Children's Home run by Derby City Council in Derby

Unique reference number SC036019 Inspection date 15/06/2012 Inspector Caroline Brailsford Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 10/01/2012 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 local authority home which accommodates a total of 15 children in three separate units, with five placements in each unit. The service provides care and accommodation for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. There is also a school on site.

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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 inadequate .

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Overall effectiveness

The level of care provided to young people is inadequate because not all young people are or feel safe in the home. Although many of the young people say that they feel safe, a smaller proportion say that they do not feel safe or happy at the home. The quality of relationships between staff and young people is variable. Not all young people and staff report good relationships with children. Some young people praise staff and say this enables them to make good progress but others speak about relationships that do not enable them to make progress.

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Overall effectiveness

The views of young people are established and they are involved with their care and the running of the home generally. However, young people’s views about restraints are not always elicited or taken into consideration. This does not allow young people to talk about incidents, staff practice and therefore does not inform the development of the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Where recording and practice with regard to restraints have been poor, leaders and managers have failed to pick up on this and therefore monitoring is not robust enough to ensure children’s safety at all times.

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Overall effectiveness

There are a significant number of areas for improvements to ensure that all of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2001 and the national minimum standards are met. As a result of this inspection, five requirements have been made. These include safeguarding procedures, restraint recording and practice, notifications to Ofsted and the monitoring of the home. Despite the areas for improvements, some young people have made good progress at the home, particularly with some aspects of their safety. For example, some young people have had a significant decrease in instances where they have been missing and at risk. This is attributed to the work of the staff in this area, and young people are safer as a result. Also care planning is a particular strength in the home and there is evidence that young people are involved and understand their issues well. This leads to young people receiving well-personalised care.

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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) provide for the prompt referral to the local authority in whose area the children's home is situated, of any allegation of abuse or neglect affecting any child accommodated in the children's home (Regulation 16 (2) (b)) 27/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the registered person establishes and maintains a system for monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6; this is in particular relation to the use of the measures of control, restraint and discipline in respect of the children accommodated (Regulation 34 (1)(a) 27/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline in the home, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose which includes all elements of this Regulation (Regulation 17B, (3) (a)-(i ) and Regulation 17B (4) (a) and (b) 27/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17A (2001) ensure that where a measure of restraint is used in the home, this must be proportionate and no more force used than is necessary (Regulation 17A (2)) 27/07/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall, without delay, notify the persons indicated in respect of column 2 of the table; this is in particular relation to notifications to Ofsted. (Regulation 30 and Schedule 5) 27/07/2012

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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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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff and young people know each other well and there are opportunities for positive relationships to be developed, for example, regular one-to-one time between young people and their key workers. These sessions work well. They help young people to make progress with the issues that they have and the difficulties that they face. Some young people, however, report poor relationships with staff. This does not at all times allow them to make progress with their overall development.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s family attachments are effectively supported by well-organised and planned contact arrangements. Staff know that some young people find this difficult, so young people receive the support that they need in this area. This helps them to develop and maintain relationships with people that are important to them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people can pursue their hobbies and interests, which also includes encouragement to try new activities. There is a range of activities organised for individuals, which includes visits to recreational facilities and sporting events. One young person reported a trip to the cinema with staff every week and another was pleased with the opportunity to watch England at a recent football match. This ensures that young people's personal interests are taken into consideration and helps them to build on their confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people access community health services to ensure their health needs are met. For example, they engage well with the looked after children nurse and have access to counselling and support from outside agencies. This assists them to develop their knowledge about important health issues and to be healthier as a result.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are engaged in education which is currently suiting their individual needs. Young people’s engagement in formal education is good. There is a school on site where education can either be facilitated or supported. Young people also have opportunities to attend schools and colleges in the local area to suit their needs and interests. There are good results with education in the home. Where some young people have not attended in the past, their attendance is now good. This helps them to ensure progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have opportunities to practice and develop independent life skills. For example, they develop their budgeting and domestic skills, helping to prepare them for adulthood.

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Quality of care

Young people discuss their care needs regularly with their key workers. They know what their placement plan says and regularly discuss this with their key worker. The very child-friendly format ensures that they understand their own needs, what is going well and the difficulties that they face. Young people's care needs are agreed and comprehensively recorded in placement plans and risk assessments. Plans are reviewed in partnership with young people, placing social workers and the staff team. Placement plans also incorporate issues of culture and identity, and it is very clear that each young person’s care plan is very individual to them. As a result, their individual needs are respected and staff strive to meet them.

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Quality of care

Regular review meetings take place, and staff contribute to these well. They provide a written report which clearly states the progress and barriers to improvement. This ensures that young people can develop and have opportunities to make good progress.

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Quality of care

Staff provide support that is relevant to individual needs. Young people have one-to- one sessions with staff. Time is used to talk about important issues that can affect health and emotional well-being. Most young people say that they can talk to staff. One young person said: 'All staff are good, they are like my parents.’ However, not all staff have positive relationships with young people. Therefore, some young people, although they are in the minority, do not always feel fully supported. As a result, they do not consistently make progress with all aspects of their lives, for example, with their emotional well-being.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to make a complaint if needed and these are fully recorded in the home. Young people do raise issues with staff when they are not happy and know about the complaints procedure. Staff invite comments from young people about most aspects of their life in the home, for example, through informal situations and through key-working sessions and young people's meetings. Young people are therefore generally confident to tell staff if they have an issue or a complaint, which helps to keep them safe.

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Quality of care

Although there are mixed views from young people about relationships with staff, all young people say that with regard to their education, staff have helped them to make good progress at school. For example, several young people have had better attendance at school as a result of staff support. Staff are clear that young people are making progress in this area, which is helping to build on young people's self- esteem. One young person said: ‘Staff help me loads and my education is really good now.’ Staff are not always clear about exactly how well young people are achieving or their current grades. However, the on-site school supports staff with such information for some children. This ensures that the young people can build on the progress that they are already making.

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Quality of care

Staff support young people well in some areas of their health, particularly in relation to emotional well-being and keeping themselves safe with regard to sexual health. With regard to smoking, drugs and alcohol, several social workers said that children are not being helped to stop smoking, taking drugs, or drinking alcohol. Despite this, young people demonstrated a good understanding of the risks and what they need to do to reduce these. In addition, 99% of parents think that their child’s health needs are met. This shows that staff do take some appropriate action to address such issues.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a large building which presents as institutionalised. For example, the building is purpose built and provides three separate living areas that are run independently, all on one site. Each of the units is interconnected and each houses five young people. The building contains corridors, and some areas are not entirely homely. For example, there are school-type chairs set at the dining table and large notice boards also in the dining room. Despite this, staff have made efforts to make other parts of the building as homely as they can. The lounge is homely and has pictures and colours that young people have chosen. Bedrooms are also comfortable and are well personalised. The benefits of this large building are that there is ample space for games and sports in the gardens and a designated gym which young people use and enjoy. The staff monitor the physical condition of the building and

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Quality of care

work to ensure that it remains as homely and comfortable as possible.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is inadequate at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Most young people feel safe in the home, but a small percentage say that they do not. A small number of young people raised concerns about restraints. They said restraints are ‘too violent’ and staff are too 'hands on’. Furthermore, where complaints have been made about restraints, the restraints log in the home does not give full information about the event. It cannot therefore be fully established if the young person was safe during the physical intervention. For example, where young people have been held on the floor, it is not clear about the circumstances or how this took place. The records do not show how the young person was taken to the floor or how they were monitored there. It is also not clear in records if young people are asked if they require medical attention afterwards or that the child has been offered a debrief. Where the child has first chosen not to engage in a debrief, subsequent efforts by staff or management have either not taken place or have

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Safeguarding children and young people

focused on the child’s behaviour rather than a debrief of the actual event. Because the records are not clear, it cannot be evidenced that the young person is safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff are clear that they would be taught how to complete a floor restraint in an emergency situation. However, the records do not always show that the hold was needed. There are therefore concerns that the holds may not be proportionate and that staff are not using the minimum force necessary. One staff member agreed that one hold in the restraints log should not have resulted in a floor hold and that staff should have called for assistance sooner. This shows that restraints are being used because incidents escalate unnecessarily. Therefore, young people are not as safe as they can be and there is the potential for young people to be harmed as a result.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Despite the above, outcomes are variable in the home. This is because some young people make good progress with their behaviour and say that staff have restrained them ‘properly’. Staff are trained in behaviour management and restraint, which in some instances, does help to make sure that children are safe. Most staff in the home feel that their behaviour management training helps them to support young people well with their behaviour. Some young people’s instances of more difficult behaviour have decreased as a result of the support that staff have given to them. This has helped them to make progress and developed their self-esteem.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The monitoring of the above records by the manager has taken place. However, the monitoring is not robust enough and, in some instances, fails to identify poor recording and therefore potentially unsafe practice when physical intervention is used.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A small proportion of young people and staff say that relationships between staff and young people are poor. This does not enable those young people to make good progress. However, some young people report very positive relationships with staff. Those young people say that staff care about them. One young person said staff are ‘amazing’ and ‘want them to do well’. This helps those young people to make good progress in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has safeguarding policies which include procedures to follow in the event of a safeguarding issue. Care staff are very clear about what they must do. They reported that they would always respond immediately and on the same day to their manager. However, this inspection identified that managers do not always follow procedures in referring concerns to the relevant authorities in a timely way. There have been two occasions where serious allegations have been made about staff. On both of these occasions, a decision had been made to report the matter the next day rather than report it as soon as possible. Also on one occasion, decisive action was not taken to keep the young people safe. This does not adequately protect young people from the risk of harm and abuse. There is some confusion about procedures available to staff with regard to safeguarding matters. Advice is conflicting about the timescale for passing on this information. However, staff are slow to act and do not

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Safeguarding children and young people

always take immediate action to keep young people safe. This has the potential to put them at risk.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Where young people have been missing and there have been concerns about their welfare, there has been an improvement in their safety as a direct result of the action staff have taken. Staff have been proactive in working with other agencies. There are some particularly good examples of good joint working with the police where staff have been praised for their work in this area. One young person reported with regard to the issue of going missing: ‘I am a lot safer than before and this is down to staff support.’ Staff are also very clear that their work has reduced the risks significantly for children in their care. This shows that young people are safer and that staff are effective in reducing the risks presented by this behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Recruitment practices are good, which helps to protect young people from the risk of harm and abuse. All staff receive fire safety training. Weekly tests of the fire alarm system and regular fire drills help to keep young people and staff safe. A robust risk assessment process further helps to promote the safety of young people and all who use the building.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The home’s Statement of Purpose covers all the requirements as detailed in Schedule 1 of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2001. The document reflects correctly the work taking place and the home operates within its conditions of registration.

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Leadership and management

Progress in meeting the requirements from the last inspection report has taken place. The medication administration system has been subject to a thorough review, which staff feel has helped to make sure that the process is robust. Young people are therefore safer as a result.

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Leadership and management

The supervision of staff supports staff well. Staff are clear about where they perform well. They are also clear about where further support is needed to address areas which they need to improve. Staff receive appropriate training and this helps to ensure their ability to meet the needs of young people. Staff have attained the National Vocational Qualification at level 3 in Caring for Children or an equivalent qualification. Staff training since the last full inspection has helped to keep young people safe and protect their welfare. This training has included mandatory training such as first aid, safeguarding, and behaviour management training.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring has taken place in the home and there have been regular visits from the provider which helps to make sure that the young people make progress. However, the monitoring systems in the home are not always effective in picking up shortfalls, for example, the shortfalls identified in the restraint records. Because the monitoring fails to pick up on all shortfalls in the home, it is not always effective in ensuring that young people are as safe as possible. However, the Registered Manager keeps a very clear record of the progress that young people make and the difficulties that they face. This helps to measure the progress that they are making in the home. This also ensures that in most areas, young people receive the quality of care that they need to develop.

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Leadership and management

There is a procedure for notifying appropriate authorities of significant events as required under Regulation 30 of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2001. However, this system has not always been effectively implemented, which does not help to protect young people from the risk of harm. A number of notifications have not been received by Ofsted about young people who have been involved in sexual exploitation. This did not allow for Ofsted to regulate on these matters. However, the concerns have been passed to the other relevant authorities to make sure that children have been safeguarded.

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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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