Children's Home run by Fairways Care (UK) Limited in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Unique reference number SC391708 Inspection date 18/09/2012 Inspector Maureen Hamer Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 14/03/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

This provision is a children's home, which is owned by a private company. It is registered for up to two young people of either gender. The home provides care for young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties as well as physical and learning difficulties.

p.3

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

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

This home achieves good outcomes for young people. Staff are very good at engaging with young people. Young people are enabled to maximise their independence while also having high levels of staff supervision which they need to keep them safe. Staff act as advocates for young people to enable them to access a range of opportunities and to reach their potential as they make the transition to adulthood; however, pathway plans are not always in place.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

There is a high level of respect between staff and young people which has greatly contributed to young people showing significant improvements in how they manage their challenging behaviours. There have been no episodes of young people going missing and the home is continually working with partners, such as local police, to ensure that collaborative working promotes young people's well-being. However the home's protocols on young people going missing are not up to date.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The manager ensures robust recruitment and vetting processes are applied but the evidence of this is maintained only at head office and not within the home.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The manager evaluates the quality of care and is focused on continuous improvement. However, quality assurance (regulation 34 reports) feedback to Ofsted does not reflect the evaluation of care and the feedback gained that the manager has in place.

p.3

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.4

Recommendations

 include children's guide the contact details for independent reviewing officers, the Children's Right's Director, Ofsted and independent advocacy (NMS 13.5)  make available a children’s guide in formats suitable for children’s communication needs (NMS 13.6)  ensure that the home has a record of the recruitment and vetting checks which have been carried out on those working (including volunteers) for the children's home (NMS 16.3 (a-f))  evaluate information gained from the monitoring of Schedule 6 and the input from placing authorities, young people and parents to identify concerns about specific incidents and to identify trends and to act to improve the quality of care (NMS 21.2)  contribute to the young person's pathway plan and work collaboratively with the young person’s social worker or personal adviser in implementing the plan (NMS 12.2)  ensure that the home's procedures are compatible with and have regard to

p.4

Recommendations

Runaway and Missing from home and Care (RMFHC) protocols and procedures maintained and managed by the police or by the local authority for the area where the home is located. (NMS 5.6)

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people live in a homely environment. They are relaxed, polite and confident as they talk about their interests such as the cars that they like. Young people have physical and learning difficulties with associated communication difficulties. Young people are engaged in a positive manner and as a consequence they show great confidence in talking about a range of issues such as their summer holidays and football; this demonstrates the continual improvement in their verbal communication skills.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have formed good attachments to staff. In addition young people have friends who visit the home and go on activities with young people such as kite flying. This successfully helps young people to develop social skills such as learning to share.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s attendance at school is very good as is their achievement. Educational progress is good and they are achieving well at a range of subjects, including reading. Young people are provided with a healthy and mixed diet which they are fully involved in planning. For example by choosing recipe books from the local library which menu inform menu planning. Young people also go to local shops for fresh fruit and vegetables as well as doing the internet food shop.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are motivated to participate in activities such as football to help to maintain a healthy weight. In addition young people have a daily individualised exercise routine that has contributed to their increased mobility, for example now being able to climb stairs. Young people show significant improvement in their ability to care for their own personal hygiene. In addition young people enjoy being able to travel by public transport. These skills all support maximising independence skills and are part of a planned approach to a positive transition to adulthood; however a pathway plans are not currently in place.

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people thoroughly enjoy seeing their family on a regular basis. Young people enjoy going for a pub lunch as well as preparing a picnic for their family. Young people are proud of such accomplishments and this contributes to their sense of being appreciated and the development of their self-confidence.

p.5

Quality of care

Young people gain a great sense of security and self-regard as a result of staff’s caring and consistent approach.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff develop individualised behaviour plans that have had a very positive impact on reducing young people’s challenging behaviour. Staff talk with and listen to young people as part of their provision of care showing respect for young people’s opinions. Following any challenging incident staff talk sensitively to young people to ensure they feel safe. In addition staff encourage young people to reflect on the incident and to think about how to avoid it happening again. This approach helps young people to feel safe and to consider making safer choices when they feel anxious.

p.5

Quality of care

Young people are very aware of incentives to promote positive behaviour. Behaviour contracts are agreed, signed and dated by young people. Episodes of challenging behaviour are robustly analysed. Risk assessments and care plans are reviewed to promote positive behaviour and young people safety and are signed and dated by staff and young people. This ensures that a consistent approach is taken in the care of young people and that young people engage well in learning to make positive choices. Key worker sessions are completed on a regular basis and demonstrate very good engagement of young people in considering their progress.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff work with young people to develop their interests such as holiday plans and ideas for the garden such as growing vegetables. At supper young people took pride in letting me know that the onions we were eating came from the garden. Staff work very well with education partners to promote young people’s educational progress for example staff have been very successful in supporting the young person to read. Currently writing is a key target and staff encourage the young people to write through menu planning and writing letters to family and staff. Young people consider such writing to be very important so want to write to the best of their ability.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff act as strong advocates for young people. Staff recently advocated successfully for the young person to be provided with a laptop. The approach demonstrates staff’s determination for young people not to be discriminated against due to disability.

p.6

Quality of care

Staff understand young people’s complex health care needs. Staff ensure that medication is administered safely. Staff are very knowledgeable about young people’s health care needs and are fully trained to manage emergency situations to promote their well-being.

p.6

Quality of care

The home, including bedrooms, are personalised and young people know that their privacy is given high regard by staff. There are many family photographs making the house feel very homely. As a consequence young people feel valued and this contributes to a sense of respectfulness.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

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

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Ensuring young people are safe is paramount to the staff in this home. Staff promote positive relationships with young people and this creates a culture of openness and trust. Young people do occasionally act impulsively and this sometimes puts them in unsafe situations.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Staff have comprehensive risk assessments that are regularly up-dated to ensure young people are kept safe. Young people are encouraged to take appropriate risks as a normal part of growing up such as travelling on a bus with a member of staff.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

There are no incidents of young people going missing from this home. Staff work with partners, such as the police, to protect young people from harm. Protocols for young people going missing are in place but they are not comprehensive.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

The manager undertakes careful selection and vetting of staff. However the home does not hold a record of the checks that have been undertaken making external monitoring of recruitment processes difficult.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Staff respond immediately to any suggestion of harm to a young person. Staff ensure that when any incidents arise that there is effective communication with all relevant partners to protect young people.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

The home has regular fire and safety checks to maximise young people’s safety in the event of a fire.

p.6

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

p.7

Leadership and management

The home is effectively and efficiently managed by a manager who is highly respected by young people, staff and partners.

p.7

Leadership and management

The manager is constantly reviewing the care and progress of young people. Feedback from monitoring the quality of care is provided to staff through regular team meetings. The manager is very good at engaging staff in reviewing their practice and taking further action to improve outcomes for young people. Staff are successfully engaged on continuously improving the care provided to young people to maximise their well-being and life chances.

p.7

Leadership and management

Formal quality assurance monitoring is undertaken on a regular basis and is submitted to Ofsted. During inspection the manager demonstrated ways in which placing authorities and young people’s views are gained and evaluated to improve services. For example following discussion with a placing authority the home made significant changes to the monthly progress reports on young people therefore improving communication between the home and placing authority. However, evaluation of information is not always apparent in (regulation 34) quality assurance reports.

p.7

Leadership and management

The home’s statement of purpose is comprehensive and has recently been up-dated to reflect changes in the inspection framework and to inform the home’s development plan. The children’s guide is individualised and staff talk to young people about its content. However, some information is not available in the guide such as the contact details for the young person’s advocate or independent reviewing officer. In addition the format of the information is not accessible to young people.

p.7

Leadership and management

The placing authority is clear about the aims and objectives of the home and regards the home as achieving very good progress for young people in their care. The home shows good capacity to improve. Staffing of the home meets the young people’s needs and promotes their well-being.

p.7

Leadership and management

Staff say that they feel very well supported. There are regular team meetings, group supervision and regular supervision at which young people’s progress is scrutinised.

p.7

Leadership and management

Notifications from this setting are rare. When an event occurs that necessitates a notification they are completed comprehensively and the needs of young people are addressed.

p.7

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.

p.8

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.

p.8