Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Leeds

Unique reference number SC437645 Inspection date 11/06/2012 Inspector Russell Shackford Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 08/02/2012 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 children's home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for no more than four young people who have emotional and/or 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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

Outcomes for young people are judged as adequate because young people engage in risk-taking and offending behaviours which are not decreasing. There are shortfalls in fire safety precautions, staffing of the home, placement plans, behaviour management records, and quality assurance monitoring and practices. These shortfalls have a potential rather than a direct negative impact on the welfare and safety of young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s health outcomes are potentially compromised because, despite good health promotion practices by staff, they continue to engage in risk-taking behaviours such as frequent smoking and sporadic drug use.

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Overall effectiveness

Taking into account their starting point at the time of placement, young people are making adequate progress towards their desired educational attendance and achievement targets.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people confirm that their views are genuinely sought and acted upon. The staff encourage them to make decisions about their lives and influence the way that the home is run.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are well aware of young people's assessed needs. However, the quality of written placement plans is not good because they do not always clearly outline where necessary how young people's needs will be met.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say that they are confident to complain and understand how to do so. Any complaints received are clearly recorded to reflect the action taken by the staff and the outcomes.

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Overall effectiveness

The facilitating of contact is done well. Staff work proactively and positively with parents and carers to promote positive outcomes and this highly effective family support has been instrumental in achieving the placement aims of some young people being returned to their own home.

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Overall effectiveness

Effective support is in place to help young people learn skills that they will need later in life. Poor fire safety practices potentially compromise the safety of people in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff are experienced, and sufficient in number. However, staffing levels have occasionally been decreased below the normal level without adequate risk assessments and contingency plans being prepared. This potentially compromises the welfare and safety of young people and staff in the home. All staff have received training appropriate to the needs of the young people accommodated.

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Overall effectiveness

There is inadequate monitoring to maintain and improve the quality of care in the home.

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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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of discipline, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose of which includes the matters detailed in Regulation 17, in particular the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure and children's comments (Regulation 17B (3) (a - i)) 11/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, in particular by ceasing to wedge open doors designed to contain fire in the home (Regulation 32 (1) (a)) 11/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that there are at all times, according to the needs and number of children accommodated, a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working at the home (Regulation 25 (1) (a) and (b)) 11/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain an adequate system for monitoring and improving the quality of care at the home (Regulation 33) 01/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain an adequate system for monitoring and improving the quality of care at the home. (Regulation 34) 01/07/2012

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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 each child’s placement plan is monitored by a key worker within the home who ensures that the requirements of the plan are implemented, in particular by recording how, on a day-to-day basis, he will be cared for, and his welfare safeguarded and promoted by the home. (NMS 25.2)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from the discussions and stimulating interactive activities that staff use to build relationships with them. As a result, young people gain good knowledge and understanding of their own backgrounds and future care plans.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s health outcomes are potentially compromised because, despite good health promotion practices by staff, they continue to engage in risk-taking behaviours such as frequent smoking and sporadic drug use.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's education attendance is satisfactory and improving from their starting points. Taking into account both their attainment and progress from the starting point of their placement, young people are making satisfactory progress towards their desired educational achievement targets.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people who engage in offending behaviours, do not show a reduction in incidents of offending.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from clear contact arrangements, understanding when they will see significant people, which helps them settle and enjoy seeing their families. Young people say that staff have, 'helped me to improve relationships with my family so much that I will be able to return home'.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The organisation has its own life-skills plans for young people. These are implemented according to the level of maturity and understanding of the individual. Young people sometimes learn skills through taking part in the tasks of running the home, such as cleaning and cooking. Young people are also given help and support with social skills, laundry, healthy eating, budgeting, clothing care and shopping. Therefore, young people receive care which prepares them well for adulthood.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is good . Young people benefit from the discussions and stimulating interactive activities in and out of the home that staff use to build relationships with them. Young people confirm this saying that the best thing about the home is 'the staff, because they are always there to talk to and do things with you'. Staff say, 'The best thing about my work is being with and supporting the young people.’ Young people are confident to complain and understand how to do so. Any complaints received are clearly recorded to reflect the action taken by the staff and the outcomes.

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Quality of care

Young people confirm that their views are genuinely sought and acted upon. The staff are proactive in the way that they help young people to make decisions about their lives and influence the way that the home is run. Staff provide opportunities for daily group discussions, one-to-one key-worker sessions and visits from a therapist. There are also regular young people's meetings. Quality assurance monitoring includes opportunities for young people to comment upon the quality of care at the home. One young person said, 'I choose what food I want and I help to cook it.’

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Quality of care

Admissions to the home are usually planned and the young person and their family, where appropriate, are involved in that planning. Young people usually visit the home before they move in to meet people and get information about the home. Staff find out about young people's differences, routines, likes and dislikes, strengths and needs. Staff are well aware of young people's assessed needs. However, the quality of written placement plans is not good because they do not always clearly outline how young people's needs will be met. This potentially impacts upon existing, new and occasional workers’ ability to provide agreed ways of individualised care and support to young people.

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Quality of care

Evidence of the progress made by young people is presented in a variety of forms which include staff notes, photographs and project work done with young people, such as anti-smoking and anti-bullying posters. Young people's needs and development are reviewed regularly in the light of their care and progress at the home. Following reviews, placement plans are updated in a timely fashion. The reviewing system includes intensive internal reviews of the placement plan and discussions with the young person in key-worker sessions. Key workers monitor the placement plans and produce weekly summary reports. Statutory case reviews take place within the required timescales to inform relevant people of the progress made by young people.

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Quality of care

Organised activities, such as swimming, gym sessions and youth club activities, help to keep young people fit and healthy. Young people are encouraged to eat healthy foods and snacks. Young people confirm that they are involved in planning, shopping for and cooking meals. Staff support and encourage young people to attend routine appointments with dentists, doctors and opticians. Where appropriate, young people are encouraged to take some responsibility for managing their own health needs, for example, using inhalers to control asthma. Arrangements for dealing with medication are safe and all staff have received up-to-date first aid training.

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Quality of care

The manager and staff have a good understanding of what young people do at school and what their levels of attainment are. The staff work in a determined manner to ensure that appropriate education placements are sourced quickly to help ensure that young people's education is disrupted as little as possible. The staff make a lot of effort to encourage good attendance and ensure that the young people are well prepared for the school day. Contact between the home and school is frequent and effective. For some this includes a daily telephone call or a visit by a member of staff to the school. This enables staff to support young people successfully with homework or personal targets. The staff’s close communication and support of other professionals working in education helps to sustain and increase the young people's time in the provision. As a result, young people are making satisfactory progress towards their desired educational attendance and achievement

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Quality of care

Young people are able to pursue their particular interests and are enthusiastically supported and encouraged by staff to engage in leisure activities. Staff attempt to enable young people to socialise and to build their self-esteem and confidence by supporting their individual choices. The staff have established very good links and relationships with community based activity providers such as the local youth club. Examples of organised activities include: motor biking club, go carting, day trips, cinema visits, shopping, meals out and swimming. There is also a good range of books, DVDs and games available for education and entertainment.

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Quality of care

The staff appreciate that the individual young people may have needs arising from diversity. The young people receive individualised care and support. Where necessary, staff commission individual services involved in the health, care and behaviour support of the young people. A notable area of strength is the staff’s ability to engage young people in discussion about their wishes and feelings and how they prefer to be cared for. This has resulted in young people gaining confidence to try new foods and engage in new activities and relationships. Young people confirm that staff provide care and support to them in a way that is particular to them.

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Quality of care

Staff support and facilitate contact with friends and family well. Staff work proactively and positively with parents and carers to promote positive outcomes and, where appropriate, continuity of care. Some young people receive support in their own home as part of their phased reintegration into the family. This highly effective family support has been instrumental in achieving the placement aims of some young people being returned to their own home.

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Quality of care

The young people live in a home that is very well located near to shops, leisure, and education and employment opportunities. It is on the main bus route to the nearby city centre. The interior and exterior of the home are in a good state of structural and decorative repair. There is a good maintenance and repair programme for the building, furniture and equipment, and any damage is repaired promptly. The garden is well maintained and safe. The home is clean and there are homely touches throughout.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is adequate at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Staff often engage young people in talking through any identified concerns. One young person said, 'I feel safe here; the staff talk to me about how to keep safe when I am out.’ Where particular risks are identified, written risk assessments are recorded to help the staff understand what action to take to minimise the identified risks.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The provider has very good safeguarding systems and procedures for staff to follow in the event of any allegation or suspicion of abuse. The manager and staff have received child protection training which includes elements of child exploitation and online protection. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding procedures to promote and protect young people’s safety. Anti-bullying training is provided for staff and effective policies and procedures support this. Young people say that, 'there is no bullying at the home'. There is good written guidance for staff to follow in the event of unauthorised absence. This is supported by individualised risk assessment records. Staff say that they try to engage young people in positive behaviours and activities so that the frequency with which young people go missing is minimised and, where applicable, it has reduced over time.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Personalised behaviour management plans are used. They contain individualised details for staff to follow when managing young people's behaviour. There has been no use of physical restraint at the home. Staff are trained in the provider’s de- escalation policy and authorised intervention techniques. Sanctions are relevant and reflect the age and understanding of the young people. However, following the use of sanctions, not all of the required details are recorded, such as the effectiveness of the sanction or the young person’s comments.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Regular fire safety checks, general checks and maintenance arrangements help to ensure the home is physically safe and is kept safe. All staff have received fire safety training to help enable them to minimise the risks to young people in the event of a fire at the home. However, the fire safety precautions are not adequate because staff frequently and routinely wedge open doors designed to contain fire in the home. This potentially compromises the welfare and safety of people in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff are appropriately recruited and undergo suitable Criminal Records Bureau checks to ensure that they are suitable to work with young people.

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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

There is a welcome pack and children’s guide about the home which is appropriate to the age and understanding of the children accommodated. Young people receive a copy of it when they come to live at the home so that they know what to expect there. A Statement of Purpose is available to inform professionals and members of the public about how care is provided at the home.

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Leadership and management

There is a consistent staff team which has a range of skills and experience among its members. New members of staff receive good quality induction training before commencing work with the young people. Management support is described as 'good' by staff who confirm that they are in receipt of regular supervision. Although there are sufficient staff employed at the home, staffing levels have occasionally been decreased below the normal level without adequate risk assessments and contingency plans being prepared. This potentially compromises the welfare and safety of young people and staff in the home.

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Leadership and management

Staff are trained in a wide variety of safety and childcare subjects. An on-going programme of regular refresher training is provided in a range of subjects to enhance the staff team's competency to meet the needs of the young people.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring of the home is inadequate. The manager has systems to monitor, report and evaluate the administration systems of the home to help ensure that any areas of weakness identified are promptly acted upon. This is supported by regular unannounced visits from the provider to monitor and improve the quality of care at the home. However, these quality assurance systems have failed to identify or adequately address the care and welfare matters raised in this report. These arrangements are not effective enough to secure improvement.

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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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