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

Unique reference number SC064454 Inspection date 19/06/2012 Inspector Simon Morley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/03/2012 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 is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

Children and young people benefit very well from the excellent care they receive when they stay at the home. Care is thoroughly planned, extremely comprehensive and highly personalised, meeting all the individual needs of children and young people. Staff provide a very supportive, nurturing and learning environment to help children and young people feel safe, have fun, achieve well and develop their independence.

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Overall effectiveness

The needs and views of children, young people, their families and social workers are very significant and strongly influence how care is provided. Children and young people have very positive views about their care. This is reflected in these comments, 'staff are nice, they help me behave well and do what I want'. Stakeholders made similar comments, 'staff are very proactive in keeping young people safe'.

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Overall effectiveness

There is exceptionally strong management of the home. All staff are enthusiastic and positive about achieving the best for children and young people. The manager is effective at motivating staff, backed up by good quality training and supervision. There is a strong commitment to continuous improvement and high standards with rigorous monitoring by the manager. The registered provider's monitoring of the management of the home slightly lacks evidence about the progress young people make. This has not been judged to have a negative impact on outcomes for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has a track record of being outstanding for the exceptional achievements young people make. Placing authorities are happy to re-use the home based on this previous experience of the success young people make. Overall the home is judged outstanding for its effectiveness at this inspection even though outcomes and the safety of young people are judged good. These two judgements reflect the length of time children and young people have lived in the home and what the staff have realistically helped them achieve so far. The outstanding quality of care and management contribute significantly to the effectiveness with which children and young people achieve well and are safe.

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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 visits in accordance with Regulation 33 focus on how well the home supports children to enjoy and achieve. (Statutory Guidance, Volume 5 para 3.12)

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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

Children and young people make significant achievements in various aspects of their lives due to the high standards of care and support they receive.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children have very good attendance at school and achieve well. For example they have been able to progress from special behavioural units back into mainstream school. Young people progress onto college and undertake vocational studies. Their experience also develops from voluntary work with charities, for example, working with horses and helping disabled people enjoy horse riding.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people make improvements in their behaviour and social skills, eat healthier, lose weight, have better personal hygiene and learn new skills. Excellent progress is made in developing and sustaining relationships with relatives. This helps improve their emotional resilience, confidence and self-esteem. Children and young people take less risks with their unsafe behaviour and are at less risk of offending and being exploited.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people develop new life skills and learn to become more independent. This is supported by participating in a good range of opportunities that broadens children and young people's experiences and participation in the community. As well as their education, children and young people enjoy a stimulating variety of activities based on their individual interests. Children and young people like going swimming, bowling and trying out new things like dance and theatre groups and going to the gym. Children and young people also make new friends with their peers at school and in the local community.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

The manager and staff all have high aspirations for the children and young people they support. Staff are enthusiastic, motivated and proactive in helping children and young people develop their potential and receive high quality care. As children and young people commented, 'staff care about me and look after me well'.

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Quality of care

Children and young people benefit tremendously from the way in which they receive individual care. This is provided in a way that effectively promotes their well-being and includes their diverse needs based on age, gender, vulnerability, backgrounds and lifestyle choices. There is excellent attention to individual needs, for example support with diets, weight loss, physical and emotional health, balancing independence and risk taking, making choices and achieving desired goals. Similarly children and young people have picked their own flowers, fruit and vegetables to grow; have highly personalised bedrooms; enjoy new play equipment in the garden; are included in menu planning and are free to choose how to spend their time. This puts children and young people at the heart of what goes on in the home.

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Quality of care

Staff effectively ensure children and young people are able to participate in their education at school or further education in college and vocational training. There is excellent partnership working with schools, social workers, parents and other agencies. Along with the strong focus on listening to individual views of children and young people it is clear they are at the centre of care practice. This breaks down barriers to their development and promotes good outcomes, for example healthy lifestyles, emotional well-being, educational achievements and reduction in risky behaviours.

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Quality of care

In-house care plans and risk assessments are very clear about children and young people's individual needs. Staff are very thoughtful and considerate in following these plans and respecting children and young people's values and choices. Positive outcomes are also promoted through regular meetings and good communication with parents, social workers and other stakeholders. This helps ensure care for children and young people is regularly reviewed in line with their changing needs, views and wishes. This is reflected in comments from stakeholders ‘very good communication all round’, ‘easy to contact staff or the manager’.

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Quality of care

Staff have also built strong partnerships with an exceptional range of different support agencies to help meet all the needs of children and young people. This includes the police, the local safeguarding board, community workers, advocacy services, mental health agencies, substance misuse agencies and other specialist health workers.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Children and young people's safety is given a high priority in all aspects of care and daily routines. Care planning and risk assessment of children and young people very effectively identifies potential risks with clear actions to reduce them. At the same time children and young people still have their equality of opportunity and are able to take risks as part of their development. Staff carefully weigh up risks and balance these with young people's rights to more independence and self-determination as they get older. Children and young people said, 'staff give me plenty of advice and information and help me make decisions'.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Risk management strategies are regularly monitored and reviewed to reflect the diverse and changing needs of children and young people. There is strong planning and involvement of young people in determining safe routines and boundaries for example what time young people should be home at night and who they are allowed to see. Staff have developed strong links with the police and Local Safeguarding Children Board. There is effective multi-agency working that helps protect children and young people from their risk taking behaviour. Over time, the levels of risk taking behaviour do reduce.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are strong and proactive behaviour management strategies with clear and realistic expectations for children and young people. Sanctions as a response to inappropriate behaviour are uncommon and managed effectively. Likewise, physical intervention as a last resort to keep children and young people safe is not used. Good staffing allows for close supervision and engagement of children and young people in meaningful and interesting activities. Non-physical interventions are used effectively in preventing and diffusing any challenging behaviour. This is a very good approach to help keep all children and young people safe. Staff also support parents in managing boundaries with their own children through family contact. This helps reinforce appropriate behaviour and improves the quality of contact.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff are trained in child protection and confident in reporting any allegations or concerns they have about a child or young person's welfare to help keep them safe. Such issues are communicated well to social workers and local safeguarding authorities to help protect children and young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A thorough recruitment process is in place to ensure only appropriate people are employed to work with vulnerable children and young people in the home.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding .

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Leadership and management

The manager motivates staff very well. Children and young people benefit from a staff team that are enthusiastic about helping them do well. This is supported by rigorous monitoring of the quality of care by all staff and a strong commitment to continually improving things for children and young people.

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Leadership and management

Planning of improvements is enhanced through regular consultation with children, young people and their parents. This ensures the views of children and young people remain central to care practice and the day to day running of the home. Monitoring by the registered provider of the management of the home is regular but does not focus well on the progress children and young people make. This does not impact on outcomes for children and young people as the manager is thorough in monitoring their progress. Overall the level of monitoring is comprehensive and helps plan for further realistic improvements in the lives of children and young people.

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Leadership and management

There is a very clear information about the home that helps children and young people know what to expect before they move in. Children, young people and their parents are helped to understand this with different versions in user-friendly formats including a DVD.

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Leadership and management

High standards and quality of care are achieved through comprehensive arrangements for staff training and supervision. Staff are competent, experienced and able to meet the individual needs of children and young people. There are effective staffing levels that support children and young people with their appointments, hobbies, interests, family contact and keep them safe.

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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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