Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC411142 Inspection date 31/05/2012 Inspector Trevor Hall Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/02/2012 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 is a small private children's home looking after one young person, 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

The home is effective in its provision of personalised and well-planned care. Managers and staff take full account of the individual needs of each young person and provide good daily routines. This secures good outcomes for young people, particularly in respect to their behaviour and physical, emotional and psychological health. Despite failing, on occasions, to keep the home safe from external ingress, young people say they feel safe because they receive consistent care from a small, resilient and committed staff team who demonstrate insight into young people's backgrounds and resultant difficulties. Young people trust staff to support them and keep them safe through consistently safe working practices. They enjoy generally positive relationships with staff that result in good progress across most areas of their welfare and development.

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Overall effectiveness

Placement planning is good but is not always supported by regularly reviewed care plans, endorsed by the placing authorities, which potentially undermines the setting of long-term goals. Young people’s education attendance and attainment have improved since the home’s last inspection; however, both have declined recently, following young people’s transfer to alternative schools. Action to rectify this situation is being taken; however, this is not reflected in young people’s personal education plans, which currently do not accurately reflect the true educational status of the young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager demonstrates a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The home has an energetic, motivated and well qualified manager, who leads by example and is ambitious to achieve the best possible outcomes for the young people in her care. The Registered Manager uses a range of information to help determine the quality of care being provided and the impact this is having on young people’s lives. Because of this monitoring, there is a development plan in place detailing areas for improvement and change. The manager and the organisation's senior management team invest in the home and monitor it effectively. As a result, young people benefit from continuous improvement to the fabric of the home, to the organisation of care and the therapeutic input.

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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 that all parts of the children's home used by children are secure from unauthorised access (Regulation 31(2)(b)). 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 that children are supported to attend school, college or alternative provision regularly (NMS 8.3)  ensure that the result of all statutory reviews and reviews of Placement Plans are recorded on the child's file, and individuals responsible for pursuing actions at the home arising from reviews are clearly identified (NMS 25.8)

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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 clearly benefit from the security and structure that exists within this home and are making good progress in developing a positive self-view and understanding of their background. These boundaries are consistent and help to give young people a feeling of security without denying them their individuality. They enjoy positive relationships with the staff group, based upon mutual respect and positive regard; this helps them to improve their self-image and build up their emotional resilience. Young people demonstrate increasing control over their behaviour and choose to engage in reasonable discussion with adults, rather than displaying poor behaviour. This has resulted in a marked reduction in incidents of anti-social behaviour, unauthorised absence and offending. Young people enjoy a nurturing and generally safe environment where they can make good progress in relation to their individual starting point. Staff work

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Outcomes for children and young people

consistently to address young people’s individual needs and to promote their physical and emotional well-being. Young people are successfully encouraged to express their feelings and emotions. The home promotes a positive ethos that fully embraces diversity and difference; as a result, young people learn to appreciate the significance of differing values and cultures and to have respect for other people. This ethos also promotes positive behaviours, assists young people to understand the consequences of their actions, and encourages alternative and more acceptable responses.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff clearly identify, support and address young people’s health issues. Individual needs are included in placement plans that are updated when health needs have been met, or when new issues are identified. This helps the staff team monitor young people’s emotional and physical well-being and ensures continuing good health and development. Young people get the opportunity to take regular exercise, enjoy a healthy lifestyle and to eat healthily. Menu planning regularly introduces new and different food options to expand young people’s food experiences, nutritional knowledge and confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's attendance and educational attainment have generally improved. However, recent attendance, following young people changing schools has been poor with attainment equally affected. The personal education plans do not accurately reflect the current situation and while alternative education is being planned, this is not reflected in the care planning arrangements. Staff maximise every opportunity to help young people engage in both formal and informal education. This supportive approach enables young people to build their knowledge and skills, and improve self- confidence. It also helps them to develop the values and skills they need to help them stay fully engaged in their education.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy a good range of activities both in the home and out in the community. This gives young people opportunities to develop their social skills and increased interactions with peers and the wider community.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The service works in partnership with families and significant others to ensure young people can maintain helpful and close relationships with important people in their lives. Particular attention is given to planning and organising family contact and staff listen to young people and family members in order to achieve arrangements that are appropriate and safe.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team are committed to providing young people with individualised support, focused on their personal development and individual circumstances. Staff prioritise the work they do with young people in terms of life skills and future plans. Young people benefit from a pragmatic approach, which fully involves them in day-to-day routines that help them learn about personal responsibility and growing independence.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy positive and constructive relationships with care staff, which are consistent and provide firm boundaries. Staff use appropriate skills to engage with young people to discuss issues of concern and help them to learn from their mistakes. Staff use keyworker sessions to discuss more formally such issues as sexual health; gender and identity; drugs and alcohol misuse; the effects of medication and concerns about relationships. Staff have high expectations of what young people can achieve and encourage them to do well in their education and in their social activities. Behavioural boundaries placed upon young people are appropriate, thoroughly thought through and individualised.

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Quality of care

Care planning is good overall, with each young person having personalised placement plans, which ensure that all staff know what the aims are for each young person’s progress. Statutory reviews of care plans take place at appropriate intervals; however, despite the home’s efforts to procure agreed outcomes not every young person has a fully endorsed and up to date care plan on file. The impact of this is on the young person’s day to day existence is minimal due to the detailed individual placement plans. The effects on more long term planning, however, is considerable as goals are unclear and both staff and young people lack the clarity of direction.

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Quality of care

Staff make a high quality contribution to young people's placement plans and ensure that each person's care is in line with their plan. They also make effective and detailed daily and weekly progress reports for each young person. Plans provide for very regular involvement of all persons important to young people. For example, staff and managers are careful to involve parents and key relatives in daily arrangements about health, contact and contact arrangements. As a result, young people receive very consistent care and a very clear message that the main people in their lives are working together for their benefit.

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Quality of care

Young people’s physical and psychological health needs are met by a well-organised care team working with external health professionals. Young people are supported to attend appointments, are helped to understand what professionals tell them and are encouraged to take control of their own health needs. All staff are trained in first aid and follow clear health plans and risk assessments to ensure that young people’s complex medical needs are met. They also employ robust arrangements for dealing with medication. As a result, young people's physical and psychological health is improving.

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Quality of care

Staff place young people at the centre of their practice and act as caring substitute parents, enthusiastically sharing ideas about how to engage young people and help them progress. Staff consult regularly with young people, who confirm that they influence the running of the home. Managers act effectively and acknowledge lessons learned from young people’s complaints; this contributes significantly to the young people feeling valued and respected. Young people have individual activity plans, based on their interests and wishes and each young person is involved in menu planning. Young people acknowledge that their wishes cannot always be accommodated and learn how to negotiate and compromise appropriately and are learning to appreciate the impact of their choices on the others.

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Quality of care

All young people have a personal education plan on file, which details the education provision to be accessed. All young people are on the roll of a suitable school; however, not all young people are currently attending regularly. Personal education planning is not always up to date and does not accurately reflect young people’s current attendance or attainment. The management and staff promote appropriate pride in a high level of attendance and attainment, while, recognising the difficulties the young people have experienced in sustaining education placements prior to living at the home. Staff are committed to supporting the young people’s education and liaise regularly with school to ensure that positive outcomes are maintained. Young people are actively encouraged to pursue their own particular interests, or to try new activities; this increases their experiences and helps them to develop confidence in

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Quality of care

All parts of the home are decorated to a good standard and young people have good quality furniture in their bedrooms and ample storage for personal clothes and belongings. The home enjoys good links to local facilities and is within easy reach of good transport links. The home has a vehicle, which means that young people have convenient transport for activities, shopping and contact visits with family. The Registered Manager monitors the home’s environment to ensure it is safe for everyone to live and work in. In addition, the Registered Manager keeps track of maintenance requests and has a programme of planned improvements to the layout, fixtures and fittings.

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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 say that they feel safe and say they can 'usually talk to staff about their problems.’ Incidents of young people damaging property or showing aggressive behaviour towards others is much reduced and young people are able to exercise more control by talking things through with understanding staff. Incidents of young people going missing are minimal and the home's arrangements when this occurs are robust. Staff promote and encourage a culture of positive behaviour between everyone in the home and support young people to take responsibility for their actions.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff work hard, guided by other relevant professionals, to enable young people to moderate and improve their behaviour. There is an emphasis on recognising and rewarding positive behaviours, rather than purely punishing those behaviours identified as being unacceptable. Formal measures such as sanctions are seldom used and similarly, the incidences of physical intervention are minimal in the home and young people are able to live in an atmosphere of increasing tolerance. This represents good progress over the period of months that the current young people have lived in the home. Effective individualised behaviour support plans underpin this progress, supported by clear but firm boundaries and robust assessments of risk. Young people say they feel safe in the home; however, despite the home’s systems and safety procedures, the home has not always been the secure and safe haven that it should be. Breaches in external security have taken place, enabling other

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Safeguarding children and young people

young people, to enter the house at night, without approval and without staff being aware of their presence. This has potentially placed young people at risk and has exposed them to unacceptable behaviours and unwarranted disturbance. External agencies and placing authorities have been informed about all such incidents.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are appropriately knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding young people and know to whom they should report concerns. Robust policies, procedures and regular safeguarding training underpin staff practice. The Registered Manager is the designated person with responsibility for managing safeguarding concerns and effectively fulfils this role in practice. The Registered Manager liaises with the Local Authority Designated Officer when necessary and acts in accordance with organisational and local safeguarding procedures to ensure everyone is safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a good range of detailed policies and procedures covering aspects such as prevention of bullying, complaints, safeguarding and behaviour management. Staff know these policies well and implement them effectively. Comprehensive training with regular updates in all these areas enables staff to protect young people from the risk of harm and abuse. The regular and effective monitoring of the home's records and staff practice contribute to ensuring that young people receive safe care in line with their individual needs.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home’s vigorous health and safety regime ensures the routine conducting of all fire precautions, drills and equipment servicing within timescales set by the relevant regulations. Good staffing levels further help to keep young people safe and reduce any risk of harm. The organisation’s effective recruitment procedures ensure the careful selection recruitment and retention of staff. This ensures young people are safe and have a staff team who know them well. New staff are comprehensively vetted prior to their deployment in the home and before having unsupervised access to any young person. This ensures young people are safe and have a staff team who know them well.

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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

Young people benefit from living in a well-managed home. The home's Registered Manager is suitably qualified and experienced and her complete focus on the quality of care and outcomes for young people maximises the effectiveness of the home. The manager consistently provides support and guidance to staff and models exemplary childcare practice to them. As a result, young people respond very well to her and benefit from the consistent care that the staff team provide.

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Leadership and management

The team communicate well with each other to ensure everyone is up to date with new and changing information about young people’s needs and circumstances. This is done in a variety of ways, which are effective in practice such as well-structured daily handovers, through to more formal team meetings. This good communication between staff ensures that young people's individual needs are met consistently.

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Leadership and management

There is strong, visible leadership, which promotes high quality care and positive outcomes for young people. Regular supervision and appraisal meetings enable staff to reflect on their practice and relationships with young people.

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Leadership and management

Staff are provided with quality induction and further training, support and resources and therefore understand the developmental needs of young people. Staff training covers all mandatory areas such as safeguarding, behaviour management and first aid. The staff have a strong focus on promoting positive outcomes and to enhance the well-being of young people. The staff work proactively to help young people overcome barriers and to succeed.

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Leadership and management

The home has a clear, accessible and comprehensive Statement of Purpose and young people’s guide giving young people, their families and placing authorities comprehensive information about the services offered by the home. The children’s guide contains up-to-date information that provides useful helpline numbers and contact details if needed. The financial viability of the provider is reflected in how well resourced the home is. Young people are treated with the utmost respect and dignity by staff that support them in overcoming significant and complex issues.

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Leadership and management

Clear lines of accountability in the home enable a stable and structured environment for young people. Staff duty rotas and staff deployment confirm that the home keeps sufficient staff on the duty rota at all times. Young people are fully aware of the home’s complaints system.

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Leadership and management

The manager has established rigorous internal quality assurance monitoring systems. It is clear that she checks all reporting systems regularly and comments if any record fails to meet either the home's policies and procedures or national regulations. Regular internal monitoring reports are produced which help the home to develop its practice and ensure that young people are receiving the care and support they need. Regular Regulation 33 visits take place to provide additional quality assurance mechanisms and involve consulting young people wherever possible. The managers have a strong commitment to meeting young people’s needs.

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Leadership and management

The home has a comprehensive development plan for continuing improvement based upon its record of accomplishment, continual staff training and ensuring the maintenance of the physical environment to a high standard. The Registered Manager notifies all significant events relating to the protection of young people accommodated in the home to the appropriate authorities and appropriate action is taken following the incident; this ensures the safety of young people. Records are clear, up to date and stored securely, and contribute significantly to the young people’s understanding of their life in care, should they choose to access these documents.

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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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