Children's Home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Unique reference number SC051739 Inspection date 16/05/2012 Inspector Julian Mason Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 20/12/2011 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

The home is registered for three young people with learning disabilities. The home is part of a private organisation which has several homes within the area.

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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

Overall, the quality of care is sound. Young people continue to make progress in most aspects of their lives. Generally, their care and support needs are being met because staff listen to young people and work in a way that matches individual circumstances. Where young people make choices that are potentially harmful or behave in ways that are unacceptable, staff set clear boundaries and encourage positive change. Young people feel safe in the home and value some of the supportive relationships they have with staff.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has been without a Registered Manager for a considerable period of time but a new manager has been appointed who is in the process of becoming registered. Staff are supported in their day-to-day work because the manager is directly involved and oversees many of the daily routines for each young person. Some aspects of the service need improvement but the new manager is aware of some of these areas. For instance, some of the home's fixtures and furnishings are worn and old; environmental assessments do not include all the measures taken to manage risks; staff do not always receive training when young people have very specific needs; and staff do not complete a national workforce induction programme within six months of starting work. In addition, the locking of external ground floor doors unnecessarily restricts young people's movement to and from home, and there are some shortfalls in documentation.

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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) ensure records are maintained and kept as specified in Schedule 4. (Regulation 29(1)) 31/08/2012

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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 the liberty of any child is not restricted as a matter of routine (NMS 3.19)  ensure the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained (NMS 10.3)  ensure written risk assessments of the whole children’s home environment are made to ensure all potential sources of harm are identified (NMS 10.8)  ensure the home contributes to the development of each young person’s care plan including the pathway plan for eligible care leavers and works collaboratively with the young person’s social worker or personal advisor in implementing the plan (NMS 12.2)  ensure that staff rotas have time scheduled to ensure handovers are held (NMS 17.6)  ensure there is a good quality learning and development programme which staff and volunteers are supported to undertake. It includes induction, post-qualifying and in-service training to enhance individual skills. Staff are equipped with the

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Recommendations

skills required to meet the needs of the children and purpose of the setting, and training keeps them up-to-date with professional, legal and practice developments and reflects the policies, legal obligations and business needs of the home (NMS 18.1)  ensure new staff undertake the Children’s Workforce Development Council’s induction standards, commencing within 7 working days of starting their employment and being completed within 6 months. (NMS 18.3)

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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

Overall, young people benefit from care and support that encourages progress and personal development. Staff and young people know each other well and when new young people arrive in the home, there is a clear focus on building positive relationships quickly. Staff work to help young people build their confidence and skills by being practical and realistic, linking their knowledge of each young person’s starting point. This includes making regular time available to talk to young people about matters that are important to them, which can relate to their self-esteem and emotional well-being. Young people’s attachments with their carers are sustained because of this approach. In addition, young people’s family attachments are also effectively supported by well-organised and planned contact arrangements.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff support young people to pursue their hobbies and interests, which also includes encouragement to try new experiences and activities. Staff listen to young people and what they want to do within and outside the home. This helps them plan individualised routines that match each young person’s preferences. Where young people may benefit from engaging in certain activities this is also encouraged. Staff work to expand young people’s experiences and build their confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Where young people struggle with learning the necessary skills and boundaries that support growing independence and social responsibility, staff are not deterred from intervening in these circumstances. This includes entrenched and inappropriate behaviours that are longstanding. For example, where young people use racist language and discriminatory behaviours this is challenged consistently. Staff highlight the unacceptable nature of the behaviour and the potential consequences. The manager provides clear leadership in these circumstances, although the impact on changing behaviour has been limited up to now.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported to access a range of community health services to ensure their needs are met. The staff team work closely with placing social workers, health professionals and families where appropriate to ensure timely support is provided that matches individual needs. Detailed records demonstrate how young people’s good health is being promoted. Where longstanding health concerns remain that relate to diet and exercise, staff work with young people to try and help reduce risks and improve their future health. However, current arrangements are having little impact despite concerted and sensitive efforts to encourage change and progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are engaged in individualised programmes of education that are currently delivered by an external provider within the home. The programmes are varied, covering several hours a day spread over a weekly timetable. They are designed to progress key skills and maximise young people’s engagement in formal education. Staff promote education as being very important and this outlook is reflected in the focused support young people receive.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team provide support to young people to help them practice and develop independent life skills. For example, young people are helped to develop their budgeting and domestic skills. However, these activities are currently being organised in the absence of any specific written plan that includes staff and young people’s contributions, although a meeting is being held for one young person soon. The home’s records reflect young people’s wishes and aspirations for their future but information has yet to be formulated into any meaningful plan for independence.

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Quality of care

Young people discuss their care needs regularly with their key workers and the wider staff team. Their care needs are agreed and comprehensively recorded. Plans are reviewed regularly by the manager and in partnership with young people, placing social workers, the staff team and parents. Meetings to review the quality of care provided are also organised regularly by staff and placing social workers. Detailed written reports are completed in partnership with young people. These help to inform the meetings and to facilitate good information sharing about progress and future needs. Young people with additional needs are provided with the right adaptations and equipment to ensure they are not disadvantaged and can achieve equal participation in these arrangements.

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Quality of care

Staff provide flexible care and support that is shaped by each young person’s day-to- day needs and routines. Young people get to spend lots of one-to-one time with staff and some of this time is used to talk about important issues that can affect health and emotional well-being. Staff build constructive relationships with young people and are always available when needed. Young people know how to make a complaint if needed, although the home’s records show that this has not happened for a while.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from the home having a detailed admissions process that is centred on an individual’s needs and risks on admission. Staff work hard to ensure each young person enjoys a positive experience on admission and beyond. The manager and staff team immediately create an environment of reassurance and tailored support. This is because thorough assessments are undertaken prior to admission, which help to achieve this approach.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy living in a quiet residential area and are able to participate in a range of purposeful activities, which include shopping trips and visits to recreational facilities. Young people have their own bedrooms, which are comfortable and highly personalised. There are sufficient bathroom facilities as well as a kitchen, recreation room, dining and lounge areas. The interior of the home is clean and tidy but the décor and some furniture is worn and tired looking. Young people have also recognised the need for the home's environment to be improved and have already made some useful suggestions. The staff team monitor the physical condition of the building and work to ensure that it remains as homely and comfortable as possible.

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Quality of care

Where young people have disabilities, the home is adapted to ensure specific needs are met and that all young people can access the home’s facilities equally. Where young people have no sight, they are supported to build their skills and confidence in navigating the home’s environment. For instance, staff ensure they do not move furniture around without consultation to ensure young people can still freely move around the home independently and unaided. Staff are very aware of the need to provide an inclusive home environment that does not disadvantage any young person living there.

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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

Overall, young people’s safety and protection are promoted and there are well- established procedures in place, which help staff to maintain safeguarding arrangements. The staff team receive safeguarding training that reinforces key roles and responsibilities for keeping everyone safe. The staff team complete thorough risk assessments, which are reviewed regularly to help ensure their work matches each young person’s particular needs. However, one of the home’s safety routines is to keep the front and back doors to the home locked at all times. Young people and sometimes staff have to ask to be let in or out of the home even when they want to use the garden area. Although this measure is assessed as necessary, there are no clear justifications for its continued use. By locking these doors, young people’s liberty is sometimes being unnecessarily restricted.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff promote and encourage a culture of positive behaviour between everyone in the home. Young people are supported to take responsibility for their actions, and more formal measures such as sanctions and restraint are seldom used. Staff use their relationships, skills and knowledge gained through training and experience to encourage socially acceptable behaviour. Staff listen to young people and always try to prevent difficult behaviour from escalating. Young people are coached and offered alternative ways of behaving that impact less on themselves and others. On occasions, staff have to deal with some very entrenched and negative behaviours but continue to explore ways of trying to help young people make progress and improvement.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are clear procedures in place, which are used to help ensure that if young people go missing they are found and kept safe. However, the use of these procedures is not currently necessary as young people do not leave the home without permission. Bullying is not currently an issue; staff awareness and supervision are used to good effect to prevent this kind of behaviour from becoming a problem.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home’s environment is regularly checked to ensure it is safe, and any essential maintenance is timed to be carried out according to the risks posed to staff and young people. Risks assessments are also in place to inform the staff team about any measures needed to make the home safer. However, not all measures are recorded so it is difficult to know how often they are reviewed or assessed for their appropriateness, for instance, the routine use of plastic cutlery and plates to eat meals with. Routine checks are undertaken on the safety equipment in place, which may be used in an emergency. Staff know what to do if they need to evacuate the building and sometimes practise this with young people. Arrangements are in place to complete checks on any new staff members to ensure they are suitable to work with young people. The manager ensures that no new member of staff starts work in the home until all the necessary checks are

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Safeguarding children and young people

completed. Any visitors to the home are supervised by the staff team to help ensure that young people are kept safe.

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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 home has a Statement of Purpose, which contains required information about the services to be provided. Young people also receive their own guide, which contains information about the home and about who they can speak to if they need advice from an outside agency. The guide has been reproduced in Braille for young people who have no sight.

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Leadership and management

The home has been without a Registered Manager for a considerable period of time. However, a new manager has just been appointed and is in the process of applying to the regulator to be assessed for their fitness to manage a registered children’s service.

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Leadership and management

The manager and staff team know young people and their families well. This helps them to learn about and understand individual circumstances and backgrounds. This ensures important matters that relate to young people’s identity, religion, culture and disability are incorporated into daily routines and care practices. There is a clear commitment to anti-discriminatory practice, and the team carry this out in practice as they consistently challenge young people’s discriminatory behaviour and language when it occurs.

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Leadership and management

The new manager provides effective day-to-day help to the staff team who feel supported in their work with young people. Levels of staffing are adjusted according to the needs and circumstances of each young person. Staff discuss their work with managers in more formal supervision meetings but these are not as frequent as the organisation requires. Staff attend training to ensure their core skills and knowledge are kept up to date but more specific training around young people’s individual needs is lacking. More experienced staff hold a level 3 qualification, with newer members of the team either commencing a diploma course or waiting to start. New staff receive induction training but they do not start their Children’s Workforce Development Council’s induction programme within specified timescales. Nearly all of the staff team are women but the manager is aware of the gender imbalance and is continually looking at ways of addressing this. Shift team handovers do occur but

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Leadership and management

these are not specified on staff rotas and are ad hoc. It is not clear how effective these meetings are in terms of sharing important information about young people’s daily circumstances.

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Leadership and management

There are systems in place to monitor the home's records; however, not all documents are in a format that allows the service to fulfil its statutory responsibilities. For instance, records for the administration of medication are not kept in a way that allow these records to be part of the home’s required historical data. Although the impact on young people is minimal, it is not clear how the home will manage any requests for this information given the current arrangements.

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Leadership and management

Overall, the home's manager provides effective management and has systems in place to ensure that the quality of care is regularly monitored. Monitoring visits are completed on behalf of the registered provider and copies of the reports are kept available for reference and action within the home. Any problem areas, which may be identified are addressed. The home has a development plan in place, which is in the process of being updated.

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Leadership and management

Two requirements and two recommendations were made at the previous inspection. These have been addressed apart from a recommendation relating to staff handovers, which has been repeated at this inspection.

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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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