Children's Home run by Break Charity in Cambridgeshire

Unique reference number SC439153 Inspection date 31/07/2012 Inspector Louisa Bayley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 01/02/2012 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

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four children or young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. It is owned by a registered charity.

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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

Young people in this home benefit from high quality care, provided by a committed and passionate staff team. Highly effective and personalised care planning takes full account of individual needs, wishes and preferences, leading to significantly improved outcomes. Young people are succeeding in many aspects of their social, emotional and educational development, despite their highly complex needs.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say they feel well cared for and safe. They have positive relationships with staff who provide consistent boundaries and a sense of stability, regardless of the behaviours young people present. They view the home as the best placement they have ever had. Staff promote young people’s safety through individual plans and in conjunction with the extremely positive professional networks of support the home accesses. The ethos of the home is based around putting young people first, listening to their views and ensuring they access their rights. Consequently, young people see staff advocating for them and feel valued as a result.

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Overall effectiveness

A strong management team effectively leads the home. Managers understand the needs of young people and the importance of role modelling respect, positivity and consistency. This is cascaded through the team. Managers have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have plans in place to secure future improvement.

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Overall effectiveness

Areas identified for improvement are; documenting staff qualifications and gender in records held in the home, developing a system of consultation with parents and placing authorities, recording of staff supervision and evaluating the effectiveness of training. However, these areas of improvement do not impact negatively on the outcomes of young people.

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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) maintain in the children's home the records specified in Schedule 4 and ensure they are kept up to date, with specific reference to the sex of staff employed and their qualifications (Regulation 29 (1) Schedule 4.2 (b) (e)) 18/09/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for improving the quality of care provided in the children's home which provides for consultation with children accommodated in the home, their parents and placing authorities. (Regulation 34 (3)) 18/09/2012

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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

 evaluate the learning and development programme for effectiveness at least annually and if necessary, update it. With specific regard to establishing the effectiveness of medication training (NMS 18.2)  ensure a written or electronic record is kept by the home detailing the time, date and length of each supervision held for each member of staff, including the registered person. Ensure the record is signed by the supervisor and the member of staff at the end of the supervision. (NMS 19.5)

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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

Young people have developed a positive self-view because of the highly nurturing environment in the home. The extremely effective transitions into the home have enabled individuals to disengage positively from previous placements. This means they move into the home in a positive and planned way. Individual’s backgrounds are explored with them; they are able to express if, and how they would like to develop a further understanding of their backgrounds. Young people understand why they are in care. Staff work closely with them to help them manage their feelings of blame, loss and low self-esteem. Staff provide a consistent nurturing response to the behaviour young people display. This helps young people to know they will not be rejected. Consequently, young people’s confidence in their own abilities and their feelings of self-worth has increased over time.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Each young person has a health plan and they are supported to attend medical appointments. Staff promote sexual health services and smoking cessation, encouraging young people to take responsibility for decreasing activities which pose a risk to their health. Staff work extremely well with other professionals to promote emotional and psychological well-being. Staff engage with health professionals, such as psychologists, to understand mental health issues and develop strategies to use. The impact of this has been a significant reduction in incidents of self-harm and behaviours which pose a risk to others.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people attend and engage well in educational and work programmes. They have secured part time work, volunteering opportunities and college placements. Staff advocate firmly on behalf of individuals to ensure they access education. Barriers, such as young people’s behaviour, are positively addressed. An education provider talked of the dedication of the management team in breaking down barriers, enabling a young person to continue with their placement. He said: ‘I have never known such an excellent agency or such a strong and committed team.’ Staff understand the potential of each individual. Where educational provision has not enabled young people to fulfil their potential staff have sought and secured alternative provision. Consequently, young people are encouraged to have high aspirations.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are empowered to make a contribution to the home through community meetings, helping staff to cook, helping with chores and involvement in planning trips. They have also taken on voluntary roles within the community. Staff carefully balance the need for young people to take on responsibility against the need for them to experience childhood and adolescence. For example, young people who may have previously taken on a role of carer, automatically gravitate to that role. Staff therefore ensure they establish themselves as the carers and make young people feel they are cared for.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff promote and facilitate contact with family and friends. Young people benefit from meeting up with friends outside of the home. This helps them to develop relationships and attachments and build social networks.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Individual pathway plans and independence programmes are built around the needs of each young person. Staff support them to prepare for moving on in a managed and positive way.

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Quality of care

Professionals working with this home are very positive about the quality of care young people receive. One professional said: ‘In my experience the home is outstanding.’ The interactions between staff and young people are mutually respectful. Young people show insight into why staff put boundaries in place and how this helps them. They feel listened to by staff and say their opinions are taken into account and suggestions receive action where possible. A young person said: ‘I absolutely love living here.’

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Quality of care

Young people know how to make a complaint; however, there have been no complaints to date.

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Quality of care

Care plans are highly personalised and informative. The format provides a professional and helpful picture of young people’s lives. Culture and identity is a key part of the planning process. Individuals’ views are gathered from them, including the religion they wish to pursue, cultural requirements, how they view themselves and the clothing and personal statements they identify with. They are asked how they would like to be addressed by staff. This contributes to ensuring all their needs are met. Young people are very involved in their planning and their wishes and preferences are recorded. There is an excellent take up of the key work sessions offered to young people, demonstrating the value placed upon them. Staff take time to get to know young people and efficiently record incidents and events in order to identify patterns and triggers. This helps proactive strategies to be developed to support individual progress. A professional working with the home said: ‘Staff do not

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Quality of care

let historical information limit their responses or lead them to make assumptions about young people’s capability for development.’

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Quality of care

Young people value the support staff give them to achieve educationally. A young person talked of the lengths staff have gone to in order to ensure they are able to complete their placement. They said: ‘I don't know anywhere else that would do that, do you?’ There is a culture of expectation that young people receive appropriate educational provision; staff advocate firmly to achieve this.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from personalised activity programmes. They enjoy leisure pursuits that they are interested in, learn independence skills, participate in physical activities and, where appropriate, have time with friends outside of the home. This helps young people to develop their skills, confidence and social interaction.

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Quality of care

The home is exceptionally well presented. The furnishings and décor are of a good standard. The layout of the home means young people have plenty of space for communal activities. Bedrooms are decorated and personalised to reflect individual’s preferences. The home achieves a very good balance of providing a high quality environment with being homely and welcoming. A professional working with the home said: ‘The home itself is very well presented and that sends such a positive message to young people about how valued they are.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Young people say they feel safe and do not have any issues with bullying in the home. They can identify adults they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff work cohesively with other professionals to develop safety plans for young people. Risk assessments and strategies used to promote individuals’ safety balance well-being with opportunities to enjoy activities and experiences appropriate to age and stages of development. A professional working with the home said: ‘I feel secure that they keep the young person safe.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Incidents of young people going missing have significantly decreased over time. Procedures are in place to ensure a consistent response to incidents of missing from home or unauthorised absence. The procedures have regard to the police and local safeguarding board joint protocol. There is also a detailed plan for each young person, which is followed if an incident of missing from home occurs. The staff work with the police missing from home unit as well as the local police. Good relationships have been developed with the police community support officers. This enables young people to experience positive interaction rather than a response to offending behaviour. Staff explore the reasons for going missing with young people in order to remove triggers in the future. Staff demonstrate positive responses when young people return, reinforcing messages about how much they are cared for.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Positive behaviour is promoted through consistent approaches from staff, positive role modelling and use of individual strategies. There have been no incidents of restraint. Young people have displayed extreme behaviour, testing the commitment of the home and staff. However, they have consistently been met with a caring approach. As a result, they feel secure and extreme behaviour has significantly decreased.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff working in the home are subject to the organisational recruitment process. This includes both suitability and competence based interviews. Vetting and checks are carried out prior to any member of staff taking up post. This contributes to keeping young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The physical environment of the home is physically safe and secure without being restrictive.

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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

A permanent Registered Manager effectively and efficiently leads the home. An external professional said: ‘The manager and deputy show very good leadership. The whole staff team are dedicated to young people.’ Another professional said: ‘The manager and deputy work very well together and recognise the strengths of their team.’

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Leadership and management

There have been two complaints from neighbours, which have been followed up and resolved. The complainants have been invited to visit the home and meet the young people, in order to promote positive relationships.

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Leadership and management

The aims and objectives in the Statement of Purpose are clear. The professionals working with the home unanimously feedback that they are impressed with the quality of care provided for young people.

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Leadership and management

The quality of care is monitored through monthly independent visits, manager’s checks and six monthly auditing by a manager from the organisation. The manager of the home is very responsive to issues raised and actions are taken to address any areas identified for improvement. A record is kept of the improvements made and why. Young people are consulted with regularly and improvements are made as a result of their suggestions. However, there is currently no system in place to consult with placing authorities and parents. There is a development plan in place which details targets for the coming year and means of achievement. Managers have a good understanding of the strengths of the home and areas they want to develop. They value their staff team highly and strive to promote the philosophy of the home and achieve the shared vision. This means young people benefit from consistency this promotes.

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Leadership and management

Managers and staff clearly understand the impact and value that living at the home has had on young people. All staff are knowledgeable about all young people. This is valued by external professionals and ensures that young people receive a good quality of care at all times. Staff and managers recognise and fulfil the responsibility upon them to advocate for young people as any good parent would do.

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Leadership and management

The home employs a sufficient number of staff to manage the needs of the young people. There is a robust induction programme and staff receive regular supervision which, they say, is supportive. However supervision sessions are not consistently recorded. There is a programme of mandatory training which all staff have undertaken. Some aspects of training, such as care of medicines, are in-house. However the effectiveness of such training is not evaluated. Additional training is also available and staff benefit from developing their knowledge in specialist areas. This knowledge, in turn, benefits the young people in the home.

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Leadership and management

Records kept in the home are professional and clear. There is a minor shortfall in staff records, regarding gender of staff and detail of their qualifications, although these records are kept at the organisation’s head office. Young people’s files contain information which is likely to be helpful when they wish to access them. Additional records, such as journey books provide young people with memories of their time living in the home. They include photographs, posters and reminders of activities and events they have participated in.

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Leadership and management

Significant events relating to the protection of children living in the home are notified to the appropriate parties.

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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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