Children's Home run by Action for Children Services Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Unique reference number SC424103 Inspection date 12/06/2012 Inspector Emeline Evans Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 25/01/2012 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

This is a short-breaks service run by a national charitable childcare organisation. The home accommodates up to six children and young people with disabilities. The young people’s needs range from moderate to severe learning disabilities with associated physical, health and sensory impairment and/or complex multiple needs.

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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 are supported by a stable and experienced staff team that, with the help of the Registered Manager, is committed to improving outcomes for young people. Young people benefit from good relationships with staff who understand their complex needs and aim to ensure the young people have a good time during their short-break visit. One parent described the service as 'a home from home.' Staff support young people to make progress within their social development and independence. Caring and committed staff ensure the young people receive continuity of care that aims to meet their specific needs. Staff use different ways to gain the views of the young people and enable them to make a choice and therefore influence the running of the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people comment that they feel safe and parents re-iterate this. Effective safeguarding measures ensure young people's welfare is promoted. Young people live in a secure environment; however, an area for improvement has been highlighted in the report, to improve the fire safety arrangements following the recent building work. The management is aware of this shortfall.

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Overall effectiveness

A number of shortfalls have been identified and requirements and recommendations made. The majority of shortfalls relate to records and ensuring they comply with regulations and fully demonstrate the outcomes for young people.

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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) revise the Statement of Purpose to include a description of any electronic or mechanical means of surveillance of children (Regulation 4 (1)) 16/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline is kept as a written record in a volume kept for the purpose and includes the information detailed in Regulation 17B (Regulation 17B (3) (a - i) and Regulation 17B (4) (a - b)) 16/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure a permanent record is kept in respect of each child accommodated in the children's home which includes the information, documents and records specified in Schedule 3 relating to that child, and is kept up to date (Regulation 28(1)(a-b)) 31/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that adequate precautions against the risk of fire are put in place including adequate means of escape and ensure fire drills and practices are carried out at suitable intervals (Regulation 32 (1)(a)(b)(e)) 02/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the monitoring of matters set out in Schedule 6 provides for consultation with children, parents and placing authorities and the system focuses on improving the quality of care provided. (Regulation 34 (1(a)(2)) 31/07/2012

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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 the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated ((NMS 10.3)  produce a children's guide that is suitable to the understanding of all the children accommodated in the home (NMS 13.6)  produce a development plan to identify the future of the home and how the home will achieve outcomes for children (NMS 15.2)  ensure the staff are equipped with the skills to meet the needs of the children; in particular, this relates to training in communication systems and autistic spectrum disorders (NMS 18.1)  ensure all staff have their performance individually and formally appraised at least annually (NMS 19.6)  ensure the person carrying out the Regulation 33 monitoring visits consults with children, parents and stakeholders on the operation of the home at regular intervals, and their views and any concerns are taken into account. (NMS 21.1)

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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 in most aspects of their lives; their confidence and self-esteem are developing well. This is achieved by the personalised care each young person receives by a skilled staff team who understand the individual ways in which young people express their needs. This approach ensures young people’s emotional well-being is central to all aspects of care planning and behavioural management. One parent commented, ‘my daughter has progressed in many areas since using the service.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged and supported in adopting healthy lifestyles through physical exercise and a nutritious diet. Young people are actively involved in contributing to the menu and supported in food preparation; this assists in developing independent living skills and exercising choice. One young person commented, ‘the food is good and I can choose my favourite food.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from these brief periods away from home; they develop new skills and are supported to make decisions to promote their independence. The service has the resources to provide a range of activities in-house and has the use of a minibus to access the community. Young people are encouraged to try new experiences and be involved in the community when they visit the home. There are many trips out to local parks, bowling, shops and local places of interest. These experiences are allowing the opportunities for social interaction to be further enhanced and allow the young people to develop an understanding of the community environment.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s educational needs are fully supported. Staff communicate well with the schools and attend educational reviews as appropriate. Staff work closely with teachers and have books in place to maintain regular contact. This holistic approach ensures young people are provided with the 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 well-being of the young people is properly addressed. The home has regular contact with parents through phone calls, communication books and questionnaires. One parent commented, ‘I always know what is happening and we work together.’ The home uses the information gained through consultation to ensure consistency is achieved and this improves 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. Young people are supported to develop skills such as personal self-care and daily living skills. Young people are developing well in this area and this is contributing to enhancing their self-esteem. Young people are now able to lay the table and prepare their breakfast. These achievements are enabling young people to develop new skills in preparation for the transition to adult life. Staff recognise the progress made in this area and this is re-iterated by parents. One parent commented, ‘We have seen great progress made in self-help and independence skills, which is great.’

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Quality of care

The relationship between the staff group and the young people is a strength of the service. Young people benefit from good supportive relationships from a staff team that is enthusiastic and committed. This is validated by the positive regard that young people hold for the staff who support them and is equally ratified by the young people’s parents. One young person commented, ‘I like the staff.’ Comments from parents include, ‘I feel they know my son well, he enjoys visiting’ and ‘I couldn’t hope for better people to look after and guide my son when he visits.’

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Quality of care

There is an emphasis within the service on ensuring that young people have fun during their stay at the home. The staff team 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. Staff are aware and observe non-verbal communication. They are pro-active in reassuring young people, using a sensitive approach and demonstrate a good understanding of their needs. Staff support young people to express their views and feelings in the running of the home. Young people are supported to choose the menu for the following week and activities in which they would like to participate. This results in young people feeling that their views are actively sought and they can see the result.

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Quality of care

Young people can access child-friendly complaints forms; these are appropriate to the young people’s level of understanding who are presently accessing the service. One young person commented, ‘I can speak to staff.’ Since the last inspection, there has been one formal complaint, which the home has fully investigated. Staff obtain the views of parents to see if they have any information to feedback from the young people. This demonstrates the home’s commitment to act upon comments in order to improve the quality of care.

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Quality of care

Young people’s needs are central in all aspects of care planning. Detailed and comprehensive plans have been developed. These plans take into account the complex needs of the young people including their medical, health, cultural and behavioural needs. The plans identify any additional support required due to disability. Staff are familiar with young people’s plans and these are used fluidly across the shifts. This practice ensures consistency in the quality of care achieved. Arrangements for dealing with medication are safe and secure. There is a clear audit trail of medicines coming into and leaving the unit. Some young people have complex health care needs that are managed well by the staff. There is appropriate attention provided to any emerging or on-going health or emotional needs. Staff work closely with families and professionals to monitor young people’s health during their stays. This practice supports parents in the knowledge that their child is being

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Quality of care

Staff attend education reviews as required; communication between the home and schools is good and this ensures continuity of care. However, some documents and reports were not available for inspection as they were not present on the young people’s files. These include statement of special educational needs, personal education plans and school reports. This lack of up-to-date information does not enable staff to be well informed of current issues or actions needing to take place.

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Quality of care

The home is situated in a residential area within easy reach of local facilities. Young people enjoy their stays in a safe and pleasant environment; there are photographs, of the young people having fun, displayed around the home. Young people benefit from a homely environment, although there are some areas, which are still in need of decoration and repair. The Registered Manager is aware of the maintenance work still to be undertaken. The home has appropriate specialist equipment to ensure the individual needs of the young people accessing the service are met, such as adapted baths and ceiling hoists. The sensory development of the young people is enhanced through the use of a sensory room and sensory garden. One young person commented, ‘I like to go out into the garden and look at things.’

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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

The routines and structure in place for individual young people during their stay support them in feeling safe and comfortable in their surroundings. Young people say they feel safe in the home and the home has systems to ensure the young people’s welfare is protected. This means young people are able to achieve in their personal development as a result of feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive regular training in safeguarding and recognising particular vulnerabilities relating to the needs of young people with disabilities. As a result, staff demonstrate a good understanding of the action to take should they have concerns about a young person’s well-being. The supervision provided from the staffing levels minimises the risk of young people going missing. Procedures are known by the staff if the situation should arise.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Care planning documentation clearly identifies risks and preventative measures. These are consistently implemented and keep the young people safe. Staff are knowledgeable about the particular vulnerabilities of the young people who use the service and this information is supported with care plans. Groups of young people who access the service are planned to reduce the potential distress that challenging behaviour may have on some young people. There has been no physical intervention recorded since the last inspection. At the previous inspection, a system had been introduced to input any incident of restraint on to a secure database. However, this has not been cascaded down to staff and is not in use. A bound log for recording physical intervention is still in place. This bound log does not capture all the required information as detailed in the relevant regulation and this makes it difficult to monitor the effectiveness of interventions and look at patterns and trends.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a sound recruitment process which ensures all necessary checks are completed before a member of staff starts work. This protects young people from having contact with unsuitable people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The building work to extend the home has recently been completed. This work involved blocking an existing fire door and having an interim fire escape route. The current fire evacuation plan also states the interim plan. However, the door which is listed as a fire exit is locked and no key is available. Therefore, there is no adequate means of escape from the back of the building for the young people, staff and visitors in the event of fire. Fire safety equipment and gas supply are routinely serviced and checked at appropriate intervals. Fire records are in good order and include weekly checks. However, routine fire drills have not been carried out since the building work was completed; therefore, staff are not fully aware of what action to take 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 Registered Manager and staff team are committed and focused on improving the quality of care provided. The management team understands the strengths of the service and areas for development. A development plan was not available for inspection purposes and staff were unsure if one is in operation. Therefore, there is no document readily available to clarify the future of the home with a focus on improving outcomes for young people. The Registered Manager has addressed the requirements and the majority of recommendations made at the last Ofsted inspection. She has used the process to further improve 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. There is a clear focus on working in partnership with young people, parents and outside professionals to achieve a consistent approach to meeting the needs of the young people. However, the document does not contain a description of the monitors which are used within the home and what benefits these methods of surveillance provide for the well-being and safety of the young people. The young people’s guide is informative and comprehensive and explains what young people can expect from the home. The current young people’s guide contains a lot of information which is described in a written format. This format may not be suitable for all the young people’s level of understanding.

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Leadership and management

There are regular monitoring visits under Regulation 33 of the Children’s Home Regulations and the Registered Manager undertakes Regulation 34 monitoring checks on a regular basis. The Regulation 33 visitor does not routinely consult with young people, parents and stakeholders to form an opinion on the standard of care provided in the home. Regulation 34 reports are now produced in a timely manner and forwarded to Ofsted. However, the reports do not indicate that routine consultation with the young people and parents takes place. This could mean that shortfalls in the care of young people are not being recognised or addressed.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels are good and the staff team works together to cover any gaps; this ensures young people receive consistent care from people who know them well. Young people are supported by a staff team that are knowledgeable and experienced. Staff benefit from regular supervision and staff meetings, ensuring that they have the opportunity to raise any issues as they arise. However, the majority of staff have not received an annual appraisal. This means the staff performance over the year is not formally evaluated. Staff are equipped with the necessary skills to support young people through a regular training program. However, staff have not recently received training to meet the individual needs of the young people presently accessing the service. This specifically relates to training in communication systems and autism. This lack of training in these areas does not enable staff to keep up to date with current practice.

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Leadership and management

Young people’s files are stored securely and contain documents which are relevant and contribute to an 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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