Children's Home run by St Christopher’s Fellowship in Sandwell

Unique reference number SC404994 Inspection date 10/05/2012 Inspector Elizabeth Barrett Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 24/01/2012 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 home is one of a number of homes operated by the same organisation. The home has been set up as part of a tendering contract with a local council to provide care for no more than three children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people continue to make good individual progress in this home, and receive appropriate care and support in meeting their placement needs. Young people achieve good levels of educational attendance and attainment, while studying for GCSE'S and other accreditations. Young people are self-motivated, and are confidently working towards realising their potential. They grow in maturity and individual identity, developing skills to prepare for independence.

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Overall effectiveness

Safeguarding is promoted and facilitated, with young people developing an improved understanding of individual safeguarding needs. The safety and welfare needs of young people are further improving, through the development of daily routines and structures.

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Overall effectiveness

This home has experienced a significant period of change, with staff absences affecting the quality of care provided to young people. The provider has introduced a clear action plan dedicated to developing a cohesive staff and management team, with every effort made to maintain a stable and secure home for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

This service places a clear focus on the need to improve all aspects of care and support, particularly in terms of consulting with young people, and in the home's monitoring and quality assurance systems.

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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) 29/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that there is at all times regard to the Statement of Purpose, and to safeguard and promote the health and welfare of children accommodated in the home, a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working at the children's home (Regulation 25.1 (a)(b) ) 29/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the employment of any persons on a temporary basis at the children's home will not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs (Regulation 25.2) 29/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure in relation to a children's home, any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table (Regulation 30.1) 29/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the system for monitoring the matters as set out in Schedule 6 and improving the quality of care provided includes consultation with children accommodated in the home, their parents and placing authorities. (Regulation 34.3) 29/06/2012

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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

 maintain a clear written policy on managing behaviour, which includes supporting positive behaviour, de-escalation of conflicts, discipline, control and restraint, that all staff understand and apply at all times (NMS 3.3)  ensure sanctions and rewards for behaviour are clear, reasonable and fair and are understood by all staff and children (NMS 3.8)  ensure the children's home only provides admission to children whose assessed needs they can reasonably expect to meet (NMS 11.2)  ensure the manager regularly monitors in line with regulations, all records kept in the home to ensure compliance with the home's policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Immediate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. (MMS 21.2)

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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 make positive progress at this home. Some young people have significantly developed in maturity and independence, with a greater understanding of their background, reasons for coming to live at the home, and their wishes and motivations for a preferred future. Good progress for young people is achieved because they individually self-regulate behaviours, and engage meaningfully with all care and support services. Examples of behavioural changes include a reduction in going missing from care, increased educational attendance and attainment, and a greater sense of identity and belonging. Young people have aspirations for their future, and understand what they need to do to achieve their aspirations.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have good attendance at school and there is pride in their achievements. Individuals demonstrate commitment to their future needs through attending additional sessions. Some young people achieve and attain educationally on a par with their peers, including studying for GCSEs and other accreditations. For those young people without a mainstream educational placement, alternative arrangements are in place with a view to accessing full time provision at the earliest opportunity.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s health needs are being met to ensure good health and well-being. Young people are encouraged to eat healthily and they contribute to menu planning, and meal preparation. Individual community based involvement in leisure activities such as the gym, football and roller-skating, contribute towards an increase in young people's physical and emotional health and life style. Young people regularly access community healthcare services such as doctors, dentists, and opticians. More specialist healthcare services and professionals are available for those young people whose needs are more long-term, such as those with emotional, psychological, and physical health concerns. Comments received from one professional show that young people benefit from good individualised support and educational awareness around issues such as substance and alcohol use, and associated risk management.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have good opportunities to explore their individual potential. They learn and grow in maturity because they receive support to prepare for independent living. Young people are encouraged to learn the life skills necessary to take more responsibility for their lives. Individual young people have invested considerably in their own learning and developments, being well motivated, enabling positive decisions and choices to be made.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are more confident and have improved emotional resilience because they are encouraged to take the opportunities to make sense of their backgrounds, experiences and their behaviours. Young people benefit from individual contact with those of significance in their lives, with supports in place to maintain these contacts. They are able to express themselves in terms of their identity, connections to their local community and their cultural and religious backgrounds.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy sound relationships with each other and interact positively with staff and managers. They are relaxed around staff and engage in conversation about life in the home, education, friends, family, and activities.

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Quality of care

This service has experienced a significant period of change since the last inspection, including the absence of managers and support staff, and changes to young people living at the home. The home has experienced high levels of external agency staff, with such arrangements affecting the continuity, and of quality care provided to young people. These staffing shortfalls overly disrupt young people's attachments, and compromise the home’s ability to meet the individual placement needs of young people.

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Quality of care

Care planning arrangements for young people are generally sound. Plans provide guidance for staff with strategies to support young people. Individual plans ensure education, health, and leisure needs receive sufficient consideration, and daily routines and activities are organised to address these needs. However, in some instances, relevant information has not been adequately addressed in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of need. Not all young people have current placement plans, health plans, and individualised behaviour management plans on file. These shortfalls affect the quality of individualised care, risk management and the development of young people.

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Quality of care

Complaints received by young people are currently subject to investigation. During this time the home has maintained an adequate standard of care, with young people continuing to achieve positive outcomes through their individual commitments. However, young people's views, wishes, and feelings have not regularly been taken into account. As such, limited contributions from young people have affected the quality of care outcomes.

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Quality of care

Young people generally have a strong sense of personal identity and individuality. Staff have a sound knowledge about the social, cultural, and religious backgrounds of young people, and encourages individual pursuits. However, this proactive approach to promoting diversity has been disrupted since the last inspection due to the significant staffing changes. Poor assessment of the potential impact of challenging behaviours and the management of incidents, has led to difficulties in placement matching and admission of young people to the home.

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Quality of care

The service provider has responded swiftly to address some of these shortfalls by appointing an interim manager to the home. A 'recovery plan' that is in place for the home shows improvements made to the day-to-day operations, and to the quality of care provided to young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a safe environment. An effective recruitment process that includes comprehensive checks on all staff protect them from harm. All staff receive training on safeguarding young people. They are aware of their own roles and responsibilities and those of other agencies involved in keeping young people safe. The systems in place to promote the safety and welfare of young people are sound.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has clear practices and protocols with the local police to support effective action when young people go missing. Staff are aware of the factors that may trigger young people going missing and take action to minimise the risk. Good partnerships with the local police ensure strategies are in place to respond to all individual incidences, with such strategies seeing a reduction in episodes of missing from care.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safer because they are actively discouraged from accessing risk taking activities and associations. Young people improve their own safety by enabling them to make positive and safe, lifestyle choices.

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Safeguarding children and young people

While staff provide young people with a positive caring experience, behaviour management plans and strategies are not sufficiently detailed or restorative. For example, young people's sanctions are not individual to their needs, and records show that levels of financial sanctions are disproportionately high.

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Safeguarding children and young people

While there are clear processes to assess and identify the particular vulnerabilities relating to the diverse needs of young people, these are not consistently implemented. Poor assessment of behaviour and staff responses to such behaviours, have negatively affected young people. Physical restraint is rarely used, however records at this visit show that incidents have not been recorded appropriately, and debriefings with staff and young people are not suitably made. Lack of attention to information and recording of events compromises full risk management, and the safety of young people in the home. These shortfalls are currently under consideration as part of an on-going investigation by the home’s provider.

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Safeguarding children and young people

External managers have responded swiftly and consistently to all safeguarding concerns, effectively protecting young people and staff, through robust investigation processes. The provider has worked in partnership with the responsible authority and other agencies, to ensure the appropriate processes are followed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are no major hazards to compromise welfare. The home is adequately resourced and managers ensure that health and safety requirements are met, meaning young people live in a safe environment which meets their needs. For example, fire safety requirements including fire drills take place at appropriate intervals meaning young people and staff know what to do in the event of a fire.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of this home have been compromised since the last inspection. The absence of the Registered Manager and some full time care staff has meant significant staff shortages. While the provider has made every effort to ensure continuity of staffing, over half the staff on duty at any one time, are from an external agency. The deployment of suitably qualified and experienced staff, both as a group and on an individual basis, has affected the home’s ability to meet the aims and objectives of the service’s Statement of Purpose.

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Leadership and management

During this time, significant shortfalls in maintaining accurate, consistent and accountable records in the home, and the effective monitoring of day to day practices, has meant patterns and trends have not been identified and responded to in a timely manner.

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Leadership and management

The external managers for this service have implemented a 'recovery plan' for the home, which comprehensively outlines the actions being undertaken by the provider. Examples include the appointment of a suitably qualified and experienced interim manager for the home, and the on-going recruitment of full time support staff. This action demonstrates a clear understanding of areas for improvement, and evidences the impact of these improvements.

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Leadership and management

Interim management arrangements are effective and efficient. Robust monitoring systems and responses to identify actions are now in place. The home’s interim manager has introduced monthly supervision for all staff, reinstated staff and young people's meetings, and revised the daily routines of the home. Staff comment positively on the current management arrangements. Staff morale is improving, through the introduction of more robust leadership and support systems, and the implementation of processes for ensuring all day-to-day care practices contribute to improving the lives of young people.

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Leadership and management

An external manager to the home currently monitors young people’s care on a monthly basis. The visitor's process is comprehensive and includes some consultation with young people and staff. Early reports identified some administrative shortfalls, however key areas of management performance and competency in addressing incidents, and in making notifications was not effectively challenged. The provider has acknowledged these shortfalls, and an independent visitor will now undertake monthly monitoring checks.

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Leadership and management

The home now ensures that notifications of incidents are made to the appropriate agencies, and the provider monitors these notifications for information and accuracy of response. Staff training is currently under review in line with the home’s development plan, to ensure all staff are sufficiently knowledgeable in all aspects of the home's policies and procedures, and their implementation in practice.

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Leadership and management

Discussions with the interim manager and the external provider for this home demonstrate a clear awareness, of the strengths and weaknesses of the service, and their commitment to maintaining a sound and transparent approach to initiating and implementing change.

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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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