills and are encouraged to express their feelings. The home is furnished to a high standard. Young people have many opportunities to reflect on their positive experiences and demonstrate pride in where they live.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people talk very positively about their care in the home. One described the home as ‘this is probably one of the best placements I have lived in' and rated it ‘eight out of 10.’ A social worker commented that the home is a ‘very welcoming place, fantastic' and sees real positive changes and outcomes for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say they feel safe and feel they are looked after well. Safeguarding policies and procedures are robust and concerns are acted upon. Staff show a strong commitment to support the educational needs of the young people. Staff are provided with regular supervision, team meetings and training opportunities. This provides them with the appropriate skills to support the young people to achieve their personal aspirations and to meet the objectives contained in their care and pathway plans. No recommendations are made as a result of this inspection, good practice suggestions were made and staff accepted that monitoring visitors should come from outside the organisation.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from the individualised support they receive from staff which is tailored to meet their specific needs. Placing authority social workers find that the home offers young people a very good level of support and young people are making sound progress in their placements.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported in adopting healthy life styles through a nutritious diet and a wide range of physical activities. Staff discuss with young people the importance of healthy eating. Fresh food and healthy snacks are encouraged and readily available. Young people are consulted about the menus and involved in food preparation and cooking to develop independence and life skills. Motivated staff support young people to develop a range of practical skills.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's attendance and participation at school has increased significantly through consistent messages and encouragement from staff at the home. Young people’s attendance records at school are over 80 per cent. Education plans and individual learning plans are tailored to meet the level of understanding and ability of the young people, this results in positive outcomes in relation to their learning, and significant progress is being made by young people to attain qualifications.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy activities both in the home and out in the community. Young people expressed a request for more activities in the garden. Young people have activity planners that promote individual opportunities for them to maintain friendships and enjoy activities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are fully supported with contact visits and telephone calls and benefit from additional emotional support from staff at these times. There is a designated room to make and receive calls. This practice enables young people to maintain gainful relationships with the significant people in their life.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy supportive relationships with staff that are based on respect of one another. Meaningful relationships between the staff and young people is a great strength of the home. Staff acknowledge that young people are different and have differing needs. Young people are supported to develop acceptable behaviour through the use of consistent messages and a clear reward system, which improves their feelings of positive self-regard. Interaction between staff and young people is very positive and effective. Young people benefit from dedicated time from a variety of resourceful, caring and committed adults demonstrated by a young person's social worker who comments that the home is ' absolutely brilliant, very welcoming and a fantastic environment'.

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Quality of care

Young people have regular house meetings, giving them the opportunity to express their views on the running of the home. Young people are also actively encouraged to discuss activities, changes to the home, menus and future holidays. Young people say they are listened to and their views are highly valued. A young person gave an example where actions taken from meetings are carried out promptly. Young people are routinely involved in decisions, food choices and any key plans for their future.

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Quality of care

Staff support young people to do well in their education. Young people who have missed out on education are actively encouraged to be more confident and they are assisted with any specific learning needs and supported to return to mainstream education. All young people know how to complain although there is infrequent use of formal complaints procedures. Most young people say they have confidence in the staff team, the manager and area manager to listen and quickly resolve any concerns.

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Quality of care

Young people are successfully cared for in line with their comprehensive placement plans. Young people are actively involved and consulted and this ensures they make their views known about their own plans. Young people's personal needs are shown and clearly identified in their plans indicating the young people's individual requirements as well as identifying cultural needs and personal identity issues. Where a young person has difficulty verbalising their views, a personal thoughts and feelings book is provided.

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Quality of care

Young people’s health needs are well met. Staff promote the health of the young people at the home and they are supported to attend regular appointments with health professionals. Procedures for administration and disposal of medication are accurate. First aid training is provided for staff; this ensures young people have access to suitable basic medical treatment when needed.

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Quality of care

Cultural and religious beliefs are discussed with individuals. Young people are encouraged to positively address their own choices and respect others. Staff are recruited from a mixed gender and age background and provide the young people with positive role models within the home.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a home which is a safe, warm and vibrant environment. A great deal of care has been taken to meet the specific requirements of young people who live in it. The building has been creatively decorated. For example, the young people are allowed to decorate what was described by the registered manager as their 'dream bedroom' and there is a reward system in place where young people work toward buying furniture which they can keep when they move on to independent living. The communal lounge and dining room areas have been imaginatively decorated and furnished to provide a very comfortable living space which benefits young people. One young person said ' it is homely here, the sofas the TV, we all eat together, this is probably one of the best placements I have ever lived in and I wouldn't change it for the world'.

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Quality of care

Young people generally respect their living environment and appear proud of their home. Each young person has their own room which reflects their personality and interests. They personalise their bedrooms. The home is maintained by a maintenance person to ensure that the home is in a very good condition and meets the young people’s needs.

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe and they are kept safe by the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. Child protection matters are appropriately referred to the relevant agencies and staff work effectively in partnership with other agencies to promote young people’s welfare and protect them from significant harm.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are comfortable discussing their concerns with members of staff and they know how to make a complaint about aspects of their care that they are unhappy about. Bullying is infrequent but any incident is fully addressed by the home, in line with the home’s policy regarding this behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff members’ understanding of young people’s needs is underpinned by the sound information contained within the placement plans. Regularly updated risk assessments and behaviour management plans are drawn up for each young person. Staff can identify and utilise effective techniques to manage young people’s challenging behaviour and the number of physical restraints carried out within the home is relatively low. All restraints are recorded in detail. Each incident is closely monitored by the management of the home to ensure young people are safeguarded.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The frequency of young people going missing is minimised. Staff effectively respond to any unauthorised absence by immediately taking steps to find the young person within the locality and by alerting the relevant agencies to minimise the time they are missing. Records kept of these incidents are clear; incidents last short periods of time and are responded to appropriately. The consistent approach from the staff team supports young people and reduces incidents of them going missing. The home works closely with the local police and staff are knowledgeable about the development and use of local protocols for dealing with young people who are missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Recruitment and selection processes for new staff are efficiently carried out. Visitors to the home are required to provide evidence of their identity which is verified when they sign the visitors’ book. These systems help to protect young people as they ensure that unauthorised individuals are not able to gain access to the home. All necessary checks are made in line with safer recruitment practices to help prevent unsuitable people from working with young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has robust risk assessments in place for the premises. Fire safety and electrical checks are regularly completed and action is immediately taken to address any work that is required to ensure the premises are kept safe for staff and young people to live in. Risk assessments for young people’s activities are completed to a high standard and regularly updated.

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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 leadership and management of the children's home are good.

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Leadership and management

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. Staff keep up to date with new information and this is shared through regular team meetings. Staff talk positively about the support they receive and confirm that supervision and appraisals are carried out on a regular basis and enable them to reflect and report on their practice and relationships with young people. One member of staff said ' I have never felt unsupported, if there were any issues I would speak with the Registered Manager'.

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Leadership and management

This home is well resourced to ensure young people experience good staff ratios, are able to access to a variety of activities and have a comfortable, homely environment. Young people experience care from a team who are positive, with a strong commitment to providing support for young people. Record keeping is comprehensive with good recording systems in place. Staff undertake induction and service specific training which provides them with the skills, knowledge and competencies required to meet the needs of the young people. Staff at the home access good quality training that enhances individual skills, and keeps them up to date with developments in child care practice.

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Leadership and management

The home has a detailed, up-to-date Statement of Purpose. The young person’s guide is detailed and age-appropriate. There is an up-to-date development plan and a good understanding of equalities legislation is evident. These documents help to ensure the policies and procedures of the home are adhered to and that the care delivered to young people is of a good standard.

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Leadership and management

The staff team are enthusiastic about their work and their commitment to supporting young people in staying safe and achieving good outcomes.

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Leadership and management

There are good monitoring activities related to the quality of care provided to young people and these are well recorded. Weekly summaries contribute towards care plan objectives and statutory reviews. Safeguarding procedures have been adhered to and clearly recorded. Monthly visits by a designated person also occur. The home's office is well organised, information is kept up–to-date and records are held securely in a locked office.

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Leadership and management

There were no recommendations at the last inspection. All previous recommendations have been met.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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