Children's Home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Unique reference number SC365366 Inspection date 19/12/2011 Inspector Suzanne Hogben Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 25/01/2011 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 small three bedded children's home. The home caters for young people who have autism as a learning disability. The home is run by a private provider.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

This service provides a good quality of care to young people. Young people make good progress and sometimes make exceptional progress, taking into account their starting point. Considerable efforts are made to address the needs of the young people and staff are committed to providing a wide range of activities which stimulate the young people and help them achieve their full potential. There is good management overview of the care provided.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are highly aware of the vulnerability of the young people in the home and work hard to achieve the best outcomes for them. All plans for the young people are very individual and extensive. As a result the emotional and social development of the young people remains central to the care they receive. Extensive risk assessments ensure safe practice in the home and young people are able to safely expand their experiences in a variety of ways.

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Overall effectiveness

As a result of this inspection, there are two recommendations, made to further improve safeguarding, regarding recruitment and staff checks. There are also two recommendations made to further improve leadership and management. These recommendations are in relation to the Statement of Purpose and the independent monitoring visits, which do not sufficiently reflect the views of young people and staff.

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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 registered person can demonstrate, including from written and electronic records, that it consistently follows good practice, an all applicable current statutory requirements and guidance, in staff recruitment and carers selection This includes Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. This is in respect of ensuring the recruitment process identifies any gaps in employment. (NMS 16.2)  ensure the children's home has a record of the recruitment and vetting checks which have been carried out on those working (including volunteers) for the children's home which includes CRB disclosures, including the level of the disclosure, the outcome of the check including whether the individual is barred. This is in relation to the evidencing of the renewal of CRB checks. (NMS 16.3b)  ensure the registered person reviews the Statement of Purpose and the children's guide and reviews them at least annually. This is in relation to updating the

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Recommendations

details of staff in the Statement of Purpose. (NMS 13.3)  ensure that there are clear and effective procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the home and that children in the home are regularly involved in contributing to monitoring the operation of the home, and their views and any concerns are seriously taken into account. (NMS 21.1)

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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 in this home make some excellent progress and develop well. The care provided to them is highly individualised and is based on their assessed needs. They live in atmosphere which promotes positive behaviour. There are individual 24-hour behaviour plans which are clearly followed and mirror the management strategies used in the young people’s schools. As a result staff develop extremely positive relationships with young people who receive a consistency of behaviour management.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The individual placement plans are reviewed regularly and a key worker system ensures that young people are able to make some outstanding progress, some of them in a short space of time. One parent commented that she could ‘see huge improvements in just eight weeks,’ with her son's behaviour and that he is now able to spend quality time with them as a family.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are aware of the need to be healthy and they play an active part in choosing healthy food to eat. They take part in activities which keep them healthy, such as trips out to shops, walking, swimming or bowling. Many activities are designed to help the young people participate in the life of the local community and they go out to festivals and events locally and visit local museums and libraries. This encourages the young people to develop their full potential, increase their confidence and widen their social experiences.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff are accomplished at getting to know and understand the young people in the home and as a result are effective in identifying their needs. Different methods of communication are used to help the young people make their views known. There is a complaints system in place and this is presented to the young people in a format they can understand. One of the strengths of this home is the positive relationships which the staff and young people have developed. This ensures they are able to fully participate in the planning of the care they are given, within the limitations of their complex needs. Staff are highly motivated to make sure young people get maximum benefit from their education. Staff view good communication with the school as essential to the provision of consistent care. The home works with schools to ensure that communication systems are similar to those used at school, and staff are committed

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Outcomes for children and young people

to maintaining a good school to home link. Achievements at school are celebrated and young people have certificates of achievement in their bedrooms.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Contact with families is seen as a high priority and staff are inspirational in their efforts to develop good relationships with families. Parents feel they can visit the home at any time and that they are welcomed by staff. One parent commented that there was a, ‘family atmosphere, you feel part of it when you walk in.’ Staff are strong advocates for the young people and make extensive efforts to progress contact with families but are sensitive to the needs of the parents and young people. As a result of the care which is taken, contact is extremely positive and in some cases real progress has been made, with young people having overnight contact with family.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

The home accommodates young people who have autism as a learning disability, who often have exceptionally complex needs. Staff work diligently to develop positive relationships with the young people. They are committed to find ways of communicating with them and trying to understand their patterns of behaviour and how their feelings may impact upon their behaviour. As a result they deal with complex behaviours very well and allow the young people to express themselves but be kept safe and protected.

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Quality of care

Detailed and thorough risk assessments are in place, which assist the staff to manage any physical care the young people may need. These risk assessments allow young people to receive hugs and tactile care from staff. One member of staff described how one young person had been encouraged to limit hugs to just before bed time and just before leaving for school. This plan is consistently reinforced by all staff and as a result this young person has made considerable progress with boundaries, but is still receiving the warmth of care needed.

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Quality of care

Staff place the well being of young people at the centre of their practice and as a result young people grow and develop their social development and confidence. A key worker system ensures that individual work, as part of the placement plan, is maintained and strong beneficial relationships develop.

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Quality of care

Young people in this home enjoy a well maintained and very homely property. Each young person has their own room which is extremely well furnished and individualised. For example, one young person has Bob the Builder bedding and curtains to match. There is a garden for the young people to use and efforts have been made to make the patio area a safe play area. A trampoline is available and all appropriate risk assessments are in place to ensure the young people get the best possible use from it.

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Quality of care

Where young people are capable of understanding and utilising the complaints procedure they are supported to do so. The children’s guide is presented in differing forms, ensuring that all forms of communication used by the young people are covered. There have been no complaints since the previous inspection.

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Quality of care

Transition to independence and adult life is given a high priority by staff and great care is taken to identify the right place for young people to move onto. Staff are proactive in the assessment of future placement for a young people, ensuring their extensive knowledge of the young person’s needs are taken into account. Staff undertake visits to the new placement and support a smooth transition to the new placement by offering phone contact and advice. A parent commented, ‘the care which my son received was exceptional. All the staff did way above what was expected of them and as well as support him they supported the whole family.

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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 in this home are extremely well protected and are kept safe. The behaviour management plans provide a consistency of care which allows the young people to grow and develop in a nurturing environment. Families and social workers feel confident that young people are safe and staff are well trained to promote their awareness and reporting responsibilities should they have any potential child protection concerns. One social worker commented that during child protection procedures all staff were fully aware of their responsibilities and worked well with the local authority.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Extremely individualised and comprehensive care planning, and a robust focus on risk assessment, recognises the vulnerability of the young people accommodated at the home. The risk assessments clearly identify risk but are well designed and allow young people to experience a wide range of experience which expands their social and psychological development. One risk assessment clearly identified the sexual development of a young person and enabled staff to manage this development in a safe manner.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is a high staffing ratio in the home, young people have one to one care. As a result the management of behaviour is extremely positive and the need for any physical restraint is reduced. All members of staff are committed to the use of re direction and distraction to diffuse potential challenging behaviour and all see this as a means of minimising the need for physical intervention. One member of staff commented, ‘we don’t need to use it, it’s about re direction and not restraint.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Although all staff are well trained in methods of restraint there have been no instance in the home since the last inspection. Sanctions are not used by staff as they believe the young people will not understand the reasoning behind the sanction and feel there is no need for such actions.

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Safeguarding children and young people

As a result of the close supervision young people do not go missing from the home. Policies are in place should a young person leave the home and all staff are confident in knowing what to do and who to report the matter to should such an event occur.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The provider organisation has sound recruitment policies and procedures and all appropriate checks are undertaken during the recruitment procedure. However, although the renewal of CRB checks is clearly undertaken, there is no clear evidence of the date of this being recorded when complete. In addition, the way information is requested in the current application form, leaves the potential for gaps in employment not to be identified. The Responsible Individual confirmed that this issue is dealt with in detail during the interview process, but no evidence of this was available. Neither of these issues impact upon the safe care provided to the young people and does not impact upon the safeguarding ethos present in the home.

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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

While there is no Registered Manager in the post at the moment, there is an acting manager and an extremely experienced deputy manager. As a result there is good leadership and direction in the home and this has ensured that overall robust procedures and systems in the home continue to benefit the young people.

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Leadership and management

The delay in the appointment of a permanent registered manager has led to some uncertainty within the staff group, which will be alleviated when a new manager is appointed. However, the staff are well supported in their work by the deputy manager who has a very clear understanding of the needs of the young people and he is able to monitor work and ensure, together with the acting manager, supervision of staff.

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Leadership and management

Staff are highly motivated to make a difference in the lives of the young people in their care. They are passionate in their desire to provide the best care possible and as a result young people feel well cared for by them. Staff receive regular supervision and good varied training in such things as: behaviour management, safeguarding, medical care and transition to adult work. This helps staff feel confident in their interaction with the young people. New staff are undertaking the Children's Workforce Development Council's induction programme.

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Leadership and management

Monthly visits are made to the home, on behalf of the provider organisation, to independently monitor the standard of service and quality of care. Currently there is insufficient reflection in these reports of the views of staff and young people being considered, to enable the independent visitor to form an opinion of the standard of care provided in the home.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose is clear and suitably describes the service being offered by the home, but the details of staff are outdated and needs to be revised. There is a development plan which does not fully demonstrate the plans for development of the home.

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Leadership and management

The number of staff on duty is always sufficient to meet the needs of the young people and staff feel able to carry out their duties safely because they feel supported by each other.

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Leadership and management

The deputy manager provides monthly reports to reflect on service delivery within the home and these are clearly regular and address issues of deficiency.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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