Children's Home run by Dove Adolescent Services Limited in Barnsley

Unique reference number SC064454 Inspection date 13/12/2011 Inspector Debbie Foster Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 23/02/2011 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

This is a private children’s home, which provides care for up to two young people aged eight to 17 years, who have a history that encompasses placement breakdowns and emotional and or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

The quality of care provided by staff enables young people to make exceptionally good progress and achieve excellent outcomes. A social worker said, 'the young person has made fantastic progress, particularly in education and their behaviour' and another said, 'the young person has made great progress since the start of their placement in education, self esteem and confidence. She is benefitting from the strong relationships staff have built and responding well.' Therefore, young people enjoy very positive and caring relationships with staff. They receive continuity of care, which enables them to develop trusting relationships with staff that are knowledgeable and familiar with young people’s individual needs.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff work with young people in a way that maximises their potential. Care planning and care practice is highly personalised to comprehensively meet the individual and diverse needs of each young person. Staff work in a coordinated way with young people, their family, and people from other agencies involved in young people's lives. This ensures young people get the right support, help and guidance that they need on a daily basis. Young people’s needs and views are central to the running of the home, and they are fully involved in all decisions affecting their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people feel safe and are effectively protected from significant harm. Young people are very positive about the care and support they receive from staff. Young people are looked after by highly competent, well trained staff with the right skills and experience to meet young people's complex needs. The home is extremely well managed. High aspirations for young people start with the manager and this ethos and approach continues with the rest of the staff team. There is a strong emphasis on providing a high standard of childcare. The manager makes effective use of the robust monitoring systems to review the quality of care provided and improve the outcomes for young people.

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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 benefit tremendously from well planned care which is highly personalised to their individual and specific needs. They are very well supported to develop an understanding of their lives, achieve stability and effectively plan for their future. Young people are provided with the right opportunities to achieve their potential based upon their individual and diverse needs. The effectiveness of this approach is evident in the excellent progress young people are making in their lives. All young people talk positively about the progress they have made, relative to the length of time they have lived at the home. One young person said, ' I have done well in education, I am now going to college and working on being more independent.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are healthy and enjoy healthy lifestyles. Staff support young people to attend necessary health appointments routinely. There is a very strong focus on young people following balanced and healthy diets and taking regular exercise. Young people have access to a range of routine and specialist health services and they receive excellent support, information and guidance about any health problems. This means young people are empowered to understand and make informed, educated decisions about their health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's participation in education is exceptionally good. Young people understand the importance of learning and are making good choices about how to develop their abilities and skills through education. For those young people who have missed a lot of school they have been supported to return to the learning environment. As a result, young people's achievements are exceptional given their starting point when they moved in. For example, one young person has been recognised for their achievements in school and passed their exams at GCSE level.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate and well managed contact with their family. Staff support young people both emotionally and practically to ensure contact is safe and as positive an experience as possible. Young people confirm this. They say they are encouraged to see their family and say, ' I see my family twice a week' and 'contact is monthly and this has increased.’ Young people are encouraged to develop independence skills appropriate to their age, ability and level of understanding. Young people are routinely involved in running the house including shopping, cooking, tidying, processing their own washing and unsupervised travelling.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people are living in an extremely supportive and caring environment. Staff have consistently high aspirations for young people. They are fully committed to enabling young people to cope well with the challenges they may face and the difficult experiences in their past. Staff provide young people with a consistently high standard of care, structure and routine. They think creatively about how they can help young people to find ways to manage strong feelings constructively. One young person said, 'staff are helpful.’ This means young people get the right support they need to understand and overcome difficulties and achieve positive outcomes.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy extremely strong, warm and friendly relationships with staff. Young people confirm this and say, 'I get on well with staff, all of them.’ Staff use their knowledge of young people and excellent interpersonal skills to develop trusting and positive relationships with young people. This has resulted in young people feeling valued, trusting of the people who care for them and in turn allowing them to move forward in their lives.

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Quality of care

Staff are good at encouraging young people to express their views and contribute to the running of the home. A number of formal and informal consultation systems take place. This ensures young people's views and opinions are actively sought and action is taken to support any reasonable request. One young person said, 'we have our say about lots of things because staff ask our views and listen to us.' Young people gave examples and said they have chosen posters for their own bedrooms and the activities they like to take part in every week.

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Quality of care

Staff plan for young people's care and accommodation very effectively. Young people's needs are considered in detail before they are admitted to the home to ensure the home can provide the support young people require. Young people's placement plans are highly individualised and provide a comprehensive picture of young people's personal needs and the support they require. Staff consistently put these plans into action ensuring care planning and day-to-day care practice recognises young people as individuals with different backgrounds, interests, views and needs. This means young people receive an individual service designed to meet their personal needs, background and identity.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a healthy environment that actively promotes their physical and emotional well-being. Detailed planning of their health is effectively implemented by staff. Young people have easy access to community health services and staff closely monitor young people to make sure they are healthy, encouraging them to attend routine health checks and appointments. Young people have regular access to a qualified therapist and professionals supporting young people's emotional health. These professionals provide advice and guidance for staff on a number of health related issues. This collaborative approach has proven highly effective in ensuring young peoples physical, emotional and psychological needs are well met.

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Quality of care

Staff ensure that the daily routine supports young people's participation in education and school attendance. Arrangements for young people's education are highly individualised and take into consideration individual circumstances, including emotional stability, age and ability to work in a formal education setting. Staff work effectively with young people and education professionals to challenge and overcome barriers to young people's full participation in education. Young people have access to a stimulating environment in the home that encourages young people to continue to learn whilst preparing them to return to formal education. This has been created by the staff. This holistic approach has proven highly effective for the young people who now routinely attend school and make good academic progress.

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Quality of care

Staff encourage and support young people to plan their recreation time positively. Young people are offered a good range of age-appropriate activities that are suitably risk assessed. Young people are encouraged to develop their confidence in their abilities by pursuing individual interests. For example, one young person spoke positively about going to their swimming and horse riding lessons which they attend regularly.

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Quality of care

The home is suitably located to enable young people to access community amenities including shops, parks and schools. The house is well maintained and is furnished and decorated to a very good standard. Young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their home. They are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and have a say about the general decoration.

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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 they are safe. They are effectively protected from harm because staff give young people's safety the highest priority and they are well trained in safeguarding. For example, they are able to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and know exactly what they need to do to keep young people safe. Young people are protected by a range of robust safeguarding measures such as comprehensive risk assessments and systems to deal with any child protection issues or complaints. Staff know young people extremely well and take positive steps to proactively manage young people's risks and vulnerabilities to ensure young people's welfare is consistently promoted.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has effective procedures for monitoring young people. Suitable staffing ratios ensure young people are given the supervision and support they need to keep themselves safe. Consequently, young people are effectively protected from bullying, intimidation and harassment and they rarely go missing from home. Focus work takes place with young people to assist them to recognise the dangers they may place themselves in. Staff support young people well when going out in their community, talking to young people and checking out with them on their whereabouts and plans. Staff follow very clear protocols which are implemented within a very child centred and caring model. Therefore, staff are very good at keeping young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is a very positive, calm and consistent approach to behaviour management which means young people's complex behaviour is sensitively and effectively managed. As a result, young people's behaviour is generally very good and continues to improve. This is because staff have developed an understanding of the times and factors that contribute to young people becoming anxious, upset and frustrated. A social worker said, ' the young person has made great progress; massive improvements have occurred in their behaviour, they have improved self esteem and confidence. I think this is because of the strong relationships staff have with them. They have responded well it’s just excellent.' Another social worker stated, 'the young person has made fantastic progress since living at the home; the staff manage behaviour very well. There are good structures, rewards and appropriate sanctions if required.' Staff use well thought-out and effective behaviour management strategies,

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Safeguarding children and young people

specific to the individual needs of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The recruitment and selection of people working at the home is very thorough to ensure young people are well protected. The manager carefully ensures that staff have the right skills and competencies to meet the needs of vulnerable young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a physically safe environment. They are protected by a range of detailed health and safety procedures, risk assessments and checks. Staff and young people are involved in regular fire drills to ensure they know how to safely evacuate the building in the event of a fire.

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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 live in a home that is well-resourced in terms of the high quality care received from a stable, highly experienced and skilled staff group who are committed to accomplishing excellent outcomes for young people. The manager provides strong and effective leadership and has an inclusive open style which staff value and reflect in their practice with young people. The manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home; learning from robust monitoring and inspection activities and this has improved practice accordingly. A detailed development plan is in place which enables young people to continue to enjoy excellent standards and quality of care.

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Leadership and management

The manager and staff clearly have a strong commitment to delivering an exceptionally high standard of childcare that places the personal needs of young people at the centre of their work. The effectiveness of this approach is evident in the excellent progress young people are making in many aspects of their lives, including education, behaviour management, health, independence skills, social interaction and relationships.

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Leadership and management

The provider and manager thoroughly monitor the quality of care; a number of systems exist to ensure all care and support is provided to young people effectively. There is frequent consultation with young people, their parents and social workers to ensure the staff take appropriate action to improve outcomes for young people. A social worker said, ' the staff contact me weekly by email and by phone to give me up dates on how the young person is doing, I receive a two weekly very detailed progress report, communication is excellent.'

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Leadership and management

Young people are cared for by a stable, caring and committed staff team who have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and the high expectations for providing excellent childcare. The organisation has an excellent commitment to staff training. All staff have undertaken the National Vocational Qualification at Level 3 in caring for children and young people and mandatory training in key areas of practice. In addition, more specific training to meet the emerging needs of young people in their care. For example, staff have been trained in autism, E-safety, child development, life story and social pedagogy to ensure they can best support and meet young people’s individually diverse needs.

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Leadership and management

Young people are successfully looked after by staff that are excellently supported through effective supervision. There are detailed and productive team meetings and handovers. Staff are kept up-to-date with practice developments and the manager ensures that the home fulfils its commitment to young people as stipulated in the Statement of Purpose and children's guide. The home meets the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose. Young people and social workers are very clear and complimentary about the services and support the home provides.

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Leadership and management

Young people benefit greatly from the strong relationships the staff have built with other professionals who support young people, to ensure their health, care and education needs are met in full.

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Leadership and management

The home’s written records are securely stored and provide a comprehensive picture of individual young people's needs, development and progress. Young people's progress is frequently monitored and reviewed to ensure care planning and care practice is relevant to meeting young people's needs.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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