Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Unique reference number SC066277 Inspection date 02/05/2012 Inspector Emeline Evans Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/01/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

The setting is owned and operated jointly by a Local Authority Children's Services Department and a National Health Service Foundation Trust. This service offers short breaks service care for up to nine children and young people who have learning disabilities that may include sensory and physical disabilities, complex health needs or challenging behaviour.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people accessing the service are supported by a stable and experienced staff team who with the support of the Registered Manager are committed to improving outcomes for young people. The Registered Manager understands the strengths of the service and through the implementation of development plans is looking for innovative ways to improve the quality of care provided.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from good relationships with staff who understand their complex needs and aim to ensure the young people have fun during their short break visits. Staff support the young people to progress in areas such as social development and independence. Staff use imaginative ways to gain the views of the young people and enable them to have a choice and therefore influence the running of the home. Strong care planning systems are in place and young people receive individual care and guidance from staff. Care plans take into account the young people's views that they communicate about their care and the views of their family and social workers. A consistent approach is therefore achieved with a clear focus and aim to achieve a personalised package of care and support.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people comment that they feel safe and social workers reiterate this. Staff are equipped with the skills to recognise when young people are upset or worried and are proactive in acting on concerns. Staff respond professionally and appropriately to unexpected behaviours. There are shortfalls identified in some aspects of the sanctions records therefore it is difficult to fully monitor the effectiveness of this intervention. The Registered Manager recognises the homes shortfalls and is aware of action to take to further improve outcomes and provide individual opportunities for the young people who access the service.

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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 the volume kept for the purpose of recording any measure of control or discipline includes a description of the measure used (Regulation 17B(3) (c)) 01/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the person carrying out the visits, shall inspect the premises and interview with their consent and in private, the children, parents and persons working at the home as necessary in order to form an opinion of the standard of care in the home. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 01/06/2012

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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 young people are provided with opportunities to pursue individual interests and hobbies (NMS 7.2)  review the children's guide to include how children can find out their rights, how a child can contact their independent reviewing officer, the Children's Rights Director, Ofsted, and how to secure access to an independent advocate (NMS 13.5)  ensure that the registered person has a record of the recruitment checks which have been carried out on those working for the children's home (NMS 16.3)  ensure existing care staff are working towards the Children and Young Peoples Workforce Diploma. (NMS 18.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from personalised support during their stay which helps them grow in confidence. Their emotional well-being is central to all aspects of care planning and intervention. Staff are skilled at understanding and interpreting the very individual and complex needs of the young people. This enables young people to develop and progress in many areas.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team encourage healthy eating and use alternative methods of communication, such as pictures and symbols, to ensure that young people are able to make a choice about what they prefer to eat. Mealtimes provide an opportunity for social interaction and help young people to acquire independence skills and exercise choice.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from these brief periods away from home. They are purposeful and young people are supported to develop social skills in order to maximise their independence. One social worker commented 'an improvement in a range of areas has been seen and staff work well with parents to do this.' Staff work in partnership with parents to ensure a consistent approach is achieved. This enables young people to grow in confidence and acquire new skills, such as methods of communication.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people engage in a range of activities in the home and staff encourage them to learn and try new experiences. They contribute to areas in the home and garden, such as helping to build a sandpit and the upkeep of a vegetable patch. Through participating in these activities, young people learn to take responsibility and this enhances their self-esteem. Young people comment 'I like to play on the wii and play on the computer when I am here.' Staff ensure young people make good use of age- appropriate local amenities such as parks, the bowling alley, restaurants and the cinema. This helps them develop an understanding of the community environment and become confident in social situations.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s educational needs are fully supported. Staff communicate well with the educational settings and attend educational reviews as appropriate. Staff work closely with teachers with regard to individual needs. This ensures young people are provided with support and guidance to reach their individual goals.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Effective communication between staff and parents ensure key messages about the care and welfare of young people are properly addressed. The home provides opportunities for parents to be involved in parent participation meetings when they can give feedback to the home. The home uses this information within development plans to further improve outcomes for young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive the care and encouragement they need to develop independence skills. Staff support young people, appropriate to their age, ability and understanding, to develop practical skills such as personal, self-care and daily living skills. One social worker commented 'the service gives the young person the opportunities to develop new and different independence skills.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Care planning recognises the individual and diverse needs of the young people who access the service. Staff are innovative in developing and creating opportunities in which young people with more complex needs can be involved. This practice enhances their self-esteem and enables them to develop new skills.

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Quality of care

Relationships between the staff team and the young people are a real strength of the service. Young people benefit from an enthusiastic and committed staff team who are actively concerned about their welfare. This is validated by the positive regard that young people hold for the staff who support them and is equally ratified by the social workers who are involved with the home.

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Quality of care

Staff place a strong emphasis on ensuring that young people have fun during their stay at the home. The home takes care to ensure the needs of the young people accessing the service are compatible. This enhances the opportunities for peer interaction and enables young people to develop social skills.

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Quality of care

Staff interact with young people by using a range of communication methods including the use of pictorial aids. Staff are aware of and observe non-verbal communication. They are proactive in reassuring young people, use a sensitive approach and demonstrate a good understanding of their needs. Staff support young people to express their views, for instance, during the young people’s feedback meetings that are held. In recent meetings there has been a focus on the garden and menus. Staff persevered and used imaginative ways to obtain the young people’s views about how these could be improved. In line with their requests, menus have been adapted and improvements made to the garden area, including the planting of brightly coloured flowers and a new climbing structure. Young people feel that their views are actively sought and listened to.

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Quality of care

Young people can access a child-friendly complaints form. These have been produced in a range of communication formats and extensive work is undertaken to help them young people understand how they can make a complaint. Since the last inspection, there have been no complaints. Although not evident within the monitoring process, staff obtain the views of parents and social workers to see if they have any information to feedback from young people. This demonstrates the home’s commitment to act upon feedback in order to improve the quality of care for the young people.

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Quality of care

Young people’s individual care needs are identified and detailed within comprehensive placement plans or ‘this is me’ plans. These plans take into account the diverse and complex needs of the young people including their medical, health and cultural needs. They identify any additional support required due to disability. Staff are familiar with young people’s plans and these are used as working tools on each shift. This ensures consistency in the quality of care and that young people’s routines are carried out in the way they prefer. Arrangements for dealing with medication are safe and appropriate. There is a clear audit trial of medication coming into and leaving the unit. There is appropriate attention provided to any emerging or on-going health issue or emotional need.

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Quality of care

The home has developed good community links and young people enjoy the range of activities available to them. Access to the community is sometimes restricted due to the limited number of staff who are trained to drive the unit vehicle. The manager is aware and is working to overcome this. Young people are encouraged to develop peer relationships by the many opportunities to engage in group activities. However, the opportunities for young people to pursue individual interests and hobbies are limited.

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Quality of care

The home provides a safe and pleasant environment in which young people enjoy their stays; there are photos of the young people having fun displayed around home. The accommodation provides good space for group and individual activities. The home has appropriate specialist equipment to ensure the individual needs of the young people accessing the service are met, such as ceiling hoists and adapted baths. The home is well resourced to stimulate young people and promote sensory development with the use of the garden and activity rooms.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has good systems in place to ensure that children’s welfare is protected. Staff are vigilant in maintaining a safe environment at all times. Staff receive regular training in safeguarding and recognise the particular vulnerabilities relating to the needs of children with disabilities. Young people feel safe and well cared for. They have very good relationships with staff who understand and recognise changes in behaviours. This knowledge enables staff to identify and act upon instances when a young person is worried or upset.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The policies and procedures in relation to safeguarding are readily available to staff. Regular staff meetings and one-to-one supervisions enable staff to explore issues and agree strategies to minimise identified risks. Care is provided in a respectful way and staff are sensitive to young people’s need for privacy and dignity. Care planning documentation clearly identifies risks and preventative measures. These are consistently implemented and keep young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff promote positive behaviours by giving consistent messages to young people alongside a focus on encouragement, reward and de-escalation. Staff are regularly trained in behaviour management including techniques of physical restraint. As a result behaviour is well managed and there has been no use of physical restraint since the last inspection. The home has now implemented a bound log for recording any sanctions used to allow for effective recording and monitoring to take place. However individual entries do not indicate the measure used. The majority of incidents can be cross-referenced to violent incident records but a number do not relate to a separate record. This makes it difficult for the Registered Manager to monitor the effectiveness of interventions and use this information to inform behaviour management plans.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are clear guidelines in place to counter bullying and similarly procedures are in place for responding to incidents if a young person is missing from home. In practice, these areas do not present as issues of concern for the young people currently accessing the service. Staff are aware of procedures to be followed in the event of this occurring.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a thorough recruitment process, which ensures all necessary checks are completed before a member of staff starts work which protects young people from having contact with unsuitable people. Since the last inspection, the manager has ensured all necessary information for new staff is contained in records within the home. However, there are minor shortfalls in obtaining some of the information in writing relating to longer standing members of staff. While there is evidence that the relevant checks are completed, information relating to these is not kept within the home. It is therefore not easily accessible to the manager for monitoring purposes. Young people are protected by good health and safety routines and the home is appropriately secure, taking into account their needs. Regular testing of the equipment and detailed risk assessments are regularly undertaken to ensure a safe environment is maintained.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager and staff team are committed and focused on improving the quality of care provided. The Registered Manager understands the strengths of the home and is aware of areas for development. There is a development plan in place; this is very comprehensive, with a clear emphasis on achieving good outcomes for young people. The Registered Manager has addressed the recommendations and requirements for improvement that were raised at the last Ofsted inspection. She has used this process to further enhance the quality of care provided.

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Leadership and management

A comprehensive Statement of Purpose is in place and this clearly outlines the aims and objectives of the service. Staff are very familiar with these aims and implement them in practice. There is a clear focus on working in partnership with young people, parents and other professionals to meet the needs of the young people. The young people’s guide is appropriate to their level of understanding and includes photographs of the service, for instance pictures of staff and the bedrooms. This familiarises young people with the environment. However, the guide does not contain information on how a young person can contact Ofsted, the Children’s Rights Director or how they can secure access to an independent advocate. This shortfall does not enable young people to be fully informed of their rights.

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Leadership and management

There are regular monitoring visits under regulation 33 of the Children’s Homes Regulations and the Registered Manager undertakes regulation 34 monitoring checks on a regular basis. While reports of these processes reflect on the quality of care, the reports compiled by the Registered Manager do not consistently include evidence of an inspection of the premises. They also do not show that feedback about the quality of care has been routinely sought from young people, parents and staff. The absence of this information does not enable the Registered Manager to fully evaluate the quality of care or to use the feedback received to influence the further development of the service.

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Leadership and management

Young people are supported by a staff team that are knowledgeable, experienced and know the needs of young people well. They work together and provide young people with consistent care. Social workers recognise these qualities. Staff undertake a detailed induction which provides them with the competencies required to meet the complex needs of the young people and on top of this receive regular training which enhances their individual skills. Staff are complimentary about the quality and types of training they attend because it is relevant to their work with individual young people. However, some staff that have been employed for longer than six months are not yet working towards the Children and Young Peoples Workforce Diploma. The manager is working with outside professionals to enable all staff to complete this additional qualification with the aim of further enhancing the skills and knowledge of

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Leadership and management

Young people’s files are stored securely and contain documents, which are relevant and contribute to a good understanding of the young person’s life. This helps staff in supporting young people to understand their background.

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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 main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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