Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC039676 Inspection date 05/03/2012 Inspector Paul Scott Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/09/2011 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 is a children's home operated by a local authority. The service offers short-term respite care breaks for up to 10 children who have learning or physical disabilities.

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Progress

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

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Progress

This interim inspection has focused on the progress made by the home since the last full inspection, at which the overall judgement was good.

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Progress

The service continues to provide excellent short-term respite care for young people with disabilities. Young people continue to make good progress because they are cared for by a competent and creative staff team with the right skills and experience. Staff know young people well and provide them with personal support tailored to meeting their individual needs.

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Progress

Staff have established exceedingly strong links with young people's families. Strong partnerships ensure staff are fully aware of young people's current and emerging needs and are well prepared for their visits to the home. Staff work in partnership with young people's families to ensure they are well supported both during their visit to the service and while they are at home. For example, staff help young people's families to access help, support and guidance from specialist services such as education and health professionals. This ensures young people receive the support they need to enable them make good progress and achieve positive outcomes in all aspects of their lives.

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Progress

Young people enjoy strong and trusting relationships with staff. Staff are very good at sensitively managing the complex behaviour that arises as a result of young people's disabilities. They encourage and support young people to better manage their frustrations and anxieties and, as a result, young people's behaviour is improving. Staff work hard to ensure young people's visits to the home are stimulating and fun. They provide young people with good opportunities to develop their skills and talents and as a result, young people are growing in self-confidence. Good links with adult services ensure young people are well supported when moving on. The home is taking an increasingly proactive approach to transition planning which has enabled a number of young people to successfully move into supported accommodation and adult short-break services.

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Progress

The home is effectively managed and continues to show a capacity to improve based on its performance since the last inspection. The manager has made good progress by positively addressing two out of the three good practice recommendations from the previous inspection. The home now has a comprehensive development plan that enables the manager to plan effectively for the future, including how the restructuring and reorganisation of the local authority will impact on the home. Suitable arrangements are in place to ensure staff have their performance individually and formally appraised at least annually. Some progress has been made in ensuring staff receive regular formal supervision. However, there are still a number of staff supervisions outstanding.

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