Children's Home run by Coventry City Council in Coventry

Unique reference number SC414347 Inspection date 16/08/2012 Inspector Mary Timms 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

The home provides up to a 12-week short-term placement for up to five children or young people. The service is operated by the local authority.

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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

At the last inspection the home was judged to be making good progress. The one recommendation set at that time has been addressed. The current inspection shows that the quality of service has been maintained and improved in some areas. There is strong leadership within this service and a caring and competent staff team. Staff and children build positive relationships, which underpins the stability of placements and the progress children make. Two requirements have been set within this inspection report relating to areas of recording, and one in relation to the external monitoring.

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Overall effectiveness

Care arrangements take account of individual needs, are well-planned and are reviewed regularly. Children feel consulted and are involved in both group and individual care planning discussions. Children are seen to make good progress from their starting points at the time of their admission. Children have a positive view about the service that they receive and confirm that they feel safe.

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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 that a written record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of the investigation (Regulation 24 (5)) 28/09/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose (Regulation 17B (3)) 28/09/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that during visits to the home under regulation 33 that the person carrying out the visits interviews, with their consent and in private, children accommodated, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as appears necessary in order to form an opinion of the standard of care provided in the home. (Regulation 33 (4) a)) 28/09/2012

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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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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children benefit from a good level of individualised care. Children feel valued because they are consulted about their care arrangements and also the day-to-day running of the home. Children feel that staff 'care' about them and they are able to talk to staff if they have an issue concerning them. As a result children feel confident in the staff, they feel involved and part of the decision making process in relation to their care.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children make good progress during their time at this home. Comments from family members include, 'the way my child deals with their anger improved 95% when they moved to this home’. Confirming that this improvement is directly linked to the quality of care provided at the home. Comments from professionals involved with the children include, 'there was a massive reduction in the episodes of this child going missing after they moved here'. Children are also positive about the progress they have made at this home, including reference to improvements in behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children progress in education during the time limited period that they reside at this home. For some children, who may not have attended school for some time, this is to engage them in discussions about education, to arrange college interviews, support attendance at meetings and to encourage them to continue with their education. For other children staff have contributed to and also advocated on their behalf during weekly education meetings. Children are positive about the support that they receive from staff in relation to their education. Comments from children include, 'staff are happy when I do things well at school'. This shows that children are encouraged to achieve within education. Children benefit from good health care arrangements. Children are taught about healthy eating and are encouraged to make positive choices about their own health. They enjoy the food provided and talk with enthusiasm about menus including the

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Outcomes for children and young people

meals provided for 'special days' such as 'Jamaican Independence Day'. Children attend appointments for routine check-ups and also for appointments with health professionals in relation to more individualised health care needs. Children also learn about key health risks such as sexual health and drug/alcohol misuse.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Relationships between children and staff are open and relaxed and children benefit from the one-to-one time staff spend with them. As a result they reflect on issues arising, they develop improved social skills and learn about protective behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are able to maintain relationships with family members and friends. They confirm that they have feet supported during and after contact arrangements. Family members and placing social workers talk positively about the support children receive in relation to family contact.

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Quality of care

The home provides children with a healthy and well-maintained living environment. Children are supported to access community facilities and resources identified to meet their individual needs. The culture within the home is one of inclusion and involvement. Children's developing independence is supported. They take part in routine household chores and are supported to take responsibility for appropriate levels of self-care and independence skills.

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Quality of care

Children receive a high standard of personal support and guidance. Comments from children include, 'I like it here because there are lots of different personalities to help you when you are angry.' Clarifying that staff have taught them skills in dealing with anger management. Care is provided in-line with individual plans which are agreed with placing social work teams. Planning reflects individual needs including those relating to issues of identity, equality and diversity and risk management strategies. Placing social workers speak positively about the quality of planning, risk assessment and reporting. Comments include, 'staff stuck to plan and kept me informed of current issues. Also, the Registered Manager shows real insight into the needs of this young person, views which have proved intrinsic to the development of future plans.' This demonstrates that staff have a good understanding of the needs of the children

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Quality of care

Children know how to make a complaint, which tend to be raised and responded to through the young people's meeting forum. They also confirm that they are comfortable raising a concern with staff. While there is evidence that complaints made by children are responded to appropriately, there is not always a written record kept to evidence the actions taken by the service. As a result there is not always a clear audit trail of the response made to children's complaints. Staff are positive in their approach to education and support children's educational needs. They work hard to engage children who have been admitted with a lack of firm education planning. The service works closely with educational professionals and placing social work teams to best meet children's individual needs. As a result children understand that education is important. Staff encourage children to take part in a range of activities and to join group trips organised at the weekend or in

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Quality of care

school holidays. Children say that they enjoy spending time with staff.

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Quality of care

Good behaviour is encouraged. Children talk positively about the incentive scheme operated at the home. This demonstrates that staff have engaged children in reflecting on areas of their behaviour/social skills which could be improved or maintained. There is a low use of physical intervention, only being used twice in 2012. Staff understand children's behaviours in the context of their backgrounds and prioritise defusing situations which have the potential to escalate. Records of measures of control are kept however, after a recent change to the format of one recording log there are times when the sanctions imposed on children are unclear. This means that there is in some areas a lack of required information to evidence the use discipline in the home.

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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

Safeguarding is inherent in the culture and practice of the home and children say that they, 'feel safe' residing at this home. Staff attend safeguarding training, have access to clear information about child protection and implement policies and procedures effectively. Safeguarding issues are recognised promptly and reported appropriately through Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Children are protected by robust staff recruitment procedures, which ensure that all required checks are completed before staff commence work in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children are provided with a safe living environment where issues of health and safety are prioritised. Both staff and children are clear about the actions they should take in the case of a fire

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Safeguarding children and young people

Planning for individual care identifies historical and current safeguarding concerns and sets out clear risk management strategies which underpin care arrangements. Staff work closely with other agencies involved in the protection of children to reduce individual risks and concerning behaviours. Comments from police officers when talking about safeguarding arrangements at this home include, 'staff could not have done anymore, they go above and beyond what would be expected'. This shows that staff prioritise children's protection. The service has clear procedures and joint working protocols to respond to occasions when children go missing. The vulnerability of children who go missing is taken very seriously and staff are proactive in securing children's safe and prompt return. The police, parents and social workers report positively about the way episodes of children being missing are managed.

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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 where safeguarding arrangements and service development are seen as particularly important. The management of the home is led by a Registered Manager who is supported by an experienced and knowledgeable deputy. Managers understand both the strengths and also the weaknesses of the service and have plans in place to develop and improve the service. A recent improvement implemented by the Registered Manager is a new format for plans for safeguarding children. This has improved safeguarding arrangements and risk management planning. The one recommendation set out in the previous inspection report has received action and has been addressed. As a direct result management monitoring processes have improved. A visit to the home is made each month by a representative from the provider organisation. However, reports show that children are rarely spoken to during these visits. This highlights that children's views of the

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Leadership and management

service they receive are not incorporated into this required monitoring visit.

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Leadership and management

The service operates in-line with the service Statement of Purpose. A guide for children is currently being reviewed and updated to improve the quality of information provided. This means that there is clear information available for residents and placing teams about the service provided at this home.

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Leadership and management

Records are clear and kept up to date. Manager's monitor record keeping and take action when necessary to improve practice. As a result there is a good record of the quality of care provided to children at this home. However, two areas of shortfall are identified in relation to logs required by regulation.

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Leadership and management

Children are cared for by competent staff who are available in appropriate numbers. Staff are experienced and well trained. They are also passionate about their role and they feel supported in their role. As a result children's needs are met by knowledgeable staff who understand children’s individual needs.

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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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