Children's Home run by Doncaster Children‟s Services Trust Limited in Doncaster

Unique reference number SC032167 Inspection date 09/08/2012 Inspector Lynne Busby Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 15/02/2012 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 local authority children’s home provides up to 10 short-break placements for children who have physical and/or learning disabilities.

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

Overall this service is good with some areas of outstanding practice. This is a well- run home, with a strong management team and staff who are child-centred in their approach and who demonstrate that they have a good understanding of children's individual needs.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Children's identity is maintained and staff are inclusive in their practice. Staff provide opportunities to enable children to positively engage in a range of experiences which for some have been difficult because of their individual disabilities. Children say they like coming to the home to stay. Children have plans that reflect their needs and staff have been developing these to ensure they have measurable outcomes. Health needs are clearly identified and staff work in partnership with health professionals. This is a strength of the service particularly for children who have complex health needs.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Safeguarding, health and welfare are recognised as important areas in the home to ensure children are kept safe and feel safe. Staff are very clear about the safeguarding procedures which they follow in practice. Parents say their children are safe and well cared for. Children have opportunities to express their views through house meetings, one-to-one sessions and consultation for reviews. This ensures that their opinions are listened to and acted upon.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

There is one recommendation made at this inspection relating to forwarding the internal monitoring reports to Ofsted.

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

 ensure reports on internal monitoring are completed at six monthly intervals and should be sent to HMCI within twenty eight days of completion. (Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 5 (3.14))

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children are making measurable progress in their development. Staff have a good understanding of individual children and provide a nurturing environment where children explore and develop safely. Children's health care is well met. Staff work in partnership with parents and health professionals to ensure that any specific health requirements are understood and can be addressed. Children's health needs are identified in the care plan and are supported by risk assessments such as for those children with epilepsy. Staff are appropriately trained before a child stays at the home. This ensures they are knowledgeable and skilled in dealing with a range of health needs such as gastro feeds and dietary requirements. Children are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles and are supported to make healthy choices. The children have a range of activities which promotes exercise such as going for walks. Meals provided are healthy and nutritious and children are offered choices.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Staff have a good understanding of likes and dislikes and where children require special diets for cultural, religious or health needs these are provided.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children benefit from staff who support them to develop self-care skills which builds their confidence and develops independence skills. The building design does not allow independence skills such as cooking to be an integral part of the service because of access to the kitchen facilities. However children are supported by staff who are innovative in giving them opportunities to develop life skills such as shopping and making drinks and snacks.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

There are good links with the local school the children attend. Children's attendance is good and staff are provided with information so they are aware of children's attainment at school. Staff ensure they attend all meetings which keeps them fully informed about progress.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children stay at the home at different times depending on their needs and parents can contact the home when they wish and are kept fully informed by the staff of any issues. A parent says they have found 'the communication has been exceptionally good. I feel able to approach staff about anything at any time.'

p.4

Quality of care

Children benefit from good care planning which is individualised; staff are developing plans to focus on achievable, appropriate targets which are measurable. In addition there is a plan which identifies the child's routine to be followed on a day-to-day basis. This enables staff to meet children's individual needs. There is some identification of a child's religious, cultural and ethnicity within the plan. Children's views are sought prior to a review depending on a child's level of understanding. Children can attend their reviews and are supported to do so. This enables them to give their views about future plans.

p.5

Quality of care

Children are supported by staff who know them well and have built up strong relationships over time. There is excellent consultation with children using their preferred method of communication. An example of children's views being acted upon includes new football nets for the garden. They have also requested a beauty room and jukebox which staff are looking at ways to facilitate these. Children are supported to make a complaint if they wish.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff ensure children have good access to a range of services to promote health needs including emotional and psychological needs. Medication arrangements in the home are safe and effective with all medicine stored safely.

p.5

Quality of care

A particular strength is that there are superb social outlets for children to experience and enjoy both within the home and the wider community. These inclusive activities include going to a youth club, disability sports club, meals out and trips to the park and local attractions. These experiences help children develop confidence and builds self-esteem.

p.5

Quality of care

The allocation of places takes into account the matching of children wherever possible. This is very good practice and ensures the groups of children using the service have similar interests and builds and maintains friendships. For children who present more challenging behaviours, key staff are matched to them. This has been extremely positive for some children as they have developed relationships with staff and it has enabled them to continue receiving a service.

p.5

Quality of care

The home is a single-storey building with access for wheelchair users. Staff have worked hard to make it homely and comfortable but it is identified within the development plan as requiring redecoration and updating. The home provides care for children who are able- bodied and wheelchair users, and it is equipped with suitable moving and handling apparatus to meet all needs. There is a large garden which has some play equipment; however staff say that this equipment is not appropriate for older children so limits their opportunities to use the outside space. Therefore, staff take them to local parks which the children enjoy.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Children's safety and well-being is promoted by staff. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and how to protect children from harm. When an incident has happened staff have learnt from this to ensure plans and risk assessments are reviewed to prevent any reoccurrences. Children placed have complex and vulnerable needs. Children never go missing because of good supervision and the vigilance of the staff . There are clear procedures and protocols in place which staff are aware of should this occur. There is no specific identified bullying but staff listen to children; for example, children who are noise-sensitive have asked to have bedrooms away from children who may be loud at night. This ensures children feel safe and settled. For those children who do not have verbal communication children are at ease and trust staff which indicates they feel safe.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

Children are well supported in developing acceptable behaviours. Staff are appropriately trained in managing behaviours which includes restraint. Physical intervention is rarely used and staff use de-escalation techniques which help calm children and enable them to regain control. Sanctions are used infrequently as alternative strategies are used which promotes positive behaviour.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Children are protected by clear procedures for recruiting and selecting staff and there is sufficiently robust arrangements for visitors which protects children from harm. There are very good systems in place to ensure the physical safety of children with all maintenance checks up to date and appropriate risk assessments in place. There are good fire safety procedures with regular fire drills held which enables children to participate in so they become familiar with the procedures.

p.6

Leadership and management

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

p.6

Leadership and management

The home has a Statement of Purpose that is up to date and includes the aims and functions of the home. This is available to all interested parties. There is an information booklet which is pictorial for children this is being updated. Children benefit from staff who are consistent and provide personalised care. However, staff say morale is low because of the uncertainty of the future of the service. A consultation period has been held but they unaware of the outcome of this. Staff work professionally so this has not impacted on the children.

p.6

Leadership and management

Children are looked after by a caring staff team that have a good understanding of individual needs. The staff team provides continuity and support to the children. There are appropriate arrangements in place for staff to receive support through supervision, training and appraisals of their performance. The staff are supported in their practice by regular staff meetings where they can reflect on practice.

p.6

Leadership and management

The Registered Manager has robust monitoring systems in place to ensure children receive optimum care. Within this system the manager has begun to monitor outcomes that children achieve which is good practice. In addition, the views of children and parents are reflected in the report. However, the report has not been forwarded to Ofsted. The monthly visit by a designated person is comprehensive and the manger acts promptly on any recommendations made. This ensures the quality of the service is improved. The manager has a development plan which identifies improvements to the service. However, because there are to be changes in the service this has not moved forward particularly in relation to the refurbishment of the building. There was one recommendation made at the last inspection that related to ensuring there was a policy on the use of an alarm system which alerts staff at night. This has been completed and in addition this is referred to within the Statement of

p.6

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