Children's Home run by Headway Adolescent Resources Limited in Bristol

Unique reference number SC066250 Inspection date 31/07/2012 Inspector Michael Williams Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/03/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This service is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people of either gender with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is owned by a private company that also operates other children's homes in the surrounding 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 good .

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Overall effectiveness

Taking into account their starting points at the time of their placements, young people make good progress across all aspects of their welfare and development. They are helped to achieve this by the good support they receive from staff. Placement planning is very individualised to meet the personal needs of each young person and is implemented in practice. Staff have a good understanding of safe working practice, which they effectively follow, in conjunction with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for child protection. Young people feel safe at the home. Staff follow strategies to protect young people from areas of risk. Any concerns or concerning behaviours are well managed by staff, again in conjunction with other professionals and services when necessary. Appropriate boundaries and rules are set and are consistently followed. Leadership and management arrangements are good. The Registered Manager is also the company's operations

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Overall effectiveness

manager and along with their fellow operations director they effectively identify and address weaknesses to secure future improvement.

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Overall effectiveness

An interested party commented that they thought the services provided by the home are good and strongly agreed that improving outcomes for children is the clear priority of the home. Independent reviews of young people's care at the home found that they were making good progress towards achieving agreed placement objectives. A clinical psychologist working with one of the young people commented that they had made, 'fantastic progress' at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

No areas for improvement were identified. The home is already aware of areas for further improvement and taking appropriate action to address.

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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

Taking into account their starting points at the time of their placements, overall young people have achieved good outcomes. For example, young people whose behaviour had been unsafe at their family home and put themselves and others at risk, show a marked reduction in incidents of this behaviour during family contact. This Demonstrates good progress towards achieving their primary placement objective: to return to live safely with their family.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good progress in developing a positive identity, self-esteem and knowledge and understanding of their background. They make and sustain positive relationships with other young people and staff in the home, and where needed re- develop positive relationships with their family contacts. Young people's identity, cultural and religious needs are positively addressed in their individual placement plans and regularly reviewed. Young people feel comfortable talking to staff about their background, which staff encourage them to do as part of getting to know them and their sense of identity.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's physical, emotional and psychological health needs are very well met. They are helped to understand their health needs and to take responsibility for them. For example, staff are helping one young person to understand and take steps to address their complex health need, and helping another young person to take responsibility for their particular health problem. Young people's health needs are also positively addressed in their individual placement plans and regularly reviewed. Any health risk-taking behaviour by young people, such as smoking, is decreasing.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to actively express their views, wishes and feelings, and they know that they are taken into account both in the day-to-day running of the home and in important decisions about their lives. Young people participate in regular key worker sessions and residents' meetings and in key meetings about their lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Taking into account their starting points at the time of placement, young people's educational attendance and achievement is good. Having been excluded from their mainstream secondary school, one young person is making good progress at an alternative provision. This young person is working to achieve one of the intended outcomes of their placement: to be able to return to full-time school-based education. Another young person's attendance at their school improved following their admission to the home, this has increased their ability to learn and achieve.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are actively and positively involved in activities in the community. When asked what is good about the home, two young people identified the activities that they do, both in the home and in the local and wider community. Another young person had started to attend regular social activities, in addition to the solo activities they already attend. This was as part of achieving another of the intended outcomes of their placement: to improve their social network of peers and community based activities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive care, appropriate to their age and understanding, to help them prepare for and support them into adulthood. For example, one young person was developing their self-care skills at the home in preparation for participating in the home's 16-plus programme.

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Quality of care

Staff are consistently concerned with and actively promote young people's welfare. However, when asked about the quality of care and support they receive young people do not always comment positively about it because it is challenging them to make positive change.

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Quality of care

Staff use individualised positive behaviour strategies to help young people enjoy good relationships with them, other adults and other young people. This has helped two young people enjoy much better relationships with their family during contact visits. The home operates an effective incentive scheme with young people that has good behaviour as its expectation. Good behaviour is rewarded and unacceptable behaviour is fairly sanctioned.

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Quality of care

The running of the home and the delivery of young people's care is significantly influenced by young people's views, which they share during individual key working sessions, meetings regarding their care and residents' meetings. When young people raise concerns or complaints they are taken seriously, appropriately investigated and any lessons learnt acted upon. For example, staff have changed the terminology they use when helping a young person deal with a particular health problem, after they took offence to a word used by a member of staff.

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Quality of care

Staff consistently and centrally involve young people in the planning and review of their care, which they ensure is tailored to their individual needs and is focused on clear outcomes. Each young person has an up-to-date placement plan which they are encouraged to sign up to and add their comments and views. Each young person's placement plan identifies expected outcomes, intervention and actions required, and whether objectives are being met in key areas, such as identity, cultural and religious needs.

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Quality of care

Staff actively promote young people's educational attendance and achievement. When they have encountered barriers to this, such as young people refusing to attend school, they have provided alternative educational provision in the home's education room. Staff work proactively with relevant education professionals to overcome any barriers. For example, staff recently participated in two young people's personal education plan meetings that were positive for both of them.

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Quality of care

Staff also work proactively with health, safeguarding professionals and the police to try and secure positive outcomes for young people and to address significant events relating to their protection. For example, a clinical psychologist provides support to the staff team and to some young people when agreed, and following incidents of a young person going missing from the home there has been liaison with the relevant officer.

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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 at the home. Young people's case records clearly identify risks and protective factors for them. To help protect them, each young person has a risk assessment and behaviour management plan that is implemented in practice and regularly reviewed. It includes: areas of risk; factors which influence risk; level of risk; and risk management strategies.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Since the last inspection one young person had gone missing several times. On these occasions they were protected as far as possible and were responded to positively on their return. The home managed these instances in line with the protocols and procedures maintained by their local police. The police liaison officer for runaways and children missing from home and care liaises well with the home. They are satisfied that staff do everything they can and a young person had not gone missing for over a month before this inspection.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There has been no use of restraint since the last inspection. Sanctions have been used appropriately to try and effectively address unacceptable behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff have strong and proactive relationships with the local police and local safeguarding professionals to support and promote young people's safety. These relationships have been key to effectively resolving any concerns from significant events relating to the protection of young people. For example, the LADO for child protection has been notified of allegations young people have made against staff. These allegations have been handled and resolved to the satisfaction of the LADO.

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Safeguarding children and young people

To help prevent unsuitable people from having the opportunity to harm young people there is exceptionally careful selection and vetting of all staff working with them in the home. Staff vetting is thoroughly carried out by a qualified human resources professional allied to the responsible individual for the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home provides a good physical environment for the young people. Environmental checks required are up-to-date and there has been a significant improvement to the home's environment following recent refurbishment and redecoration.

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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

This is a well-managed home. It has a clear, up-to-date Statement of Purpose which includes all required matters. The aim and purpose of the home and the facilities and services it provides are clear to staff, placing social workers and young people's parents. There is also a comprehensive young person's guide to the home. The home is in the process of applying to Ofsted to vary its categories of registration in the light of a change to the types of young people's needs it caters for.

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Leadership and management

Staff numbers, experience and support sufficiently meet the needs of the young people. The details of the staff group, their supervision arrangements, training and development, and relevant qualifications are included in the home's Statement of Purpose.

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Leadership and management

Since the last inspection, staff have participated in training to be able to continue to meet young people's needs, for example in terms of their health and special needs. Some of this training has been provided by the clinical psychologist who supports the staff team. Most staff have attained the relevant qualification at level 3. Regular supervision and staff team meetings also support staff to provide a good quality service to the young people.

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Leadership and management

The home's Registered Manager and deputy manager between them have the skills, experience and qualifications to exercise effective leadership of staff and the operation of the home. They ensure the delivery of good quality care that meets the individual needs of each young person at the home.

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Leadership and management

To secure future improvement, the home has acted on the four recommendations from the last inspection.

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Leadership and management

Regular monitoring of the operation of the home effectively contributes to maintaining good quality care and promotes the welfare of the young people. Each month the Registered Manager reports on the matters they are required to monitor. The Registered Manager is also the company's operations manager and works closely with their fellow operations director who carries out monthly registered provider visits to the home. The reports of these visits are focused on Every Child Matters outcomes for children and young people. They start by reporting on any outstanding actions from the previous visit and conclude with an action plan for any improvements needed to continue to develop the home.

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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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