Children's Home run by Kent County Council in Kent

Unique reference number SC037282 Inspection date 09/07/2012 Inspector Lucy Ansell Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 05/01/2012 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 children’s home is operated by a local authority and provides short break care for children and young people aged between 5 and 17 years, who have learning difficulties, physical disabilities and other associated complex needs. A team of nurses funded by the Primary Care Trust work within the home.

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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

Children and young people staying at the respite unit experience emotional warmth and competent care, as staff actively work to promote their welfare. Almost all the staff group have been with the unit for a substantial length of time and have formed long term positive relationships with the children and young people. This is a major strength as the staff team is resilient, committed and loyal to each other and the children and young people.

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Overall effectiveness

There are robust care plans in place and good communication between staff and other agencies which helps reduce challenging behaviour and ensures consistency for the children and young people. There are good levels of staff training and robust recruitment procedures to further ensure children and young people are protected. Areas of management responsibility such as quality assurance and monitoring are being completed to a very good standard.

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Overall effectiveness

As a result of this inspection there is one recommendation and two requirements to help improve practice. These relate to improving evidence of progress made, recording follow up phone calls for staff references and Regulation 34 reports helping to monitor improvements made regarding the quality of 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) shall establish and maintain a system for improving the quality of care provided in the children's home (Regulation 34 (1) (B)) 28/12/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure where a person has previously worked in a position whose duties involved work with children or vulnerable adults, so far as reasonably practicable verification of the reason why the employment or position ended. (Regulation 26, Schedule 2, 4) 28/12/2012

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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 records are clear, up to date and contribute to an understanding of the child's life particularly around progress made. (NMS 22)

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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 progress in an environment and culture that supports positive interactions and promotes the development of their daily living skills. The home provides the children and young people with a stable, secure and nurturing environment. Staff encourage and respect the children and young people's individual identities; which has a positive impact on their self-confidence and self- esteem. Comments from parents include 'complete confidence that their child's needs are fully met' and 'very caring relationships between staff and the children '.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people benefit from both their emotional and physical health needs being considered and promoted by the integrated staff team. Children and young people benefit from care staff and qualified nurses being available which helps to expand opportunities; and for the nurses additional input into their health care needs. Individual health plans clearly identify any health needs and ensure staff are clear how to meet these needs. Staff encourage children and young people to eat a healthy home-cooked diet and will always encourage them to try new foods.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff fully recognise the value of education and provide effective support in the form of transport for young people's attendance at school to remain consistent. The home ensures links with local schools alongside attendance at review meetings that promotes key information about children's day-to-day lives being shared. Good communication between the home and school ensures educational outcomes are well met.

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Outcomes for children and young people

A range of purposeful and enjoyable activities are available for the young people to try which encourages them to develop new skills and interests. The home is involved in accessing local and wider community activities and partnership working with other agencies. For example, the home hosts three community events a year primarily for families and friends to attend.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The children and young people within the home have access to a independence 'flat' where they are actively encouraged to develop skills of daily living that will help them later on with their transition into adulthood.

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Quality of care

Children and young people receive a high standard of care. Children and young people observed enjoyed caring and positive relationships with the staff. Interactions were caring and supportive and children and young people clearly trusted and liked their care givers. All staff have high aspirations for the young people and this helps create a sense of belonging and cohesion for staff and children. One member of staff told me that 'staff make sure they help the children make the most of every opportunity'.

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Quality of care

Children and young people are encouraged to express their views through regular children's meetings and with communication aids suitable to their level of comprehension. The home promotes many different methods of communication, so that they are able to fully meet all the children and young people’s individual needs. Children and young people are actively involved in the running of the home and recently helped choose which new equipment they would like for the garden. Parents and the children are surveyed twice a year to ensure their views on the services provided are obtained. Recent feedback from this was very positive in all cases. One parent survey commented 'fantastic care is provided and I don’t know what I would have done without their support'.

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Quality of care

Children and young people's care plans are sufficiently detailed and comprehensive as to guide staff effectively in their day-to-day support needs. Young people benefit from individualised plans which are focused on clear measurable targets and goals. However, the home does not fully show the progress made by the children and young people.

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Quality of care

Clear planning is in place to support health needs and staff completing any health tasks not completed by nursing staff are competent to complete this. Children and young people benefit from staff who are well trained in key health areas such as first aid, medication administration and any issues which may affect the young people. The home has robust arrangements in place for the management and administration of medications. Parents of children and young people receiving short break care retain the overall responsibility for the healthcare of the child. The home provides a healthy environment with home cooked wholesome meals, plenty of time to play outside in the large grounds and opportunities to experience new activities to keep themselves physically fit.

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Quality of care

Children and young people enjoy staying in a home which is homely, safe and well maintained. During each stay the young person returns to the same themed bedroom. The whole house is uniquely personalised and child-friendly with murals and decorations specifically child-focused. Two of the bedrooms have overhead tracking, and have specialised beds to meet the individual needs of the young people. The bathrooms are fully automated so the children can be in control and help to promote their own independence. The grounds are extensive and allow safe play outside with double fences and play equipment surrounded by soft flooring.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people benefit from effective arrangements to safeguard and promote their welfare. The home is a local authority resource and so has direct links with the Local Safeguarding Children Board who delivers their training. All staff are competent and appropriately trained in safeguarding procedures. Any issues of a child protection nature are managed appropriately, ensuring the safety of the child remains paramount.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Risk assessments and short stay care plans are robust and reviewed regularly. Positive and negative changes in children’s behaviour are constantly discussed and plans updated to meet their individual and changing needs. Effective behaviour management plans are in place, which promote de-escalation techniques rather than physical intervention, which is rarely used. All parents' surveys strongly agreed that their children are safe and well cared for in the home's care.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Comprehensive updated policies and procedures are in place and agreed with appropriate agencies to ensure that if children ever did go missing they could take the appropriate action. Children and young people have very close supervision due to their care needs so bullying or children going missing are not issues of concern. The home maintains the safety and security of the building and grounds, and thereby the safety of the children, staff and visitors through robust maintenance and monitoring systems.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children are safeguarded from unsuitable people gaining employment in the home through robust vetting practices. Comprehensive systems ensure no member of staff is employed at the home unless all checks have been undertaken to ensure their suitability to work with vulnerable young people. Whilst the manager does follow up all references with a phone call, a record of this needs to be kept on file.

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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

Children and young people live in a home that is competently and effectively managed in line with its Statement of Purpose. Management arrangements are clear and the home is well resourced to ensure that children and young people receive good levels of support. The management team is competent and efficient in their role ensuring a well-managed service. The Statement of Purpose and children's guide are useful documents which are kept under review and serve to inform children and young people and placing authorities about the services available within the home.

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Leadership and management

The stability of the team is a strength of the service, staff understand the individual strengths and needs of the children and young people who are accessing the home for short breaks. There is a commitment from all staff to anti-discriminatory practice and to supporting individual's identity. Staff say they are well supported and supervised. They felt the training they received helps them to effectively meet the needs of the children and support them to make ongoing progress. Staff are competent at the role they perform and have established positive relationships with young people, parents and other agencies. Feedback from stakeholders is highly complimentary on the communication with the home and commitment of staff to the children and young people.

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Leadership and management

The home has a clear development plan based on assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of the service gathered through contributions of staff meetings and monitoring tools. Whilst the home has effective practices in place for monitoring the standards of care within the homes, the Regulation 34 report in its present format does not show how they are improving the quality of care. The management team has robust system to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Any issues identified are swiftly addressed. Staff are continually striving to improve standards of care and outcomes for the children and young people.

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Leadership and management

The home ensures that children and young people benefit from receiving regular reviews of their care. Good communication tools used with the young people means their individual views are used to ensure their views are heard during the review process. Good quality records that are clear, comprehensive and up to date contribute to a good understanding of the children and young people's lives. All notifications of significant events relating to the protection of children are reported to the appropriate authorities and appropriate action is taken.

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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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