Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire County Council in Nottinghamshire

Unique reference number SC036726 Inspection date 08/02/2012 Inspector Pete Hylton Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 26/07/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is operated by the local authority. It provides a residential service for eight children and young people, aged seven to 18 years, and a short-break service for four children and young people, aged four to 18 years. The home additionally has an emergency bed on the short-breaks unit. All the children and young people have severe learning disabilities and challenging behaviours.

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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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Progress

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

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Progress

At the last full inspection in July 2011 this home was judged at outstanding. The requirement set at that inspection has now been met. The children's guide now contains the telephone number for HMCI. This telephone number is appropriately presented for the needs of the children. However, the children's guide does not include the telephone number for the Children's Rights Director. While the requirement is fully met, a recommendation has been made.

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Progress

The home continues to offer an excellent standard of care. A stable, committed and experienced staff team ensures that the needs of the children are always met. Staff are conscientious in their duties and the home has clear policies and procedures. For example, arrangements for the storage and administering of medication are extremely robust. The staff team uses a systematic approach to ensure that the medication for all children is signed for upon delivery and when administered.

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Progress

The manager has clear and detailed plans for further developing the service. The development of staff is a key focus. The manager is committed and energetic about developing the staff team to further enhance the service. Consultation with children, staff, parents and professionals ensures that all views are considered. These in turn help the manager to further improve the service. A range of plans are currently in progress to further enhance the service. For example, the manager is currently consulting with all care staff to look at processes and improvements for the home.

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Progress

All children benefit from having their views sought and acted upon. Where children display communication difficulties, the home employs a range of strategies to seek their views. For example, children have been encouraged to use symbols, marker boards and drawings to express their views. The manager is committed to seeking the views of children and using this information to further improve the quality of care. The home is highly praised by parents of the children who reside both long- and short-term. A parent commented that the home is, ‘a real constant in his life and they have done a lot of great work with him.’ Parents and carers are regularly consulted about their child's care. Relationships between the home and parents and carers are excellent.

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Progress

Children continue to make excellent progress and enjoy staying and living at the home. Relationships between staff and children are excellent. Staff understand the needs of the children and are able to provide exceptionally-high standards of care at all times. There is excellent communication between the staff team. Senior staff plan their shifts to ensure that all appointments, activities and visits are catered for and resourced appropriately. Children benefit from this planning as they are supported in accessing a wide range of activities in and outside of the home. Children enjoy going out for walks, visiting the local youth club and playing with the wide range of toys and sensory equipment available in the home.

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Progress

The staff team is largely unchanged since the last inspection. Rigorous and effective induction plans ensure that new staff are able to have planned time observing and shadowing experienced members of the team. All new staff have a mentor who provides ongoing training and guidance to them. In addition to mentoring, all staff receive monthly supervision with a manager. New staff are formally supervised every two weeks. This ensures that the high standard of care continues in the home. The staff team is well managed by an experienced and knowledgeable leadership team. There are clear lines of accountability for all staff.

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Progress

Relevant information is appropriately shared prior to a child coming to stay at the home. Children benefit from well-planned short breaks and these help them to feel relaxed and comfortable. For example, each child has their room fully prepared with favourite posters and toys displayed prior to arrival.

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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 children, how they find out their rights, how a child can contact their independent reviewing officer, the Children's Rights Director, Ofsted if they wish to raise a concern with inspectors, and how to secure access to an independent advocate. (NMS 13.5)

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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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