Children's Home run by Dove Adolescent Services Limited in Wakefield

Unique reference number SC060811 Inspection date 12/06/2012 Inspector Malcolm Stannard Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/02/2012 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

The home is run by a company and is registered to provide care for up to two young people of either gender. The Statement of Purpose for the home identifies the primary reason for a young person’s placement is to support their emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Brief description of the service

The provision will take the planned and emergency placements of young people.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality 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 receive a good quality of care at the home. They benefit from a knowledgeable staff team who are provided with comprehensive information enabling then to support young people. Good assessment and planning ensures that young people are able to progress while in the home and achieve positive outcomes.

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Overall effectiveness

Links are in place with a number of external agencies including local schools. This ensures that support for young people to attend and achieve within an educational setting can be provided. Young people are also helped to form appropriate relationships and to enjoy healthy and purposeful activities. Many of these enable them to learn new skills and increase their self-confidence.

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Overall effectiveness

Robust procedures and practice help young people to keep safe while in or out of the home. Staff ensure young people understand dangers and set out clear boundaries and expectations of behaviour. All areas of a young person's day are fully assessed to ensure any risks are minimised.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team are well trained and supported to undertake their role working with young people. They are confident in their abilities and are able to form trusting and effective relationships with young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Records held are comprehensive and well structured. Regularly updated plans of care ensure that all concerned can be fully aware of each young person's individual needs.

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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 enjoy good health and are able to follow a healthy lifestyle. They benefit from good support from staff who are proactive in ensuring young people are registered with health services and are able to attend initial assessments. Clear records are held and the information is used to ensure all needs are addressed and young people have an understanding of health risks. Physical activity is promoted and supported.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people play a full part in the compilation of menus. They are supported by staff to ensure a healthy balanced diet is eaten and snacks such as fruit are freely available. Individual likes and dislikes are known and any dietary requirements for medical or religious reasons are accommodated.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to contribute to day-to-day and key decisions about the care they receive. Their views are always considered and acted upon where appropriate. Staff respond positively to young people's views and explain fully when requests are unable to be met.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from excellent support to achieve in education. Staff enjoy good links with the school and engage in constant dialogue regarding progress. This communication is effective in ensuring any possible problems are identified at an early stage and any action required is taken. Young people are positive about school attendance and the progress they are making. One stated 'Staff help me with the things I need for school. If anything I do too much work'. Young people take an active part in after school activities and trips, this helps them to be actively involved in the community and form friendships.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's contact arrangements are well managed by staff. Where appropriate, contact with friends and family is encouraged and facilitated in a safe and sensitive way. Young people are supported to continue to communicate with previous carers who have played an important role in their life. This means that young people are to keep in touch with people important to them while their welfare is protected.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to make good progress in feeling positive about themselves and developing confidence. They are guided with regard to forming appropriate social relationships and having knowledge and understanding about their backgrounds. Staff support them in compiling memory boxes and photo albums to promote a positive self-view.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to learn about life skills which are appropriate to their age and understanding. They are supported to undertake some domestic tasks such as bed making, laundry, cooking and ensuring the hygiene and cleanliness of their bedrooms. This ensures that they are able to acquire the basic knowledge required to enjoy a healthy and appropriate lifestyle.

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Quality of care

Young people are able to form positive and strong relationships with staff. They are given clear guidance on the appropriateness and acceptable boundaries of friendships by a staff team who actively engage with them. Young people said that the staff were 'good, 'help me' and that they 'got on with most of them'. Young people are actively involved in the day to day operation of the home. Staff, who all know the young people well, interact with them in a consistent way, ensuring there is clarity about expectations and acceptable conduct. Young people receive praise from staff for positive behaviour, attainment at school or a particular task they have completed.

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Quality of care

The views of young people are regularly canvassed in a number of formal and informal ways. There is constant dialogue with young people who are able to discuss issues freely. One young person stated that they were able to ask for certain foods or equipment and that they felt they were always listened to. They gave an example of items which they had been able to request for their bedroom. Formal young people's meetings are held and staff will assist them to complete a questionnaire on a regular basis to gain their views on the care provided. Young people's social workers are also able to contribute their thoughts to this process. All of this consultation ensures that young people's views are obtained and their contributions valued.

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Quality of care

The assessment of young people's needs is comprehensive. The information acquired is used to inform a holistic care and placement plan. The plans set out clearly the individual needs of the young person, any actions required and by who. Young people are able to contribute to the plan and understand its content. Any cultural or religious needs are also identified at this stage and actions required to appropriately address them are devised. The plans are added to on a daily basis and then fully reviewed monthly. All staff are involved in updating plans and have a good knowledge of the work required. Fully recorded sessions of work are undertaken with young people which are relative to their assessed needs. The planning in place means that young people are able to receive a consistent approach to their care in an individual way.

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Quality of care

Excellent work is undertaken prior to a young person coming to the home to ensure that the placement is appropriate for their needs. A meeting is held with all previously involved and proposed agencies and carers. This ensures that a full picture of a young person's previous care and education, their needs and future plans can be identified. A young person is also enabled to visit the home on as many occasions as possible prior to a move.

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Quality of care

Statutory reviews are held as required and young people are helped to prepare and supported to ensure their views are heard, regardless of whether they choose to attend the meeting or not. Minutes are held of the meetings so that any decisions made can be incorporated into the plan of care. Two weekly update reports are compiled and shared with the young person and their social worker in order that any progress can be identified.

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Quality of care

Support for young people's educational needs and achievement is excellent. There is good engagement with the local school and procedures are in place to successfully promote attendance. Young people are enabled to take part in a range of purposeful activities. They are supported to attend clubs relevant to their interests such as swimming, dancing and gymnastics as well as trips such as to the coast to enrich their social learning.

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Quality of care

The home is domestic in nature and homely. Furnishings and decoration are of good quality and the building is well maintained. It is unidentifiable from surrounding properties and provides convenient access to shops, transport and local schools.

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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 stated that they felt safe and secure at the home. They described how staff 'cared about' them when they were in or out of the building. One young person spoke about how they were supported by staff when finding it difficult to settle at night. Staff ensure that young people are contactable at all times when they are out of the home and are robust in setting boundaries including the time when they are expected to return. Individualised pieces of work are carried out to ensure young people are provided with the knowledge of how to keep themselves safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Comprehensive risk assessments are in place for each young person. These cover all aspects of their plan of care and detail any actions which can be taken to lessen risk. Areas assessed include bullying, abuse, medication, possibility of self-harm and access to digital technology. Young people receive an e-training session which tells them how to stay safe when using the internet or mobile phones/other devices. All assessments are updated regularly and are checked for their relevance on a monthly basis.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are currently no occurrences of young people going missing from the home. Packages of work are able to be carried out with young people to help them understand the dangers should they go missing. An agreed protocol is in place with the police which includes engagement with the young person to ensure they are safely returned.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff undertake child protection and sexual exploitation training. Written procedures are available to guide them on the actions to take should they have a concern or a young person makes an allegation. Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding issues and how to protect young people's welfare. An incentive scheme is in operation which promotes positive behaviour and attainment by young people. It is understood by young people who stated that they are able to achieve increased rewards by demonstrating sustained positive behaviour. Sanctions for inappropriate behaviour are rarely used, a record is made of any instance when implementation has been necessary. Staff members consistently challenge any negative behaviour or use of inappropriate language. Staff are trained in physical restraint techniques. However, there is minimal use of these and diffusion and diversion are used to de-escalate any instance of tension or challenging

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people said that they were made aware by staff that there would be no tolerance of any bullying. They are supplied with information about how any instances of bullying will be dealt with and the support they will receive if they feel they are being targeted.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety arrangements and practice are good. All equipment including gas and electrical appliances are tested on a regular basis. Fire procedures are made known to young people as part of their induction to the home and there is constant checking and testing of related equipment. All actions taken ensure that the environment is physically safe for young people.

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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 is experienced and provides effective leadership for the staff team in carrying out their roles with young people. The aims and objectives of the home are set out clearly in a Statement of Purpose, which is supplemented by a stated values of care practice sheet. Young people are provided with their own guide to the home which sets out fully the rules and expectations of the home and their rights. A young person said that they had been talked through the guide by a staff member when they arrived at the home.

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Leadership and management

A development plan for the home is available, this clearly sets out the desire by the manager to progress practice and how this can be achieved. Areas of strength and weakness are identified in the plan. At the last inspection there were two recommendations made and both of these have been addressed. Regulation 34 reports are now fully completed in line with the schedule and guidance and increased numbers of staff have attained or are undertaking relevant formal qualifications.

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Leadership and management

Staff members state that they are supported well by management and receive regular formal supervision and performance appraisals. A comprehensive training plan is in place which enables all staff to receive induction and mandatory training as appropriate. Formal childcare qualifications are held by the majority of the staff team. There are two staff members who are not yet formally qualified, one is currently undertaking the induction package and the other has commenced study for a diploma. Staff stated that they are supported to attend training courses relevant to their work which they have expressed an interest in. The number of staff employed is sufficient for the home and there is a good mix of skills, interests and gender within the make up of the staff team who are confident and knowledgeable.

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Leadership and management

There is an efficient monitoring system in place to evaluate the care provided. Records are monitored and signed regularly by the manager, who notes any deficiencies and ensures staff are tasked to address these where necessary. Regulation 34 reports are compiled which link into the development plan and identify current practice as well as identifying plans for improvement in operation. Visits are made to the home by a senior manager from the organisation who produces a report in line with Regulation 33. Staff and young people are spoken with where possible to gain their views on the care in the home and any actions identified are listed on the report. Copies of both the Regulation 33 and 34 reports are forwarded to Ofsted.

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Leadership and management

Young people's records are well maintained, structured and comprehensively document their progress and development while in the home. Information is held in a highly individual manner, with all personal diverse needs identified. Regular auditing is carried out on all of the records relating to young people. Staff are able to state verbally how previous residents made progress while at the home and their involvement in education and training since they left. However, there is no written record kept of the positive outcomes they achieved.

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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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