Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC039683 Inspection date 21/12/2011 Inspector Stella Lovie Type of inspection Full Provision subtype

p.1

Date of last inspection 14/03/2011 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 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.

p.3

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

p.3

Brief description of the service

The home can accommodate a maximum of six young people of either gender with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a local authority and only considers referrals from that local authority.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

p.4

Overall effectiveness

Young people are truly central to their care planning and to the practice of the staff group. This builds self-belief in young people and inspires them to achieve. As a consequence, young people have made genuine and sustained progress in their behaviour and self-management.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

Young people in this home are constructively challenged by a wide variety of new experiences generated by the staff's considerable commitment to the promotion of equality and diversity. Staff take every opportunity to discuss topical issues with a view to helping young people think about stereotypical views and prejudice. As a result, young people are not subject to any form of discrimination.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

Young people clearly value the relationships that they have established with staff. This helps them build emotional resilience and feel positive about themselves. Young people in this home feel supported to want to do better in life and achieve their goals. They feel safe and secure, and are confident that staff will not give up on them.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from highly successful behaviour management approaches delivered by a consistent and fair staff team. This ensures that young people experience constructive resolutions of conflict and learn new ways of coping with negative feelings.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

Staff are very well trained in safe working practice and young people mostly say that they feel safe in the home and outside it. Nearly all the staff have attained at least a level 3 qualification or are working towards it. Young people's care is therefore enhanced by skilled workers who are up-to-date with professional and legal developments. Staff recruitment processes are robust but do not include telephone verification of references.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

One of the particular strengths of this home is the whole staff team commitment to the social pedagogic approach to the care of young people. This has fused an extremely articulate and strong team with a real belief that they can make a positive difference in the lives of young people. Young people are accordingly encouraged through innovative styles of working to have fun, learn from new experiences and develop skills that they will take with them into adult life.

p.4

Overall effectiveness

The leadership and management of the home is exceptionally strong and totally committed to the robust quality assurance of the care that young people receive here. The recommendation from the previous inspection about the recording of information in relation to fire drills has been completely undertaken.

p.5

Overall effectiveness

A minor shortfall is that the upstairs carpeting is worn and soiled in places which is in contrast to the overall homely and welcoming feel of the unit.

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 that the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated. This is particularly in relation to the carpets upstairs (NMS 10.3)  ensure that telephone enquiries are made as well as obtaining written references (NMS 16.1)  ensure that all existing care staff have attained a minimum level 3 qualification or be working towards the Diploma within 6 months of confirmation of employment. (NMS 18.5)

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people in this home are making extremely good progress in terms of their social and emotional development. Some young people have written about their experiences here: 'I have learnt a lot of new skills like how to control my anger. I have learnt also independent skills like cooking and doing my own washing. I thought my first day was going to be scary but really it was the best day of my life'. These experiences are significantly improving the quality of life both for the young people and their families.

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

While some young people are still struggling to attain full school attendance, staff are working enthusiastically with them and other professionals to address this situation. Other young people however, are engaging very well with their education and are enjoying significant achievements. This is helping to build self-confidence and better opportunities for future employment. Young people are also benefiting from some excellent participation work within the wider local authority. This is enabling young people to develop belief that they can make a difference and feel more optimistic as a result. Staff commented on the young people's involvement in this work: 'The impact of this for young people is that they learn how to speak in front of large groups, get them involved in fund raising, raising awareness of young people's needs. I have seen young people grow from being really shy to blossoming so that they can get their point across to county councillors.' Young people are

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

clearly learning how to become effective advocates for themselves.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to take part in a wide variety of activities in the community. They have engaged with a number of charity events which have helped contribute to their physical and emotional health. Additionally, participation in these events has helped the young people acquire a sense of social responsibility.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are clearly making successful transitions into independence. Staff take pride in the fact that many ex-residents keep in contact and let them know how they are getting on. This shows that young people value the support that they receive from the staff and are able to rely on that emotional care when facing the inevitable setbacks when they first move into adulthood.

p.6

Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

p.6

Quality of care

Young people's care in this home is significantly enhanced by a whole staff team commitment to the social pedagogy model. This enables a totally consistent approach to care which is helping young people develop better social competencies by encouraging them to be more self-responsible. Staff focus on young people as whole individuals and offer creative support for their overall development. Young people enjoy meaningful and authentic relationships with staff which strengthens trust, and this helps them learn skills of positive negotiation. As visitors to the home comment: ' It was obvious to both of us the house was a home and not a halfway house and it also felt comfortable and warm. The children showed obvious affection towards you all'.

p.6

Quality of care

Young people are fully involved in the planning and review of their care both on an individual and group basis. For example, young people are very engaged with the highly personalised positive behaviour strategies, and are making sustained improvements in their behaviour as a result. This is confirmed by some parents who commented that staff 'put the kids first and make sure they are kept in line, but they're fair'. Young people have made excellent progress in the ability to manage their anger and to develop skills of reasoning and compromise. Staff support young people to believe in themselves and take better ownership of their feelings and actions.

p.6

Quality of care

Young people benefit from a genuine commitment by staff to the promotion of equality and diversity. For example, some young people have been supported to visit their countries of origin. This had helped them to have pride in their culture and a better understanding of where they have come from. These visits have caused young people to experience significant emotions, and they have been able to help each other and show empathy and concern. Young people are involved in a number of community activities. These have enabled the young people to feel part of the community and to receive positive regard.

p.6

Quality of care

While the home overall is warm and welcoming in appearance, the upstairs carpets are worn and soiled. This has not however significantly impacted on the young people. Their bedrooms are decorated to personal taste and they are encouraged to participate in the physical presentation of their home. This helps young people take responsibility for their environment, and learn new practical skills in doing so.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

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

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people's safety is enhanced by thorough and comprehensive risk assessments as part of their care planning. This provides clear guidance to staff for each individual young person. These assessments are regularly monitored and updated as necessary. This helps young people feel generally safe and ensures that they have a consistent response from staff. Young people also benefit from the active involvement of external specialist professionals in the management of risk. For example, the local fire brigade has undertaken work with individual young people to raise awareness around the risk of fire setting. This has helped young people consider the implications of their actions, and has helped them to take responsibility for their behaviour.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

There has been a significant reduction in the last six months in the number of young people who go missing from the home. This is testament to the strong and proactive relationships with the local police. As local police officers commented ' staff are always welcoming. Police are able to speak with the young people informally and thus avoid criminalising them'.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people's constructive relationships with staff mean that physical restraint is only used in the most exceptional of circumstances. This evidences the success of the shared staff approach to positive behaviour management strategies. These help the young people to self-manage their negative feelings. As some stakeholders commented ' staff are very open, interested in what they can do to improve the emotional atmosphere'.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are confident that staff will intervene effectively in any incidents of bullying. Young people are supported through their meetings, and their individual key worker sessions, to show respect and tolerance for each other.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

All staff, both casual and permanent, are subject to robust recruitment procedures to try to ensure that unsuitable people are prevented from having access to the young people. However, telephone checks of references are not routinely undertaken.

p.7

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding . Both young people and staff are extremely positive about the success of the management strategies in this home. There is an obvious shared culture around high expectations and equality of opportunity. This has ensured that young people grow emotionally and in experience. Young people can see that staff are listening to them and acting on what they say. This promotes trust and confidence in young people, and enables them to take a constructive approach to asking for what they want.

p.7

Leadership and management

Leaders and managers have created a staff group that genuinely cares for the young people, and the young people know this. As staff say,' for us, the young people are paramount'. The Registered Manager has led the staff group through some extremely difficult situations, and has ensured that staff manage their emotions constructively. This provides wonderful role modelling for the young people.

p.8

Leadership and management

The home's successful commitment to the social pedagogy model has meant that a number of staff have won the opportunity to study the application of the model in children's homes in Denmark. This will help staff gain new perspectives on how to meet the needs of young people. Young people also benefit from a staff team with confidence and coherence as a group. The staff team won the area 'Pride Award for Team of the Year', and came runner-up in the county 'Pride Award'. This real belief in the staff group that they can make a difference in improving the lives of young people has resulted in positive sustained changes in their behaviour and outlook on life.

p.8

Leadership and management

The enthusiasm of the staff team is underpinned by robust, systematic monitoring of all aspects of the young people's care experience in the home. This serves to ensure a commitment to continuing improvement based on a realistic appraisal of strengths and weaknesses.

p.8

Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

p.8