Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire YMCA in Nottingham

Unique reference number SC444681 Inspection date 25/07/2012 Inspector Elizabeth Tanner Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 27/04/2012 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 home is operated by a national charity and provides care and accommodation for up to three young people at the main residential site and a further two young people at a satellite home close by. The home provides care and accommodation for young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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

This newly established home provides personalised care which promotes improved outcomes for young people. There are suitable individual plans and risk assessments in place for each young person. These plans take into account each young person's current and on-going situation. Because of this young people's needs are understood by staff and appropriate care given.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people hold positive views about the home. They say the quality of care they receive is good because they feel safe and supported. Relationships between staff and young people are developing as the home becomes established. This will enable young people to develop a sense of security within the home.

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Overall effectiveness

There are shortfalls in meeting the regulations and national minimum standards. Shortfalls mostly relate to the training and support needs of a newly recruited staff group and with the establishing of systems to monitor the running of the home. Because of the experience of the staff group these shortfalls have not had a significant impact on the safety and welfare of young people, but they have the potential to do so.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and recognises the support he requires to make improvements in a timely manner.

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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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose which includes all the required details (Regulation 17B(3)) 24/08/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that at all times, at least one person on duty at the children's home has a suitable first aid qualification (Regulation 20(2)(f)) 24/08/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all persons employed in the home receive appropriate supervision (Regulation 27(4)(a)) 24/08/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that copies of Regulation 33 visits are supplied to HMCI (Ofsted). (Regulation 33(5)(a)) 24/08/2012

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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 the home has a clear written policy on managing behaviour, which includes supporting positive behaviour, de-escalation of conflicts, discipline, control and restraint, that all staff understand and apply at all times (NMS 3.3)  ensure all staff are trained in physical restraint techniques and only use the home's agreed techniques (NMS 3.15)  ensure that the children's home records show that telephone enquiries are made as well as obtaining written references when appointing staff (NMS 16.1)  ensure the children's home has a full record of the recruitment and vetting checks which have been carried out on those working for the home in accordance with the national minimum standards (NMS 16.3)  ensure new staff undertake the Children's Workforce Development Council's induction standards, commencing within seven working days of starting their employment and being completed within six months (NMS 18.3)

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Recommendations

 ensure the managers and staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities. The level of delegation and responsibility of the manager and staff, and the lines of accountability, are clearly defined. (NMS 21.4)

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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 are making sound progress overall. They are establishing themselves in their new placement and are developing confidence in their relationships with staff and with each other. Inclusion in the development of their care plans and the planning of activities helps promote a sense of belonging. A parent said that within a short time their child, 'had a sense of purpose.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health and effective health plans are in place. Some young people engage well with support services to help promote their emotional welfare and this is encouraged by staff. Good liaison exists between the home and various health agencies. This promotes consistent practice between all those involved with the care of the young people. Young people confirm they are supported to make healthy lifestyle choices. A young person said they had to eat, 'fifty-fifty healthy food.' Smoking is discouraged but to date this has not led to a reduction in smoking by young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people moved to this placement shortly before the end of the educational year. Some of the young people were not in any formal education at the point of placement. Effective work has been done in a short time to obtain school placements and encourage an ethos of learning within the home. This will assist in developing a culture of school attendance in the coming academic year. One young person stated that they had obtained an apprenticeship and is looking forward to college. This represents good progress from the start of the placement.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Contact is recognised as important for young people and is supported in line with care plans. A parent said they felt welcome in the home and that, 'communication is great.' Staff are committed to facilitating and promoting contact. Through this young people are able to develop their sense of identity and understand their past.

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Quality of care

Staff are concerned for the welfare of the young people in their care and positive relationships between staff and most young people are developing. Behaviour management plans are included within individual care plans and staff work hard to set consistent boundaries for young people. Differences in the interpretation of behaviour plans means that staff may not provide a consistent approach towards young people who display challenging behaviour. A recommendation about training in this area has been made.

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Quality of care

Staff know the young people in their care and young people are positive about staff. A young person confirmed they were making progress saying, 'When I first came I didn't get out of bed until 2.00pm. Now I am up at 10.00am.' Young people know how to make a complaint and are confident their wishes and feelings are heard within the home. Staff support young people's health and education well overall. They ensure that appointments with relevant health and educational professionals are made and young people supported to attend. Key working with young people is of a good quality and covers a range of subjects. Through these young people are encouraged to discuss and reflect upon issues such as racism, sexual health and remaining safe in the community. This means they will make progress in understanding the health and safety consequences of their lifestyle and choices.

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Quality of care

The home is well maintained and is welcoming for young people. Young people take responsibility for keeping their bedrooms clean and tidy and in so doing develop and learn to take care of their surroundings.

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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 report that they feel safe in the home. They are looked after by a staff team who have a good understanding of how to keep young people safe. Individual care plans include assessments of risk and these plans help to inform staff of risks and what to do to protect each young person. Staff use key work sessions to ensure young people understand the risks some behaviours pose. Through this young people know their safety is important.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are trained in safeguarding and are alert to indicators that young people may be at risk of harm. Staff have effective procedures in place if young people go missing and incidents of this happening has reduced. These procedures are supported by effective multi-agency working which ensures young people are further protected in the community because of a consistent approach from all professionals.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Positive behaviour is promoted and there is minimal use of restraint. Young people are rewarded for appropriate behaviour. Sanctions are used in accordance with individual care plans. Not all staff are trained in restraint and this shortfall could impact upon the effective implementation of a young person's care plan. A recommendation about training in this area this has been made.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has good health and safety arrangements and the home environment is physically safe to ensure young people are protected from accident or injury. At times there is not a member of staff on duty in the building with a first aid certificate. This shortfall was being addressed during the inspection and the impact on young people minimal because of the close location of the satellite home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff files are well maintained and the recruitment processes robust. Not all files held within the home record the level of vetting check that is undertaken or indicate that telephone contact has been made with referees as is required by the Regulations. The impact of this is minimal as the checks themselves are appropriately undertaken and the information maintained elsewhere.

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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 Registered Manager and staff team are newly in post and the home environment and culture is still being established. Discussions with the staff team indicate an ability to identify the home's strengths and the areas where it could perform better. An accurate verbal self-assessment of the service was outlined by the home's Registered Manager and this allows realistic and challenging targets to be set.

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Leadership and management

The home has a Statement of Purpose that provides clear and accessible information. This means placing authorities are aware of the services offered by this provider. Some recent admissions procedures have not been in line with the Statement of Purpose and this has meant that the quality of care was not as effective as it could have been. The effective management of all future referrals and introductions is central to improving the quality of care and outcomes.

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Leadership and management

Staff are committed to improving practice and they value the support offered by colleagues. The Registered Manager is accessible and supportive to staff. However, supervision sessions are not held regularly for all staff and not all staff are enrolled on the Children's Workforce Development Council induction programme. This means the personal development of some staff may not be effectively supported. Arrangements for deputising in the Registered Manager's absence and the levels of delegation of tasks to staff lack clarity. This could lead to staff and young people being unclear as to individual responsibilities within the home.

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager monitors the home's records each month to identify any patterns or issues that may need addressing. However, this monitoring is not always effective. For example, it has not identified the shortfalls in the record of restraints. This does not impact directly on the young people but could affect the ability of the manager to evaluate the effectiveness of practice. Monitoring of the home is being conducted in accordance with Regulation 33 but these reports have not been received by Ofsted.

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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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