Children's Home run by Fairfield Residential Limited in Trafford

Unique reference number SC387148 Inspection date 13/02/2012 Inspector Anthony Kyem Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/06/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is a purpose-built property which provides residential care, shared care and respite care for up to five young people with autism, learning disabilities, and physical disabilities. The home is run by a private company.

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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 the home was judged as outstanding. This judgement remains the same. A recommendation made at the previous inspection, to ensure staff have parental consent to administer emergency first aid and homely remedies to promote young people's health and well-being, has been met. There are no requirements or recommendations made as a result of this inspection.

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Progress

The home demonstrates continued improvement in the quality of young people's care. Young people benefit from being at the home and they make outstanding progress as a result of their care. They benefit from the support provided to them by highly skilled, energetic and capable staff, who promote their needs so effectively. Staff employed to work with young people are assessed carefully to ensure they are safe and suitable to provide young people with care. As a result, young people are kept safe from unsuitable people.

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Progress

Young people receive highly individualised care which meets their needs and supports their day-to-day routines. Staff have a broad range of skills between them and an in-depth understanding of young people's needs. As a result, young people's needs are met comprehensively. Young people make excellent progress at the home and positive outcomes are being achieved.

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Progress

The home is constantly looking at better ways to communicate with young people to develop their social skills, promote their communication and social development. Staff promote young people's participation and inclusion to enable them to achieve their true potential. As a result, young people make continuous progress.

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Progress

The home's performance is monitored rigorously to promote the sustained improvement of the service. Staff are enthusiastic about their roles and their hard work, commitment and efforts are channelled effectively. Young people benefit from extensive support and they receive high quality care.

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Progress

Staff confirm their training and development is well supported. This enables them to develop their knowledge and skills in working with young people with autism. Staff views on the training provided to them are really positive. The home employs a speech and language therapist who says, 'I think it’s absolutely brilliant. Their understanding of the children's needs and their commitment to the children is excellent…It’s a nice place to work…We now have choice boards, more Pecs and more sensory equipment. As a result, young people have become more outgoing.'

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Progress

Young people enjoy planned holidays and they are involved in fundraising activities to enable them to make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community. Staff have provided training in the community to help raise the community’s awareness of autism and promote their understanding of autistic children's needs. Feedback received included, 'the presentation was very informative and delivery very clear with good audience participation. A good overview of autism was given highlighting what the signs of autism may be in an individual and how a conflict situation could be possibly calmed by the use of direct speech as opposed to using terms and words that may be taken literally. One of the officers present identified that the presentation would be of use to custody staff' (Greater Manchester Police).

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Progress

The home facilitates a youth club project to promote young people's participation in the community enabling young people and their families to meet, interact and socialise with their peers. In addition, the views of young people's families on equality and diversity have also been gathered to enable staff to meet young people's diverse needs more comprehensively. The home continues to improve and develop its farm project, which is purposefully designed for young people with disabilities. Work is underway to provide staff with an office and a fully equipped log cabin is being built for young people to use with their families. Consequently, young people and their families will benefit from a farm holiday with onsite support.

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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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