Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Senad Group Limited in Derbyshire

Unique reference number SC404596 Inspection date 03/07/2012 Inspector Philip Cass Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Date of last inspection 18/01/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This privately owned service forms part of a residential school. It accommodates up to 56 young people who have communication difficulties or are diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder.

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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 and managers tailor programmes of care to meet the individual, and often complex, needs of young people. Consequently, young people report that they are well cared for. Staff are helpful, considerate and respectful of young people’s age and intellect. Young people are well supported by the therapy team and have access to a range of health professionals. As a result, they make good progress in adapting to and overcoming health conditions. Young people also make good progress in terms of social skills and are well supported to feel part of the wider community. Young people have good attendance at school or college and make progress in line with expectations. The experienced management team provide strong leadership and have a commitment to continuous improvement.

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Overall effectiveness

It is recommended that the home improves the way that medication administration processes are audited, that all staff receive regular supervision, and that, where appropriate, staff have access to local authority care plans.

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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) co-operate with the child's placing authority in agreeing and signing the plan for the child’s placement. (Regulation 12A (1)) 06/08/2012

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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 staff are provided with regular supervision by appropriately trained and experienced staff (NMS 19.4)  ensure that there is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping and take action when needed. This is with particular reference to the monitoring of medication administration records. (NMS 22.1)

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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

The home is good at preparing young people for a successful transition to independence and adult life. Staff recognise that each young person has their own needs and that some young people have particular anxieties about the move towards independence. Because of this, independence plans are individually tailored, and young people are able to set the pace of transition arrangements. The service allows young people to move very gradually from group living, to less structured packages of support. In addition, young people are able to gain experience of independence by having access to an independent flat. As a result, most young people report that they are confident about their readiness for independence and adult life.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Many young people spend weekends and holidays with their families. The home is good at supporting these arrangements and working with young people and their families to ensure that the transition to and from the family home is smooth and does not cause unnecessary stress or anxiety. Communication between the home and family members is good. Where young people have complex family contact arrangements, the home is good at adhering to these arrangements and informing relevant authorities of any difficulties. Restrictions on contact with friends are only imposed if necessary to protect young people. As a result, young people benefit from appropriate contact with family and are able to maintain friendships and links in their own communities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have a positive engagement in the community. They are supported to be active citizens and many are active in local student unions and societies. Young people are supported to attend religious services and practise their faith. Young people have been supported to engage in work experience programmes and some will be working at the London Olympics during the summer break. As a result of positive engagement with the local community, young people develop improved social skills and gain experience which will benefit them in their future careers.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The educational achievement of young people is good. Where educational targets are set, young people achieve in line with these targets. Because additional support is provided when young people miss education as a result of health issues, young people can catch up with missed work. Consequently, most young people progress from the home into further or higher education.

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Quality of care

The home undertakes careful planning to meet the identified care needs of young people. Separate plans are drawn up by the therapy team to address the complex physical, emotional and mental health needs of young people. Educational planning is supported by effective assessment of progress. Care planning takes account of any needs relating to the young person’s cultural background and personal identity. Therapists go to great lengths to support young people to understand their backgrounds and develop a positive self-view.

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Quality of care

Care plans are understood by all staff and are frequently updated as the young people’s care needs develop. This effective care planning supports the delivery of good quality care. However, care plans are not guided by local authority placement plans because, in some cases, the home does not have access to these plans. This means that relevant information may not be available in the home and that the views of placing authorities may not be reflected in care planning.

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Quality of care

The home is well resourced and has an excellent range of on-site sports facilities such as a climbing wall, swimming pool, gym, and tennis courts. Because staff are trained to support young people in these facilities the home is good at promoting healthy activity. The home also enables young people to develop their own interests and skills. Young people report that they particularly enjoy the computer gaming equipment available in the home. Young people are able to develop their own areas of interest by attending conferences and community events.

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Quality of care

The home is well decorated and furnished to a high standard. A rolling programme of refurbishment means that, where some areas are becoming worn, there are plans in place to redecorate and replace furniture. Because housekeeping and maintenance systems are effective the environment is homely and nurturing.

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Quality of care

Educational attendance is good. Where young people have disengaged from education, the home makes efforts to promote education by offering alternative education packages and creating flexible, individually tailored, timetables. Most young people improve levels of attendance as a result of moving to the home. The home ensures that additional support is made available for young people as they prepare for examinations and complete coursework. This increases the likelihood of young people achieving well in education.

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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 are safe and feel safe in the home. All staff receive good quality training in safeguarding that fully equips them to protect young people from the risk of abuse or exploitation. Young people are confident to raise any concerns with staff and have access to a range of external advocacy services to whom they can also raise concerns or complaints.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Safe recruitment processes, including enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosures and telephone verification of references, reduce the risk of the home appointing inappropriate adults to work with the young people. Visitor records demonstrate that unchecked adults are appropriately chaperoned when on site. This practice further reduces the risk of abuse.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home is good at supporting young people to interact well with each other. There is no bullying in the home and young people build strong friendships. Staff are very respectful of young people. Behaviour management strategies are based on negotiation. They are effective because they respect the age and intellect of the young people. Because behaviour management strategies are effective, physical intervention strategies are rarely required. A strong sense of safety is promoted because staff and young people communicate sensitively and conflict is minimised.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety systems are underpinned by comprehensive risk assessment. The home is safe because potential hazards are identified and removed. Fire risk assessments are responded to adequately. Because fire safety checks are carried out regularly, the home reduces the risk of injury in the event of a fire.

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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 management team are committed to continual improvement. A clear development plan outlines planned improvements. Effective development planning has led to improvements in a variety of areas including training, consultation processes, and complaint management. Because requirements and recommendations made at the previous inspection have been met in full, the home has improved the way it meets specific health needs, and protects the confidentiality of young people.

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Leadership and management

Quality assurance processes promote improvement and identify shortfalls in practice. Because most shortfalls are addressed promptly the home is good at ensuring consistently high care standards. A failure to rigorously audit medication administration systems has had no impact on the welfare or safety of young people but limits the ability of managers to promote good health outcomes.

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Leadership and management

Managers are good at responding to complaints. Because there is good communication between staff and young people, most complaints are dealt with promptly at an informal stage. Those complaints that cannot be quickly resolved are managed fairly and in a transparent manner. All complaints are resolved well and, where appropriate, lead to changes in care practice that avoid similar issues arising in the future.

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Leadership and management

Training arrangements are of a high standard with all staff having received good quality training in key issues such as safeguarding, first aid and food hygiene as well as training in specific issues linked to the role and function of the home and developmental objectives such as building stronger relationships with parents. High quality training means that staff are well supported to meet the care needs of young people.

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Leadership and management

Supervision arrangements are clear and staff report that they value the support that they receive in supervision. Although there is an isolated example of a failure to provide supervision as frequently as required, in general staff receive good quality supervision at regular intervals.

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Leadership and management

The experienced and effective manager ensures that keyworkers are fully involved in care planning processes. This means that care plans are fully understood and implemented by the staff on duty. Staff are responsive to the changing needs of young people and adapt care plans to reflect these changes.

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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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