Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC028905 Inspection date 16/12/2011 Inspector Caroline Oldham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 06/01/2011 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

The home is part of a residential provision for looked after children. The home provides emergency short- term residential accommodation for a maximum of five young people, of either gender, aged between 12 and 17 years on admission. The purpose of the home is to provide a safe and secure environment that promotes the welfare of the young people accommodated. An assessment is carried out to identify how best to meet a young person's needs and plan for their future.

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Brief description of the service

Placements are for a maximum of 12 weeks duration, other than in exceptional circumstances. During this time plans are made for a return home, or another placement will be made and initiated. The home is situated in a residential area and is a large Victorian building comprising of five en-suite bedrooms for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

All aspects of care planning and practice are highly personalised; each young person has a care plan carefully designed to meet their specific needs. These are reviewed fortnightly by the key worker and in conjunction with the social worker to ensure the plan does not drift. Young people are actively involved in their care plans and reviews, and know the plans for their future. Staff have very high aspirations and clear goals; these are refined and changed according to the assessment of the needs of the young person. Consequently, young people make significant progress within a short time-frame.

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Overall effectiveness

The young people speak very positively about the quality of care in the home. Young people's surveys and discussions with them demonstrate that they see the house as their home and they like the staff very much. Their only complaint is of a lack of fizzy drinks! Young people are actively involved in the running of the home through group meetings and general discussions with staff. They have recently even been actively involved in staff recruitment. However, the children's guide does not cover the necessary detail about the home, or about making contact with others if a young person wishes to raise a concern.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager regularly monitors the quality of care through exit interviews with young people and is continually looking at ways to improve the service. Leaders and the manager have thorough monitoring processes and these are used to gain a detailed understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The manager provides regular, good quality supervision and support for the staff. Staff have excellent training opportunities encompassing skills such as care planning implementation, food hygiene, drug awareness, and lone working. In addition, all staff have been actively involved in Social Pedagogy training, and all agreed that this had made a tremendous impact on the way that they work. Staff talk passionately about the young people and show tremendous understanding. Consequently, young people respond very well to this care and support.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are kept safe through excellent working practices and comprehensive risk assessments which are regularly updated. Staff have a very good understanding of safeguarding issues and consistently review safe working practices to ensure they meet individual young people's needs. Young people say unequivocally that they feel happy and safe in their home. Staffing levels are consistently high to provide plenty of cover to ensure young people are kept safe.

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 ensure that the children's guide includes a summary of what the home sets out to do for the young people, how they can find out their rights and make contact with the appropriate professionals if they wish to raise a concern. (NMS 13.5)

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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

Staff help young people to make sense of their background and to formulate plans for their future. All the young people have complex needs, and staff are passionate about achieving what is in the young person's best interests. Staff work to short timescales. The staff help young people to acknowledge that initial expectations may be unrealistic, and help them to formulate realistic, achievable plans. Consequently, the young people are making exceptional progress in developing a positive self-view and building emotional resilience. Examples were shared of young people managing their behaviour and anger, engaging in education, and accepting counselling. Given the short timescales, these achievements are significant and all concerned are immensely proud. Young people engage well in discussions and conversations, knowing that their views are valued.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home provides a very healthy environment and staff are highly committed to ensuring that all the young people's needs are met. Consequently, young people are making excellent progress in their physical development.. They are engaging with support services which improves their psychological well-being. The young people enjoy an active lifestyle including camping, rock climbing, canoeing, archery, swimming, and golf. They are involved in preparing freshly-cooked meals and have a very good understanding of living a healthy lifestyle.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff liaise closely with educational placements. Young people are consistently supported and encouraged by staff to engage in educational activities, formal education, and training. Young people recognise the importance of education. When they have the opportunity they return successfully into education. They attend regularly and make excellent progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are actively involved in the day-to-day running of the home through group meetings, questionnaires, discussions with independent agencies, and regular discussions with staff. At the group meetings they discuss bullying, attitudes towards one another, weekly activities, and menus. Independent agencies also visit the home on a regular basis to gather views and opinions which are fed back to management to ensure young people's views are reflected in the service. Consequently, through different methods, the young people are actively involved in all aspects of the running of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The young people benefit from appropriate contact with family, friends, and other people who are important to them. Staff are extremely sensitive and supportive where contact is difficult to arrange. Specifically tailored contact arrangements are organised wherever possible, according to the needs of those involved, for the benefit of the young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The development of independence is encouraged according to the age and ability of the young people. Some have excellent budgeting and home-keeping skills, and all are involved in some aspects of food preparation.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people quickly develop positive and constructive relationships with the staff team and with each other. Staff speak enthusiastically and with tremendous warmth about the young people. They work hard to help young people to look at their choices and to make sound decisions. Consequently, young people are benefiting from good relationships and using this opportunity to consider their choices and their next placement.

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Quality of care

Young people significantly influence many aspects of the home through well- managed meetings and discussions with staff. For example, they choose menus and activities, and have been involved in a recent round of staff recruitment. Staff are very skilled at helping young people to understand why it may not be possible to act upon their wishes and to set clear boundaries. For example, staff identified that some young people were pre-booking activities and subsequently changing their minds. This was wasting money, and therefore the young people were told that it would no longer be allowed.

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Quality of care

The complaints procedure is covered verbally by the key worker on admission and young people said that they feel confident to make complaints and on occasion have done so. They have all been resolved at an informal stage. Young people say that they feel listened to and their views taken into consideration. There are detailed placement and care plans for all the young people. These include any issues of disability and gender. They detail the specific, individualised needs of the young person and, where appropriate, their religious and cultural needs and interests. Staff review the plans every two weeks together with social workers, and the manager regularly audits the files to monitor progress. This ensures that there is no drift of the plan, and any changes can be implemented quickly. Young people are actively involved in all aspects of their care planning, and are helped to consider, and if necessary reconsider, the initial plans. Consequently, young people are making

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Quality of care

informed decisions about their next placement and are able to make good choices.

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Quality of care

Staff consider all aspects of the young people's health. When a young person is admitted, they are usually registered with the local health professionals. Medication is very well managed and monitored, and staff actively help young people to seek medical advice to reconsider courses of treatment. The home is good at liaising with other professionals such as the looked after children’s nurse, education welfare officers, and other experts, to provide the very best care for the young people. Young people are actively involved in choosing the weekly menu, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in the daily diet. Young people are encouraged to take part in a broad range of physical activities including camping, rock climbing, and swimming. This helps young people to take responsibility for all aspects of their health and well- being.

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Quality of care

Staff actively support young people in attending their educational placements, and they liaise closely with education professionals to ensure good communication. As a result, some young people have re-engaged with education and are now enjoying their schooling. Young people are encouraged to try new activities and to take part in a broad variety of leisure pursuits. One day per week is dedicated to outdoor pursuits for those not in formal education. In addition, there are opportunities for singing and for learning an instrument, as well as a variety of art and craft activities, all of which are offered in-house.

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Quality of care

The home is spacious, beautifully decorated, and very well maintained. All young people have keys to their bedrooms. The location gives young people easy access local shops and services, and there are good public transport links. Young people are actively encouraged to personalise their bedrooms by displaying posters. According to the young person's age and ability, most take responsibility for cleaning their bedrooms, managing their laundry, and helping with the preparation of some meals.

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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 with confidence that they feel safe in the home. They are aware and confident about the procedure for making a complaint, and they know their concerns will be acted upon. All staff receive training in child protection procedures and have a good working knowledge of the appropriate procedure if an allegation is made against a member of staff. There are comprehensive individual risk assessments for each young person, and these are regularly updated. Staffing levels and the use of waking nights demonstrate that the safety and well-being of the young people are paramount. When young people go missing there are good strategies in place to check on their whereabouts, and young people are helped to understand the dangers and risks of leaving the home without permission. The home works closely with the local police and the social workers to build up good channels of communication and support. This helps to ensure that young people are kept safe

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people say that the rules of the home are fair, and records demonstrate that good behaviour is recognised and rewarded. Staff provide consistent boundaries and have realistic expectations, and young people behave very well. When physical restraint is used it is well-documented and used to keep young people safe. However, wherever possible behaviour is managed through negotiation.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff recruitment and selection process is rigorous, and comprehensive checks are made to ensure that young people are always cared for by appropriately experienced staff. The manager is actively involved in all recruitment. On occasions, a small number of staff are used to cover vacancies, and these are drawn from a small pool of individuals who are well-known to the young people. All staff are suitable to work with young people, and they are kept safe from harm.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The environment is very well-maintained and kept safe through a comprehensive system of weekly and monthly internal safety checks and risk assessments. In addition, services such as electricity, electrical appliances, and fire fighting equipment are regularly checked by the appropriate professional companies. There is a very good maintenance and redecoration programme which ensures that the home always looks presentable and that all facilities are in good working order. Fire drills are carried out regularly, and particularly when a new young person is admitted. Visitors to the home have their identification checked and are signed in.

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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

Staff are clear about their roles, and excel at accessing additional support for young people. They speak highly of the manager and say that they are well-supported and feel valued. There were no actions or recommendations from the last inspection. However, the home continues to develop. An example of this is that designated responsibilities are given to staff, for example, taking the lead on sexual health issues. The manager also utilises the specialist skills within the staff team to provide art and music sessions with young people. The registered person carries out monthly monitoring visits and the manager also has a comprehensive system of internal audits. Appropriate and timely action is taken to notify the appropriate authorities and persons following significant events and incidents. Issues are comprehensively followed through to ensure that young people are kept safe.

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Leadership and management

There is a clear, well written Statement of Purpose, which explains the aims and objectives of the home. Placing authorities are clear about the aims and objectives of the home and the services and facilities it provides. The children's guide has been translated into a number of different languages. However, it does not contain all the information specified in the national minimum standards to give young people all the relevant information they might need. Social workers say that key workers are good at keeping in touch and being involved in joint work. Records demonstrate that schools and parents are kept appropriately informed. The young people are very clear about the purpose of their placement in the home and about their future plans, and they are actively involved in the review process. Exit questionnaires from young people show that they are very happy with the care that they have received. There

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Leadership and management

are comments such as ' good place, good facilities, whoever comes here leaves very happy.' When asked, 'what could the home do better?', one comment stated: 'let me stay here forever.'

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Leadership and management

The home has a relatively stable staff team, with few changes and low sickness levels. Staffing levels are adjusted to keep young people safe, and rotas support this. Staff receive excellent training, in particular the Social Pedagogy training which staff say has made a significant difference to the way they work. All staff are suitably qualified. Staff receive regular, good quality supervision, and say that they are able to seek advice and support when necessary. The manager confirms that she is very well supported and that the management team meet regularly and work together on common issues. The home is financially well-resourced and is working effectively within the allocated budgets.

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Leadership and management

Care planning documents are extremely well maintained and very easy to use. A simple but effective archive system ensures that current documents are easily located. They demonstrate that documentation is very regularly reviewed by staff and audited by the manager to ensure that there is no drift in the care plan. All documentation is kept in a locked filing cupboard within a lockable office. There are positive interactions with other community agencies such as the police, looked after children's nurse, and education welfare services.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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