Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC370899 Inspection date 30/05/2012 Inspector Rebecca Sharp Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/02/2012 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

This home is one of a number of homes operated and managed by an organisation which is a national provider of care and education for young people. The home is registered to offer care and accommodation for up to three male young people who may have emotional and or 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 good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from well planned and individualised care. And as a result, are making positive progress from their starting points, especially in their ability to manage their own behaviour. Regular support is available for young people through key working sessions to ensure any issues are dealt with efficiently, and staff are dedicated to meeting the needs of individuals. Young people are positive about their experiences living in the home and they feel safe and secure.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people receive consistent care from a competent staff team. Strong relationships have been built between staff and young people which are based on trust and respect. Staff are committed to providing high quality care for young people and consult with them regularly to gain their views on how to improve the care they receive. As a result, young people feel that their views, wishes and feelings are listened to, and acted upon. Staff are aware of safe working practices and receive regular training in many areas of safeguarding. There are clear procedures in place to protect young people and staff.

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Overall effectiveness

The leadership and management of the home is of good quality and staff feel well supported. They receive high quality training so are therefore well equipped to meet the needs of the young people in their care. The manager understands the strengths of the service and areas for development are clearly documented and plans are in place to address these.

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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

(2001) ensure the registered person establishes and maintains a system for improving the quality of care in the children's home which provides consultation with children accommodated, 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

 ensure that the home has 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. This is in relation to the application of negative consequences (NMS 3.3)  ensure that the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated, avoidable hazards are removed as is consistent with a domestic setting and risk reduction does not lead to an institutional feel. (NMS 10.3)

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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 have made very good progress in relation to their starting points, in many areas of their lives. The home has had a significant impact in ensuring young people achieve positive outcomes. Education has been promoted well by the home, despite delays encountered by education services; and young people have been supported in their reintegration into the learning environment. One young person stated 'I want to get back into education and finish school here.' As a result, some individuals are making encouraging progress in this regard, and others have made excellent progress since their admission to the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Individuals enjoy good health and understand the importance of healthy lifestyles. Physical health is promoted well. Local health agencies are contacted when young people are admitted, and statutory appointments are made and kept up to date. Individuals are members of the local gym and attend regularly. Staff enjoy keeping young people active and encourage a range of sporting activities including basketball and football. Some young people are members of the local Army cadets and attend regular camps and organised activities. Specialist input is supported by the home who benefit from an internal psychotherapist offering regular support for staff and an additional service for young people. The home cares for young men with emotional and behavioural difficulties, all of which require highly individualised support. Their needs are met well by the home, and the psychotherapist offers advice and guidance

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Outcomes for children and young people

to staff on alternative behaviour management strategies and therapeutic support for the young people. As a result, young people are making good progress in developing their emotional resilience and a positive self-view. A social worker for one young person commented that 'the staff encourage the young person to express his wishes and feelings around his situation to strengthen his self-esteem and identity.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community, and are supported well in doing so. The home has secured work placements for individuals, who have worked on a voluntary basis to gain valuable experience. Staff have also worked with schools in order to source work experience placements. Young people have developed confidence in their abilities and learned new skills as a result. Young people are also involved in extracurricular activities and attend school productions with friends, receive music lessons and have joined a local football team. This contributes to their sense of identity and belonging within the community. As part of their care plan, independence work is completed regularly. Young people learn how to cook meals for themselves, complete basic chores and budget money. This work is evaluated effectively by staff to ensure individuals are developing their skills appropriately. As a result, young people gain confidence in their skills and

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff work with placing authorities, parents and carers to promote positive contact experiences as per young people’s individual care plans. Risks are managed well by the home to ensure the safety of the young people whilst on visits who, in turn, feel supported by the home in promoting contact with those important to them. Each young person has access to a communal telephone, and funds for their mobile telephones in order to keep in touch with family and friends. Transport is also facilitated by the home to allow contact to go ahead, and young people are encouraged to use public transport where appropriate in order to promote their independence. Young people benefit from the positive relationships between the home and their families. This effective communication ensures consistency for individuals.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from a dynamic and enthusiastic staff team. Staff are consistent in their approach and committed to promoting positive outcomes for young people. Relationships between staff and young people are extremely successful which enables individuals to form positive and constructive attachments from the security provided by the team. The home’s psychotherapist stated that 'the young people feel that they matter to the staff.' Individuals enjoy these relationships and they feel confident in speaking to staff about any issues they may have. One young person stated that 'there’s nothing wrong with the staff, I like them. I get on well with most of them especially my keyworkers.'

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Quality of care

Staff have an acute awareness and understanding of the individual needs of young people with regards to all aspects of their lives. Creative efforts are made to ensure that young people’s cultural needs are met, not only through care planning but through key working sessions. Discussions are held around dietary requirements and also personal care needs to ensure young people feel supported in their diversity. The staff team communicate effectively during handovers to inform oncoming staff of all events and issues. Behaviour management strategies are tailored to meet individual needs in times of emotional crisis. Young people are involved in the care planning process and contribute to their own behaviour management plans. This creates the opportunity for young people to inform staff what makes them angry and upset; what behaviours they exhibit, and what will help them cope during an incident. These plans are crucial for staff in promoting positive behaviour. The

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Quality of care

effectiveness is evident in the lack of physical restraint. The home also uses positive and negative consequences as part of their behaviour management policy. Negative consequences are appropriate and proportionate in response to poor behaviour, and are used as a strategy to modify certain behaviours. Although staff use these appropriately, there is no formal guidance for new staff on the implementation of sanctions, therefore a recommendation has been made. However, company policy includes legislative direction around permissible forms of control which all staff have read and understood.

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Quality of care

Care plans are robust and tailored to each individual and are in line with placing authority plans. They identify each element of care accurately with plans to address them. Placing authorities are involved in the care planning process and are kept regularly informed of any changes to plans. Young people have a daily living plan which runs alongside the care plan. This is an individual plan which sets out a daily routine for each young person which allows staff a greater understanding of the residents and consistency in the implementation of boundaries.

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Quality of care

The home is resourceful in their support of education. Links have been built with the local education authority in order to ensure they meet the young people’s needs. Unfortunately, despite every effort from the provider, the bureaucracy of certain education services has meant placements have not been secured within satisfactory timescales in all cases. This could potentially impact on young people’s educational outcomes. However, young people are now thriving in full time education with consistent support from staff. Communication between staff and schools is effective and support consistency for young people.

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Quality of care

A particular strength of the home is the support for young people to take part in a range of positive and purposeful activities. The staff team are diverse in their talents and interests and support individual young people to develop new skills and leisure pursuits. Some young people have been supported to join the local army cadets and are involved in regular camps and excursions. The home has provided musical instruments and lessons to those young people who have displayed an aptitude for music, including guitar and the drums. Others have benefitted from joining local football teams supported by staff. Not only does this enable young people to pursue new interests and develop their abilities, but the involvement and support from staff ensure positive relationships are built with young people.

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Quality of care

Consultation with young people is successful and evidenced well. Young people feel listened to by staff and that their views and wishes are taken seriously. Residents meetings are held weekly which gives the young people the opportunity to influence the running of the home. Menu choices and activities are planned during these meetings, taking into account individuals choices. Achievements are celebrated and group issues are discussed with all young people. This contributes to the consistency of the care they receive. Staff advocate for the young people in reviews and consultation papers are routinely completed by all parties. This ensures the full participation of young people and those close to them in the planning and review of their care. Key working sessions are recorded regularly with young people around all aspects of their care. Issues are identified during the care planning process and are addressed by keyworkers in individual sessions. This provides comprehensive support

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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

Young people are safe and feel safe living at the home. All staff are trained in safeguarding, child protection and are aware of the company’s whistle blowing procedure. This training is refreshed regularly alongside other mandatory training such as first aid and restraint, to ensure young people and staff are kept safe. There has been one record of physical intervention since the last inspection. Staff are aware of the legislation surrounding the use of restraint and recording procedures meet regulation. Behaviour management is successful and young people are developing their self-awareness in how to control their own behaviour. An independent reviewing officer for one young person commented that 'the home is helping the young person to improve self-regulation, they are consistent with the behavioural contract and the young person has taken up the opportunity to reflect.' Staff enable this through debriefs with young people following incidents and regular

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Safeguarding children and young people

key working sessions. Peer relationships are managed well and staff encourage open communication between young people. The home has an effective anti-bullying policy and a zero tolerance to that behaviour. No instances of bullying have been reported since the last inspection.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home is generally well maintained and decorated and furnished to a good standard. The home has a designated maintenance worker who repairs any damage caused and tends to the general upkeep of the home. Nonetheless, some issues, however minor, are not completed in a timely manner to ensure the safety of young people and staff. As a result, a recommendation has been made.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Each individual has a tailored missing from care procedure which is developed with the placing authority, in line with the local police protocol. There has been a reduction in instances where young people have been reported as missing to the police since the last inspection. Each incident is recorded appropriately and reported to all necessary parties. Young people are spoken to upon their return in order for staff to identify triggers for their behaviour. Any issues are then entered onto the young person’s risk assessment and communicated throughout the team, and necessary measures are put into place to prevent further occurrences.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Individual risk assessments are comprehensive. They are used as live documents and are updated frequently in order to ensure the safety of young people on a daily basis. They identify each area of risk in depth, and plan accordingly to ensure the potential of risk is minimised. Communication with placing authorities is efficient and decisions are made jointly to ensure the awareness of all parties.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Complaints are handled fairly and investigated thoroughly, with an efficient audit trail to evidence actions taken and outcomes of the complaint. There has been one complaint since the last inspection which has been investigated and resolved. Young people are involved in the process and kept informed of progress made. Young people are made aware of the internal procedure to follow if they wish to make a complaint, and also have copies of their placing authorities complaints procedures. They also have access to a number of external agencies to report any concerns. Staff support the young people well through the complaints process.

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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 home is effectively managed and staff feel that they are supported well by the manager and colleagues. Supervision of staff takes place regularly and it is planned in advance. Staff feel that their supervision is beneficial in supporting their progress. Appraisals take place annually and plans are made to secure training and development needs. The homes statement of purpose is in depth and placing authorities are clear about the aims and objectives which are met by the provision. These aims and objectives form the basis for the review of the quality of care and for the development of the home.

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Leadership and management

Three recommendations were made at the last interim inspection where the home was judged to be making good progress. Negative consequences are now appropriate and young people understand the consequences of their behaviour. This meets one recommendation made. Maintenance issues identified at the last inspection have been addressed and met the recommendation, however, there have been more shortfalls found during this inspection therefore the recommendation will be made again. There is still no formal guidance for staff on the application of negative consequences, however this has been discussed in staff meetings; therefore the recommendation will remain for this inspection.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring systems within the home are robust and effective; which includes the monthly external regulation 33 visit. There is a comprehensive self-assessment document which is completed annually which identifies the strengths of the home, and the areas for development. This evaluation forms the basis for the homes development plan. The manager makes use of these systems in the six monthly review of the quality of care for the home under regulation 34. The review is extensive; however does not provide for specific consultation with young people. A requirement has been made to ensure this process is followed as per regulations. However, young people are consulted regularly on all aspects of their care. Weekly meetings are held, review consultation papers are completed and regular key working sessions are held. It is clear that young people’s views, wishes and feelings are taken into account by the manager and young people report they feel listened to.

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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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