Children's Home run by Crusoe Care Limited in East Sussex

Unique reference number SC434573 Inspection date 03/07/2012 Inspector Diane Thackrah 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 children's owned home for two young people who have emotional or behavioural problems. There is a satellite unit which also has spaces for two young people who have emotional or behavioural problems. The satellite unit is used to provide young people with a semi-independent living experience.

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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

Young people receive care that helps them to make some progress in their lives. They receive strong support from staff and as a result are happy and settled. They receive good support and guidance to help them develop positive behaviour and are pushed to make achievements. They also receive care which helps them to reduce some risky behaviour. Despite this, the outcomes for young people are not always positive. Young people engage in risky behaviour such as criminal activities and go missing regularly. Young people do not always make good progress in education, training or employment.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are treated as individuals and have clear plans of care that reflect their individual needs. Staff are motivated and have aspirations for young people. They are well supported by management and this promotes young people's well-being. Young people feel safe and are safe. There are effective arrangements for ensuring that young people are protected from harm. Management generally understand the strengths and weaknesses of the service and have plans for on-going improvement. However, the home could be better at ensuring that staff are well trained to carry out their roles well such as ensuring that staff understand child protection and fire safety procedures. There are also weaknesses in record keeping in order to ensure that young people are supported to understand their pasts when they are ready for this.

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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 new staff undertake the Children's Workforce Development Council's induction standards, commencing within 7 days of starting their employment and being completed within 6 months (NMS 18.3)  ensure all staff understand what they must do if they receive an allegation or have suspicions that a person has behaved in a way that has, or may have, harmed a child (NMS 20.1)  ensure that staff preparation and training cover health and safety issues, including fire safety training (NMS 10.7)  ensure information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future. (NMS 22.5)

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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 make some progress to enjoy relationships, interact positively and behave appropriately. Young people say that they like the reward system and that it encourages them to behave well. Staff help young people to understand the consequences of risky and criminal behaviour and in some instances have helped them to reduce their risk taking behaviour. For example, the use of restraint in the home has been significantly reduced and there have been no recent incidents of its use. However, some young people have multiple encounters with the police and seriously deteriorating behaviour. They struggle to engage with staff and as a result are not making positive progress in their lives. Some young people do well in education and have full time educational provision or training. They make good progress from their starting points and learn and develop. As a result, they are well prepared to lead successful and fulfilling lives. However, there are no clear plans for

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Outcomes for children and young people

some young people's future education, training or employment, despite the efforts of staff to support young people in this area. Young people therefore are not making good progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people understand the importance of healthy eating and exercise. Staff help to make sure that they have access to the right health care professionals when they need this. As a result, they generally enjoy good health. Young people are prepared for independence. They develop skills in a number of areas such as cooking and housework. Staff say that young people are, 'Really starting to learn about budgeting and meal planning'. This means they are equipped with the skills required to live successful lives in adulthood. However, some leavers do not utilise these skills positively and the progress they make when they leave is limited.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make some progress in developing a positive self-view and this helps them to be resilient. They are able to share their views and wishes as staff make sure there are opportunities to do this. Young people maintain positive and appropriate relationships with their families. For example, they are supported to visit family members, make calls to them or be visited in line with their care plans. This helps young people to understand their pasts.

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Quality of care

Young people know that staff are concerned for their welfare. They are happy and feel that they are valued and treated with respect. Young people say staff are fair. One young person said, 'Staff make sure there is fairness about things like sitting in best seat and what to watch on TV.' There are good arrangements for behaviour management that help to keep young people safe. A staff member said, 'It's about offering respect to young people. It's important to understand young people's backgrounds so I can respond to them appropriately.' This positive response helps young people to understand the implications of their actions. Young people say they share positive relationships with staff. They say, 'Staff listen to you and don't shout'. Young people are treated as individuals and have individual plans to address their needs. This helps to ensure that these needs are met.

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Quality of care

There are suitable arrangements for responding to complaints which ensures that lessons are learnt and the service improves. Risks are quickly identified and appropriately addressed. For example, staffing levels have recently increased in order to support the high level of needs of young people and to help manage the risks associated with this. This helps young people to feel safe and valued. Young people are supported to make progress in education. Staff ensure that young people understand they can be successful in education and work and have high aspirations for them. They make sure that young people understand their options. A social worker said, 'Staff are trying hard to motivate young people to do more training or work.'

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Quality of care

Young people are well supported to make achievements in planning for their future. They receive good support to help them develop skills for living happy and successful lives. A social worker said, 'Young people are struggling with independence work, but being pushed by staff to succeed.' Staff work positively with other agencies to promote positive outcomes for young people. This includes close work with placing social workers, health care agencies and the police. This supports a coordinated and consistent approach to young people's care. For example, ensuring young people have access to services to assess and promote their emotional needs. As a result, young people benefit from receiving the services that they need.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe in this home. They share positive relationships with staff and this means that they always have an adult who they can talk to. Staff also make sure that young people have access to other adults out of the home such as their social workers. This helps to promote young people's safety and well-being. Safe and positive behaviour management strategies are used in the home and this promotes young people's welfare. There is very little use of restraint. There has been a significant decrease in the use of restraint for some young people, good support is provided to help them develop positive strategies for managing their own behaviour. Staff defuse and de-escalate difficult situations which promotes a calm atmosphere in the home. There is monitoring of this by management which helps to keep young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff generally help young people to reduce risky behaviour such as going missing. They talk to young people about the risks associated with going missing and ensure a positive response to young people when they return from being missing. Staff are aware of the factors that trigger young people going missing and take action to address these. For example, they create positive alternatives such as enjoyable leisure activities or constructive work and training options. This goes some way to keeping young people safe. When young people do go missing there are clear and constructive plans to address this in order to protect young people. This includes a strong working relationship with the police. Young people live in an environment that is safe and secure. Checks are made on the gas and electricity installations and there is a strong approach to fire safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people say bullying is not an issue in this home. There are high staffing levels and low numbers of young people. Young people have opportunities for settling in when they are new. This helps to ensure that bullying does not occur. There is careful checking of all new staff members prior to them commencing work in the home. This promotes young people's welfare. There is a generally positive approach to child protection issues, such as sharing information with the local authority without delays and this promotes young people's safety. However, not all new staff undergo training in child protection when they start working in the home. New staff say they never work alone and are clear where to find the home's child protection policies and procedures. However, this approach to training does not fully promote young people's welfare.

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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

The management arrangements ensure that there is generally an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. As a result, the home is generally managed effectively to deliver a service which meets the needs of young people. There is quality assurance in the form of Regulation 33 visits and this helps to ensure that the home functions in line with the Statement of Purpose and problems are put right quickly. There is a close working relationship with the placing authority. This means that social workers and young people are clear about the home's objectives. A social worker said, 'Staff have ensured good communication and have ticked all the right boxes.' The management has a clear commitment to meeting the individual needs of young people. For example, the home is maintained and there are adequate resources. This helps to promote young people's welfare.

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Leadership and management

There are suitable staffing levels; this ensures that young people benefit from adequate support. Staff are well motivated and committed to supporting young people to make progress in their lives. They say they receive good support from management. This helps young people to feel valued and settled. The arrangements for staff training are not robust and do not fully provide staff with the skills and information required to provide a high quality service to young people. For example, new staff do not complete Children's Workforce Development Council's induction standards. This does not fully promote the welfare and safety of young people. Furthermore, handover records are not always legible. This does not help to provide young people with an understanding of their lives. Record keeping in other areas is of a good standard.

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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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