Children's Home run by Warrington Borough Council in Warrington

Unique reference number SC442779 Inspection date 21/08/2012 Inspector Pamela Nuckley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 05/03/2012 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 local authority provision provides care and accommodation for two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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

Staff value the importance of building meaningful relationships with young people and work hard to achieve this. As a result, young people are settled and say they enjoy time with staff. Care and placement planning is effective and responsive to young people's existing and developing needs. Young people have the opportunity to contribute to their own care planning and the running of the home and they are regularly consulted on all aspects of their care.

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Overall effectiveness

A positive and nurturing ethos enables young people to make considerable progress during their time at the home. Young people have made good progress in many areas of their lives particularly in their education and behaviour.

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Overall effectiveness

There is a strong focus on behaviour management that significantly enhances positive behaviour. Staff work hard to provide a safe environment in which young people feel safe. One young person said, ‘the staff keep me safe, I was not safe at home'.

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Overall effectiveness

Good communication and working together with other professionals and agencies, and where appropriate parents, is a strength of the home and benefits the young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is well managed and efficiently run. The staff team is stable and experienced and they work together, with the positive leadership of the managers, to provide consistency of care for the young people. The managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have development plans in place. Areas for development that have been highlighted within this report include: ensuring that any paperwork around a safeguarding issue clearly identifies who has been informed, the action taken and that trends and patterns have been addressed. That all complaints are recorded in the complaints book and outcomes are clear. Risk assessments are completed when transporting or supervising contact and that health plans are in place.

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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 that children's physical and emotional and social development needs are promoted. Specifically in relation to ensuring that all the information pertaining to young people's health is easily accessible and shows how these needs are met by staff (NMS 6.1)  ensure that the children's safety and welfare is promoted in the home. Specifically in relation to all records identifying who has been informed and what action has been taken in any safeguarding incident (NMS 4.1)  ensure that staff have appropriate training, supervision and support if they are required to facilitate contact. Specifically in relation to having suitable risk assessments in place (NMS 9.2)  ensure that the registered person takes action to address any issues of concern that they identify or which is raised with them. Specifically in relation to ensuring that all external complaints are recorded in the correct book (NMS 21.9)

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Recommendations

 ensure that children receive prompt feedback on any concerns or complaints raised. Specifically in relation to having a copy of the outcome on the young person's file (NMS 1.6)  ensure that records are clear, up to date and contribute to an understanding of the child's life. Specifically in relation to showing a clear audit trail of how relevant information impacts or informs on practice or within other documentation. (NMS 22)

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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 make excellent progress in developing a positive self-view and knowledge and understanding of their background. They are cared for in line with individualised care plans and young people confirm that they are fully involved in all aspects of their care. This is supported by a document ‘all about me’ that young people complete to show how they wish to be cared for. It is an excellent document that not only covers day-to-day issues but explores young people’s fears and aspirations. Therefore, staff have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the complex individual needs of young people in their care.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people eat a well-balanced diet and are encouraged to take part in planning, preparing and cooking meals. Young people whose diet needs careful monitoring due to a medical condition, are robustly monitored and the information recorded. Young people enjoy good physical, emotional and psychological health because they have access to a range of health professionals and agencies, which ensure their emotional and psychological health needs are met.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to be part of community activities and have made friends within the community. Young people say that their friends are welcomed into their home. High staffing levels allow for individual interests and talents to be developed, which helps to increase young people’s skills and self-confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have made excellent progress with their school attendance. Staff are proactive in supporting the young people to attend and achieve at their education provisions. One young person said, ‘I’m in my last year and doing exams. I want to work in the care profession and I am doing a nursery placement. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the staffs help’. Social workers report that this is an area that the home excels in. One social worker said ‘the progress that this young person has made is fantastic and is down to the hard work the staff have done with him’. One young person’s attendance has gone up from 26% to 96% in the short time of having being placed at this home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family, friends and other people who are important to them. This ensures relationships continue to develop and strengthen. However, the home does not currently complete risks assessments for transporting, supervising or facilitating contact. This does not ensure that staff and young people are safe.

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Quality of care

Individualised care planning, in which young people are consistently involved, ensures that their needs are assessed and detailed plans are in place which shows how these needs are being met. Staff are active and inventive in involving young people in individual work in line with the aims of their plans. Encouragement, support and persistence results in young people engaging well with external agencies and professionals. Exceptionally effective partnership working ensures young people receive the support they need. Care planning is underpinned by effective communication, within the home and with others, including education, health and parents which provides consistency of support for the young people.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy very positive and constructive relationships with staff in the home. It is clear that these are developing from young people's increasing willingness to discuss their behaviours and concerns. Young people say, 'I like it here, the staff are nice and spend time with me’. ‘The best thing about the home is the staff’. The quality of communication between young people and staff is very good and ensures that most problems are resolved at an early stage.

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Quality of care

The views and wishes of the young people are central to the running of the home and the delivery of care. Their involvement is routinely encouraged through individual consultations and group meetings, and as part of day-to-day living. Records of young people's meetings show that the issues they raise are always responded to and where it is not possible to act on their wishes, they are informed of the reasons. Young people know how to complain and independent services such as the National Youth Advocacy Service visit the home on a monthly basis. However, outcome letters to the complainant were not on file or confirmed that they had been received. As a result, it is unclear whether young people have received feedback on complaints raised.

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Quality of care

Staff are proactive and consistent in supporting the educational achievement of young people. They engage with teachers at school receiving feedback mainly about behaviour and relationships, so that there is continuity in behaviour management. Staff also read regular school reports about young people's academic progress, so that they are aware of young people's strengths and weaknesses. Staff celebrate young people's achievements by displaying their certificates within the home, take them out on a specific activity of their choosing or purchase specific items.

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Quality of care

Positive behaviour management is evident and is mostly effective in supporting young people to take responsibility for their own behaviours. This is achieved through regular in-depth discussions about individual young people and behaviour management strategies, which ensures they benefit from consistent care. This coupled with individual reward charts has brought about significant reductions or more appropriate behaviour in several areas. Young people are cared for within a nurturing atmosphere with organised routines and clear expectations. Few consequences are applied, which is appropriate, and young people sign and add their comments to the records. One young person said 'I have received consequences but I am also given chances, which is good'.

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Quality of care

The arrangements for the administration of medication are robust and effective. Young people with lifelong medical conditions have been fully supported to understand their condition, the importance of good health and to self-administer their own medication. Robust risk assessments are in place to ensure that when young people are not at the home, for example; on holiday or on activities, that all medication and procedures are followed. An outstanding feature of this home is the involvement of speciality nurses attending staff meetings to ensure that all staff are aware of the needs arising from specific conditions. Appropriate permissions are in place for the administration of specific non-prescription medications and first aid. Staff are trained in medication procedures and first aid. Therefore, young people receive their medication safely and in line with their prescription.

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Quality of care

Young people’s physical, emotional and psychological health needs are satisfactorily assessed and addressed. However, information is in different parts of the young people’s files and it is difficult to see how staff holistically promote all aspects of a young person’s health in relation to; their cultural, sexual health, puberty and anti- social factors such as smoking, drugs and alcohol.

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Quality of care

Young people report that activities are really good in and out of the home. One young person said ‘I love sports and I do football. I am also looking forward to doing gymnastics and joining a gym’. Young people say that they have recently been on holiday and enjoyed a day out at Blackpool. There is a range of books, games and a computer which young people can access safely within the home. This shows that young people are benefiting from a wide range of activities.

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Quality of care

The home provides a very healthy environment. It is decorated and furnished to a high standard. Routines cater for each young person's individual needs and promote their learning about the importance of healthy lifestyles. Young people personalise their rooms and choose furnishings for communal areas. Local amenities and bus routes are close by so young people can easily access them and travel to see their friends and families. The home is comfortable and well-appointed and the layout gives young people adequate privacy when they want it. This gives young people living here the sense that they are valued and deserve to live in an attractive 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

Young people say they feel safe in the home. One young person said ‘I am safe here, I was not safe at home’. Comprehensive risk assessments inform and guide staff in keeping young people as safe as possible and reducing risk taking behaviours. These plans are monitored and reviewed by the whole staff group as needed. Particular vulnerabilities of the young people are recognised and they are informed of the risks they take by staff and other agencies with whom the home works. Risk taking behaviours in the home are reducing and all risks are very well managed through the risk assessment process. This means that young people can take appropriate risks in a safe environment. This helps to protect young people from the risk of harm, while at the same time enabling them to take controlled risks in a safe and supportive environment. This also builds up their confidence and self-esteem.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive regular training on how to safeguard and promote young people's welfare. They clearly understand how to respond to allegations, suspicions or evidence of harm and to keep young people safe. The home works closely with the safeguarding unit, Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and other professionals in a multi-disciplinary forum to ensure that all safeguarding concerns are addressed and strategies put into place to ensure individual safety. The LADO says ‘this home is excellent at sharing concerns and keeping me informed of any developments’. However, one report on a safeguarding incident does not show who was informed and the action taken. Although this is an isolated incident in an otherwise robust system, it is an area of concern. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the home’s missing from home protocol. The home has been successful in greatly reducing the incidents of missing

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Safeguarding children and young people

from home. Staff take appropriate actions to contact young people in order to protect them as far as possible when they are missing. Staff recognise behaviour and trigger factors that may be behind young people going missing and work closely with them, explaining the danger they put themselves in. Young people benefit from the staff's ability to balance their need for independence with safeguarding issues.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from positive behaviour management strategies, and relationships with staff result in most situations being diffused. Physical intervention is rarely used and only as a last resort for safety reasons. Young people are further protected by staff being vigilant to the potential for bullying and any issues are addressed promptly. Sanctions for misbehaviour are appropriate and recorded in sufficient detail, with evaluation of how effective they are. Good behaviour within the home is enhanced through the quality of the relationships between young people and staff.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The provider has rigorous recruitment procedures in place to ensure that only suitable people are employed to work at the home. The premises are maintained in a safe condition. The staff conduct fire drills regularly and all staff and young people know what to do in the event of an emergency. Additionally, there are good systems within the home to ensure that any risks to young people are identified and controlled. This means that the home is a safe place for young people to live and staff to work in.

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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

The manager is appropriately qualified and has an excellent range of relevant experience to guide her leadership of the staff team. The manager also has responsibility for another two bedded children’s home. A suitably qualified assistant manager covers for her in her absence. The manager has exceptionally high expectations of her staff team and is pro-active in ensuring all staff receive a full training programme, to equip them with specific skills relevant to the young people accommodated. There is clear evidence of how the care and support provided by the whole staff team have improved outcomes for young people.

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Leadership and management

The home's Statement of Purpose provides full information about the aims, objectives and care practices. These objectives are being utilised in everyday practice, ensuring young people feel safe, protected and well cared for. Young people confirmed that they were provided with a children's guide to the home upon admission.

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Leadership and management

The home employs a high level of staffing. For example, one young person said, 'there is always a member of staff on duty who I can spend time with, you never have to wait’. Young people are supported by a staff team which is comprised of a good mix of gender, race, age and experience. This helps young people learn about differences and they benefit from shared experiences such as different cultures and foods. When asked what the best thing about the home was, a member of staff stated, 'the young people and the fact that all staff want the best for them’. Another member of staff stated, 'I have worked in other care environments and none of them compare to the enthusiasm and pride that staff have here. I wake up every morning and look forward to my work day’.

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Leadership and management

New staff receive induction training to the standard set by the Children's Workforce Development Council and they complete it in the appropriate timescale. All the established members of staff are qualified to level 3 in care or are working towards it. The staff receive training in a wide range of subjects and they receive regular formal one-to-one supervision from a senior person. This covers an appropriate range of issues including an assessment of their work with each young person and a discussion of their own performance.

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Leadership and management

All staff attend monthly team meetings where they evaluate how young people's individual needs are being met and how their challenging and potentially unsafe behaviours are being managed consistently. As a result, staff have seen improvements in young people's engagement with staff and reductions in risk taking behaviours.

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Leadership and management

A complaint from a neighbour has been addressed and resolved. However, the recording of this incident was entered within the sanction book but not within the complaints book. This does not ensure that all complaints are transparent.

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Leadership and management

Each young person's key worker writes a monthly report summarising the young person's progress. The information is good and includes attendance at school, progress and other important matters. Social workers confirm that these reports keep them up-to-date with a young person’s progress. Young people confirm they are able to be involved in meetings where key decisions are made about their futures, including contributing to decisions. Statutory reviews of care plans take place on time and the staff help to ensure each young person's views and opinions are made clear.

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Leadership and management

Young people's records are stored confidently. However, the structure of young people's files is not clear and although there are good recordings across all areas, there is little linkage to how information has impacted on other records. For example; there is a good piece of direct work which show a smiley face and emotions around them but no reason, plan or evaluation of them. Therefore, it is difficult to see why these have been completed or how they inform practice.

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Leadership and management

The manager has established robust relationships with a wide range of health, safeguarding and education professionals. The manager demonstrates excellent awareness of the development needs of the service and there is a strong drive to improve care practices throughout. Quality assurance systems, in terms of monitoring under Regulation 34 by the manager and visits in line with Regulation 33 on behalf of the provider organisation, are extremely robust. Monitoring incorporates regular consultation with young people and reports reflect their views well. Where shortfalls are identified they are addressed quickly and thoroughly.

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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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