Children's Home run by Positive Pathways Limited in Birmingham

Unique reference number SC410539 Inspection date 06/02/2012 Inspector Suzanne Hogben Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 15/11/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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

This home provides care and accommodation for a maximum of two young people who may have emotional and/or behaviour difficulties. The home is managed by a limited company. The purpose and function of the home is to provide long term care.

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Progress

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

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Progress

At the last inspection November 2011, the overall quality rating for the service was judged as good with three recommendations set.

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Progress

Recommendations set at the last inspection were in relation to the timing of monitoring visits under regulation 33, the duration of sanctions and regularity of supervision. The service demonstrates its capacity to improve by meeting some of the recommendations set. The manager has arranged that all future monitoring visits will be after school hours when young people are present. This will ensure that young people’s views remain central to how the home operates. Within the home sanctions are rarely used and when they are young people are clearly informed about the reason and duration of the sanction. One recent sanction was the removal of television for a twenty-four hour period. This sanction was an appropriate measure for the management of behaviour.

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Progress

A dedicated and experienced staff team provides a high quality of care to young people. Supervision does take place but is not regular and therefore is not providing the support and advice that staff require in their work. The manager is providing guidance and support to improve the quality of supervision and has plans in place to ensure the regularity of supervision. The recommendation regarding supervision remains while this area of practice is developed.

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Progress

The manager sees monitoring of policies and procedures in the home as a priority. However, at the time of the inspection some reports were not available to evidence the monitoring.

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Progress

Young people’s views are highly valued in the home by the manager and the staff. To encourage better participation by the young people, the manager has now increased the young people’s meetings to weekly. One member of staff commented that the meetings link into key worker sessions so that young people’s issues remain the focus of work. This means that young people view the meetings as a useful way to talk about aspects of their care. Staff use meetings to help young people to understand the reasons behind decisions. The manager ensures that consultation with schools and other outside agencies is a regular feature in this home. As a result, young people experience a holistic placement that helps them achieve positive outcomes in school and personal development.

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Progress

The Registered Manager has a development plan that is under review. While this review is incomplete, the manager is confident that plans are on target. Plans are in place to improve the décor of the home, although at this inspection the home was well furnished and homely. The manager plans to provide a computer for the young people to enable them to have internet access. Training is also a focus for the manager and senior staff are beginning a management course. The manager feels these developments will improve the quality of care for the young people.

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Progress

Young people are positive about the quality of care and support they receive and confirm that they feel safe .They also say they have good relationships with staff that support them to achieve set goals. Staff set clear boundaries and expectations and young people are clear about them. As a result, young people continue to receive structured care that meets their individual needs.

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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 staff have access to support and advice , and are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff (NMS 19.4)  ensure the manager regularly monitors, in line with regulations, all records kept by the home to ensure compliance with the homes policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Immediate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring (NMS 21.2)

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