Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Milton Keynes

Unique reference number SC391379 Inspection date 30/05/2012 Inspector Jennie Christopher Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/03/2012 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 children's home is registered to take up to four young people with emotional or behaviour difficulties. The home is owned by a private organisation.

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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

Staff have high aspirations for the young people in its care and outcomes for young people in the home are good. Staff have effective relationships with parents, carers, education and mental health professionals. This ensures a comprehensive approach to placement, behaviour and life skills planning. Young people enjoy living in the home and progress as a result of consistent support from the committed and compassionate staff team. Young people say they have excellent relationships with staff and feel supported and encouraged to succeed. Young people feel listened to and that staff are concerned and invested in their progress. Young people benefit from consistent boundaries in a caring environment. Parents describe staff as professional, thoughtful and considerate.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are encouraged to partake in consultation and service development through house meetings, individual work and questionnaires. As a result, staff and the management team regularly look at of ways to improve the living experience through consultation with young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The effective management team guides and supports the enthusiastic staff team that is well trained. As a result, young people benefit from committed, quality care. The Registered Manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and continually strives for improvement. Requirements and recommendations have been made in regards to aspects of record keeping and the Statement of Purpose.

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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 Statement of Purpose contains all matters listed in Schedule 1 (Regulation 4 (1)) 06/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure a copy of monitoring in relation to Schedule 6 is submitted to Ofsted at least six monthly. (Regulation 34 (2)) 06/07/2012

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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

 implement a risk assessment for lone working identifying any risks to children, staff and the public (NMS 17.9)  ensure the time and length of each supervision is recorded. (NMS 19.5)

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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 good progress in all aspects of their lives. The thoughtful and individualised support they receive enables them to have improved confidence, self- esteem and have a positive understanding of their personal history. Each young person is respected and valued as an individual and staff’s positive regard enables strong attachments. As a result, young people develop confidence and are more able to sustain positive relationships. Promotion of health and well-being ensures young people are able to understand their risk-taking behaviours and work positively towards reducing them. All young people’s health needs are addressed with close consultation with medical professionals, ensuring better understanding of healthy lifestyles and consistent and effective care from staff.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Attendance at school is positive. Support from staff enables young people to progress and achieve in line with their peers, including sitting GSCE exams in core subjects. Those who struggle in mainstream education are supported with creative in-house education packages and short courses in the community. Close working relationships with education and careers guidance staff ensure all options for post-16 education are considered. Young people have positive relationships in the local community and have worked to positively resolve concerns and complaints from neighbours. While using the service young people develop a wide range of practical skills for independent living. Young people help with daily chores and cook meals alongside learning essential self-care skills. A comprehensive independent living plan supports young people who are moving on with a skills book they can keep for reference and reminder of what they have achieved.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from positive and constructive relationships with staff who are concerned for all aspects of their welfare. Young people say that staff ‘are like family’ and a consistent theme from young people is, ‘it’s the best place I’ve ever lived.’ Listening to, and letting young people express themselves, is entrenched in the ethos of the service. Young people are routinely consulted on areas for improvement through questionnaires, house meetings and individual work sessions. Currently the home is being decorated and young people have given their thoughts to colour schemes, as well as planning how they would like to personalise the décor of their bedrooms. Young people are actively involved in their reviews and care planning and are supported through individual and groups work to understand when their wishes cannot be acted upon.

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Quality of care

Staff consistently have high aspirations for young people, with social workers and independent reviewing officers suggesting that the home meets the needs of young people ‘well’. Staff support their educational placements with robust communication between the home and schools, including supporting phased transitions to new placements. Young people who are at, or approaching, school-leaving age are encouraged into further education and employment to improve their outcomes and life chances. The changing needs of young people are continually monitored and plans updated by staff in consultation, where appropriate, with parents, social workers and other professionals.

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Quality of care

Young people generally enjoy good health with limited use of prescribed medication. Smoking is discouraged, with young people attending appointments with cessation nurses. Specialists support young people with addictions, resulting in significantly reduced misuse of substances. Mental and emotional health specialists work closely with the home to ensure a consistency of approach to support young people’s emotional well-being. Medication is stored appropriately and there is a thorough system to ensure safety when administering. In the event of an emergency, there are several qualified first aiders on site at all times.

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Quality of care

The well-maintained building has homely living and safety in mind. Most young people benefit from support from independent advocates and say they know how to make complaints and who to complain to. Further information on how to access a wide range of advocacy and support services is clearly displayed. There are excellent anti-bullying procedures in place with young people saying they do not feel it is an issue.

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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 say they feel safe and that staff keep them safe. Their welfare is actively promoted and staff protect them from abuse or harm. Staff are confident in processes to follow should they be concerned for a young person’s safety or welfare and are aware of the home’s and local child protection procedures. Policies within the service are proactive and updated in response to lessons learned locally and nationally. For example, senior staff have attended comprehensive training regarding exploitation and have disseminated this information to the whole staff team. Young people benefit from enhanced staff awareness of exploitation and age-appropriate interactive activities included in the training pack. The incidence of young people being missing from care has reduced. Staff are aware what to do should this happen and what are the likely triggers to cause this. Individual files contain up-to-date

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Safeguarding children and young people

photographs of young people in the event of an emergency and local police are actively and positively involved with young people and the home. This has increased their safety in the community through disrupting sources of alcohol to young people. The company’s recruitment policy is thorough and ensures young people are protected from harm by robust personnel checks.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Highly-individualised plans promote and reward positive behaviour through small monetary rewards and certificates. Sanctions are appropriate and proportionate, with young people encouraged to reflect on their behaviour and consider how responses could be different in line with their plans. Robust and creative plans ensure that young people rarely require restraint.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safe from fire and other hazards as a result of thorough checks and procedures. Individualised risk assessments are robust and thoughtful to ensure young people are able to enjoy age-appropriate activities and take controlled risk. However, there is not a general risk assessment in place regarding lone working and the impact this could have on young people, staff and the community.

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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 provider meets the aims and objectives that are set out in the Statement of Purpose and staff fully understand the functions and ethos of the home. However, all matters, as set out in Schedule 1, are not included in this document. Young people say they have received the young people’s guide and that it is easy to understand.

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Leadership and management

The committed management team, that is continually striving to improve the service, effectively runs the home. The home demonstrates excellent multi-agency working to improve outcomes for young people. The management team actively sources external support, such as mental health and addiction specialists, to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for young people. They ensure positive relationships in the community through timely responses to complaints and arranging meetings where appropriate with concerned neighbours. This has greatly improved relationships and young people are actively involved in positively addressing concerns and responding appropriately to others in their community. Examples include turning music down when asked to by neighbours and apologising when items stray over fences.

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Leadership and management

Young people benefit from being cared for by a consistent and enthusiastic staff team that is positive about their roles and enjoy their work. The staff team receives high-quality and comprehensive training, with needs identified in newly-implemented yearly appraisals. Staff receive quality and evaluative supervision and lapses in performance are challenged rigorously. However, the time and length of supervision is not consistently recorded.

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Leadership and management

The management team has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home through effective and evaluative monthly monitoring of the building and records and the impact this has for the young people in their care. For example, the excellent quality of the manager’s monthly checks demonstrates a reduction in risk- taking behaviours. However, these are not forwarded at least six monthly to Ofsted. The manager actively seeks the views of young people, their families and other stakeholders via questionnaires and these help inform robust plans for future development. This ensures young people continue to benefit from an ever-evolving and improving service.

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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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