Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Southampton

Unique reference number SC407783 Inspection date 21/02/2012 Inspector Anna Williams Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/12/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is run by a national private organisation and provides accommodation for an associated residential special school. The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people aged nine to seventeen years who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 inadequate progress.

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Progress

The last full inspection of this children's home was in July 2011 and the overall judgement was satisfactory. The home was inspected in December 2011 and was making inadequate progress.

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Progress

The children’s home has been working towards an action plan to address the shortfalls raised at the last inspection. While the home has progressed their action plan and suitably addressed a number of the recommendations and requirements, a proportion of these remain unmet or not fully addressed. As a result of this inspection, further requirements and recommendations have been set.

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Progress

Since the last inspection, four full-time members of staff have resigned. While the home maintains adequate staffing levels, this means a wide range of staff working in the home from other children's homes in the organisation and education staff. Recruitment is taking place to fill the staff vacancies. A deputy has recently been appointed with relevant supervisory experience. Young people say they have been involved in the recent changes to the menus. Food is available to young people at regular intervals and in adequate portions. Kitchen cupboards and freezer space demonstrate a satisfactory level of stock food items. This supports the well-being of the young people.

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Progress

New reporting systems ensure that young people who self-harm have their injuries clearly documented on their individual files. Staff demonstrate sound knowledge of safeguarding procedures. Young people say that staff no longer routinely lock doors within the home. This allows young people free movement within their home.

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Progress

New policies have been implemented including "safeguarding against fire". Staff and young people are aware of the importance of following these procedures. The home is due a full review of its fire risk assessment by an external contractor imminently. This offers young people a sound level of fire safety.

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Progress

Sanctions records show that food is no longer used as a consequence and young people confirm this. However, not all sanctions are recorded in the sanctions log. This makes it difficult for the manager to review the record for patterns and trends, or evaluate if all sanctions given are fair and proportionate.

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Progress

Young people had the opportunity to express their views about the running of their home at one residents’ meeting which has occurred since the last inspection. Young people do not feel their views are listened to and feel their opportunities to speak out are limited. Systems to seek the views of families and social workers on a regular basis have still not been developed. This means there is no formal feedback mechanism in place which can be monitored and used proactively to help improve outcomes for young people.

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Progress

Medication systems are still not safe and effective. Recording systems for medication are poor. Internal monitoring systems do not highlight when medication is lacking correct pharmacy labels to direct staff correctly. This impacts on the health needs of young people.

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Progress

Some activity risk assessments have been updated since the last inspection. However, the large majority of house and activity risk assessments within the home remain out of date. Young people's individual risk assessments and placement plans have not been updated to reflect recent significant events or behaviours. This means that staff may refer to out-of-date information. The larder still does not have a risk assessment to inform staff of safe food storage practices, and this means cross contamination between food and harmful products could occur.

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Progress

Young people say activities on offer through the home are limited. Records demonstrate some young people engage in very narrow interests. This impacts on young people making a positive contribution to the local community and developing confidence through trying new hobbies.

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Progress

Staff do not receive supervision on a regular basis. This means staff are not given regular opportunities to seek guidance and reflect on their practice. The manager completes Regulation 34 reports on a monthly basis. However, they are not submitted in line with regulation to HMCI and contain minimal evaluation about the quality of care provided.

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Progress

Young people have mixed views about living in the home. Young people say they prefer it when there is a permanent set of staff working on a regular basis.

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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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline in a children's home, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose (Regulation 17B (3)) 30/04/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure there are suitable arrangements for the recording, handling, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of any medicines received into the children's home (Regulation 21 (1)) 30/04/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) review the system in place to monitor the matters set out in Schedule 6 to ensure that it is effective and it focuses on improving the quality of care provided, and submit any reports to HMCI. (Regulation 34 (1) and (2)) 30/04/2012

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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 the views of the child, the child's family, social worker and independent reviewing officer are sought regularly on the child's care, (unless in individual cases this is not appropriate) (NMS 1.4)  ensure children are encouraged to participate in a range of positive activities that contribute to their physical and emotional health (NMS 6.3)  ensure that risk assessments of the whole children's home environment are carried out to identify any potential sources of harm to the children, are recorded in writing and are regularly reviewed (NMS 10.8)  ensure staff have access to support and advice, and are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff (NMS 19.4)  ensure that records are clear, and up to date, with particular reference to children's placement plans. (NMS 22)

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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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