Children's Home run by Our Place (2008) Limited in Worcestershire

Unique reference number SC407929 Inspection date 01/08/2012 Inspector Carole Moore Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 12/03/2012 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 privately owned home is registered to accommodate eight children and young people with learning disabilities. The home has a school and offers planned short and long-term placements. The school is registered with the Department for Education.

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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

Young people with high levels of complex needs are supported to make adequate overall progress. Staff remain committed to improving the life chances of young people. Staff seek all available opportunities to enable young people to positively engage and enjoy their experiences by employing strategies to reduce young people's stress and anxiety associated with individual disabilities. Feedback from social workers and parents, who speak on behalf of the young people, are mostly positive about the quality of care.

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Overall effectiveness

The home provides a comfortable and spacious environment for young people with extensive and attractive outside facilities. Young people are kept safe from harm by vigilant staff support and good policies and procedures. Young people demonstrate by their trusting and relaxed behaviour in the home that they feel safe. Staff underpin this by good quality risk assessments and by their detailed understanding of each young person's moods.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager sets a clear lead to staff in enabling young people to participate in a full range of opportunities. Staff are generally well supported by the management team, but do not have sufficient opportunity to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the home as detailed in the regulation 33 reports and managers monitoring. There are also shortfalls in notifications and placement plans as well as evaluating the training and development programme.

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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 any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. (Regulation 30 (1)) 03/09/2012

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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

 ensure children receive care which helps them to prepare for and supports them into adulthood particularly with regard to young people with complex needs (NMS 12.1)  ensure the learning and development programme is evaluated for effectiveness, particularly in relation to working with children with very complex needs (NMS 18.2)  ensure the report of a visit carried out under Regulation 33 is lodged in the home for the manager and staff to read and to respond (NMS 21.8)  ensure each child's placement plan is monitored by a key worker within the home who ensures that the requirements of the plan are implemented in the day to day care of the child. (NMS 25.2)

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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 benefit from individualised support which helps them grow in confidence. All young people have an "All about me" book. This contains photos of people who are important to the young person and photos of significant events or items. It is regularly used with the young person and this means young people have a tool to understand their history and experiences.

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Outcomes for children and young people

There is a good approach to promoting the physical, emotional, and psychological health of young people and they are cared for in a warm, caring, nurturing environment with firm and consistent boundaries. Young people are in good health because staff ensure that all health needs are properly assessed and visits with the doctor, dentist and optician are well planned and take place. There is a multi-agency approach to ensure there are clear strategies in place to manage complex health needs. A social worker said, 'personal hygiene is now really good; brushes own hair and cleans own teeth which is great.' Young people are encouraged to engage in physical activities, such as swimming, walking and bowling. Daily routines are structured and individually tailored plans are implemented to offer comfort, security and stimulation for young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have a good record of school attendance and are making good overall progress in relation to their starting points when they first moved in to the home. Currently all of the young people are attending the provider's school which is on site. Young people are not only attending but achieving with their educational attainment. Young people are supported to recognise their achievements, however small, and receive positive recognition for 'good work'. As a result young people increase their understanding of expectations and less positive behaviours. The support staff are supporting the young people within school in order to promote consistent practice. A placing social worker said, 'huge improvements in the young person.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family and other people who are important to them. The home promotes, encourages and facilitates contact. Staff are good at helping with the practical arrangements, such as help with travel. Staff ensure that full and detailed records are kept for the monitoring and management of contact arrangements.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Increasing life skills as part of structured education packages are part of daily routines. Young people are encouraged to achieve personal goals, although at times of crisis there are interruptions in planned activities and undertaking structured tasks safely. A placing social worker said, ‘the young person has thrived here and made significant progress.' Children and young people’s needs related to their cultural background and personal identity are identified and positively addressed in both daily living and care planning. Staff are provided with specific training in communication methods. This inclusive practice means that the right resources and staff skills are available for disabled children.

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Quality of care

Young people are cared for by a caring, committed and relatively consistent staff team. As such young people benefit from long-term relationships and attachments to key people. Young people's needs are generally understood and interpreted enabling staff to respond to any anxiety promptly. Staff are vigilant to any changes and signs to ensure young people's health, safety and welfare is promoted. There are links with psychologists and psychiatrists providing on going specialist support. Comprehensive plans detail individual needs and guide staff on implementing consistent and tailored strategies, particularly in relation to managing some very complex behaviours. Medication arrangements are safe, organised and fully accountable.

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Quality of care

Young people are cared for in line with their individual placement plan and these plans are comprehensive, well detailed and regularly reviewed. Weekly summaries have recently been introduced to monitor progress on a regular basis in order to evaluate outcomes and explain how effective support and guidance has been delivered in reality. This is to be shared with placing authorities and parents. However there have been occasions when assisting young people to become more independent, staff's expectations have been higher than would normally be expected for young people with such complex needs. This could potentially impact on young people's development.

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Quality of care

Some young people do not use oral communication and the home listens to them by enabling their use of an electronic picture tool as well as other pictorial aids around the home. Young people are also shown how to make a complaint through pictorial representation.

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Quality of care

This service is committed to ensuring young people can access education. The provider has a school within the grounds of the home where young people have good attendance. Residential staff are present at the provider's school to support young people throughout their day in education and there is a seamless approach across the service.

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Quality of care

A range of purposeful and enjoyable activities are available to young people relating to the young person’s cultural background and personal identity. Young people are encouraged to pursue their interest and hobbies and they can experience a range of outdoor pursuits which provides them with many exciting opportunities. At a practical level, the home has a range of games, access to a television, videos and board games. Young people also have access to a large garden with outdoor equipment including ample space for a variety of activities. There is a sensory garden, vegetable plot and an area where they can experience looking after small animals.

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Quality of care

The home is appropriately located, designed and maintained. Although the home is rural in its location the home have more than compensated for this with the good level of transport provision. This means that young people have convenient transport for activities and home visits. Young people live in a homely and comfortable environment where they are actively encouraged to take pride in their environment.

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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

Staff communicate clear expectations regarding boundaries which sufficiently help young people to begin to understand consequences of their behaviour. Staff’s approach to behaviour is based on redirection and purposeful intervention to calm the situation quickly. Restraints are only used when felt really necessary to ensure safety. Staff are trained in physical intervention, restraint and de-escalation techniques with regular refresher training being put in place. The home has individual behaviour support plans for young people identifying details about the behaviours, known triggers, how they are to be prevented, managed and reviewed. Staff regularly discuss the behaviour approaches with the senior team and agree as a team how to respond to young people. The incentive systems that are in place succeed in helping young people develop and maintain socially acceptable behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are robust procedures for the recruitment and selection of staff. These ensure that all staff are thoroughly vetted before they start work. All visitors to the home are monitored because they are required to provide evidence of their identity and to sign a visitor’s book. These robust systems protect young people as they ensure that unauthorised individuals are not able to gain access to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and duties, regular training ensures their skills remain current and relevant to young people's needs. Safe practices are regularly reviewed and underpinned by risk assessments focusing on young people's welfare and safety. All staff have completed training in safeguarding and appropriate staff guidance and safeguarding policies and procedures are in place and regularly reviewed. This ensures staff understand, and are clear about what they should do if there is a safeguarding issue and are familiar with the referral process to the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected by good quality risk assessments of the premises, which are regularly and carefully updated. Young people take part in fire drills and staff are aware of their particular needs if an evacuation of the home becomes necessary. Young people are further protected as the perimeter gate to the home is by code entry, as are the external doors. There is not an issue with young people going missing from the home, and because of their vulnerability, young people do not go out unaccompanied. The home has clear protocols with the local police and the placing authority should this ever occur. Bullying is not perceived as an issue within the home although staff are quick to identify any areas of concern.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home is kept safe from hazards and is well maintained to provide a homely environment. Health and safety checks, including checks of fire equipment are routinely undertaken to maintain a safe environment. There are also regular health and safety meetings within the senior management team to further ensure safety. Young people demonstrate by their trusting and relaxed behaviour that they feel 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

Young people receive care from a committed staff team. Young people's individual needs are often intensive and there is enough staff to support them. Staff work efficiently as a team and report feeling well supported in their role. Senior managers routinely monitor practice and support staff. Satisfactory independent visits further monitor care practices and overall measures ensure care remains consistent. Leaders and managers show a commitment to young people and their families and provide a range of services that supports them in meeting the needs of young people with a disability. The senior management team understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home and discuss areas for further development. Several new strategies and records have been implemented to evidence the work that is being carried out. There is also a development plan in place to further enhance progress. However there needs to be

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Leadership and management

greater clarity with the whole staff team including the support workers in order for them to fully understand the areas of strengths and weaknesses. Support staff are not fully aware of documents such as regulation 33 reports and inspection reports to help them reflect and improve on their practice.

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Leadership and management

The requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection have all been addressed. These related to records, training, monitoring and gathering young people's wishes and feelings.

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Leadership and management

The home meets the aims and objectives in the Statement of Purpose. This document is also available in a personalised pictorial format for young people who may be moving in. This means that young people, staff and external contacts are clear about the aims and objectives of the home and what services and facilities it provides. The management team are aware of the new practice developments in relation to the new inspection framework and new legislation. However, the support staff team are not as aware of the processes of inspection and this could impact on improving the quality of the service.

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Leadership and management

All members of staff spoken with gave positive comments about the manager’s commitment, child-centred approach and support to staff. Staff members feel supported in their work through regular supervision, good training opportunities and clear policies and procedures to support them. The training programme devised by the organisation ensures that mandatory training is available and refresher training is planned. However the programme is not evaluated for effectiveness. There are several different team meeting formats to ensure the teams focus on meeting young people's needs, improving the care staff offer and mutually supporting everyone.

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Leadership and management

Records are reasonably clear, up-to-date and stored securely, and contribute to an understanding of the young person’s life. All significant events relating to the protection of young people accommodated in the home are dealt with appropriately but there was a failure to notify Ofsted within the required timeframe. Although this does not impact on the young people, this does not meet the regulations.

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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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