Children's Home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC419429 Inspection date 10/01/2012 Inspector Rebecca Sharp Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 27/07/2011 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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011).

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Brief description of the service

The children's home can accommodate up to three young people between the ages of 10 and 17 years of either gender. Wherever possible, the provider intends to maintain it as a single gender home. It offers medium to long term placements for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress.

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Progress

The home’s overall effectiveness was judged as a good at the last full inspection.

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Progress

The manager has complied with the requirement made at the last inspection. A copy of the Regulation 33 report is now received within two weeks of the visit being completed, in order to respond to any recommendations prior to the next visit. These reports are thorough and include consultation with young people, staff and other visiting professionals. Some recent recommendations have been mainly to improve the cosmetic look of the home and grounds. However, a recommendation was made to ensure documents were cross referenced such as incident reports and sanctions, which have been addressed by the manager.

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Progress

At the previous inspection the manager was asked to address four recommendations where standards had not been achieved. While improvements have been made in some areas, only two of the four recommendations have been fully met.

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Progress

One weakness identified was the level of monitoring around the training of staff within the home which made it unclear whether staff had completed mandatory training in order to fulfil their role. There is now a clearer matrix in place which identifies gaps in training for each member of staff and this is now monitored effectively. The matrix has been developed by the manager in line with the company’s annual training plan. All staff receive training in physical intervention prior to their induction to the home. The manager has now taken on the role of internal trainer for safeguarding. She now has greater control over training in this area and also offers this to staff from other homes within the company. Other specific training needs are addressed in the annual training plan for the company where there are a number of courses held on a monthly basis for staff to attend. The manager has also built positive relationships with external agencies and sourced supplementary training

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Progress

which is relevant for the staff team such as: sexual health and awareness, and training from the local fire and police services. The staff are more empowered now as a result of the training they have received. This gives staff a greater understanding of the young people’s needs and are better equipped with specific skills in caring for individual young people. One shortfall identified at this inspection was medication being brought onto the premises but not always stored securely. The correct procedures are not being followed and this poses a risk to the young people’s safety.

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Progress

All young people are members of a local gym and are encouraged to attend regularly although attendance can be sporadic at times. However, young people have developed an interest in this activity. They have also requested some home gym equipment, which has been purchased by the manager. The garage is to be altered and will be made into a 'chill out' room for the young people and this is where the gym equipment will be set up. Gym membership is the only activity which is not used as a sanction or consequence for negative behaviour and is therefore always available and encouraged by staff. The recommendation made at the last inspection, which was to encourage activities in promoting young people’s physical health, has therefore been addressed. Staff encourage other forms of physical activity and have structured the weekly plans to incorporate this. The plans include at least one gym session and one other activity off site such as swimming or bowling. This reduces the

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Progress

more sedentary activities such as watching DVD's or going out for meals. This promotes a more active and healthier lifestyle for the young people.

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Progress

The home has a reward system in place. This enables the young people to earn incentives such as additional pocket money or gifts from the 'prize box', such as make up or toiletries. This has been developed since the last inspection and is now tailored to individual and specific needs, enabling the system to be more effective. This is a positive development as staff acknowledge that a generic approach had little effect on the young people's attitude and behaviour. There is, however, a consistent high level of negative consequences or sanctions for the young people, indicating that the reward system does not have a great impact on promoting positive behaviour. The consequences applied are repetitive, such as loss of a paid activity; however the levels of negative behaviour displayed remains high. In addition, the young people do not sign the sanction record or comment on the implementation of the consequence. It is also not clear if the young person has the

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Progress

opportunity to earn back the consequence applied through positive behaviour. Positive consequences are used to promote positive behaviour although these tend to be financial rewards which are similar to the reward system. There has been some positive progress in this area to address the recommendation made at the last inspection. However, there is a lack of effective monitoring both in the effectiveness of the measures of control and the encouragement of the young people to record their views of the measure imposed.

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Progress

A recommendation was made at the previous inspection to include more consultation with the young people around the day-to-day running of the home. It was evident at that time that young people's meetings were not taking place regularly. The manager has changed the day of young people's meetings in order to ensure that all young people can attend, however, this is still a particular weakness as attendance and engagement is sporadic. Therefore, the young people have little influence in the running of the home. Additionally, further improvements have been made to enhance the quality of care provided to young people. Individual work completed by key workers is a particular strength of the home and staff state that they are 'proud of the systems in place'. Work packs have been developed by staff around cyber bullying, health and safety, and a personal profile is developed with young person for the duration of their

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Progress

placement. A young person stated, 'the work that staff do with us is really, really good' and that they enjoy the one-to-one time they spend with not only their keyworker, but other staff. Staff record at least four sessions per month and there is a high proportion of work around the young people's personal issues and emotional well-being.

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Progress

The manager has shown an enthusiasm for development and as a result, the capacity to improve is satisfactory. The staff team are gaining in knowledge and confidence and have good relationships with, and high aspirations for, the young people they care for. The outcomes for the young people and the quality of care have remained of a good standard and young people continue to make progress as a result.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that any medicine that is kept in a children's home is stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child accommodated there having unsupervised access to it. (Regulation 21 (2)(a)) 11/02/2012

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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 views, wishes and feelings are acted upon in the day- to-day running of the home (NMS 1.1)  ensure that where any sanctions, disciplinary measures or restraint are used, children are encouraged to have their views recorded in the records kept by the home (NMS 3.18)  ensure the home regularly reviews incidents of challenging behaviour, examines trends or issues emerging from this, to enable staff to reflect and learn to inform future practice. (NMS 3.21)

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