Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Unique reference number SC372621 Inspection date 16/08/2012 Inspector Trevor Hall Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 31/01/2012 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 home, run by a company, is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have 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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

Sensitive support enables young people to make progress and achieve improving outcomes. The staff team are motivated and proud of their work. They form meaningful relationships with young people who occasionally exhibit high-risk behaviours. They successfully educate and support young people to keep themselves safe and reduce these behaviours. This enables young people to make progress in other aspects of their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people generally hold their quality of care in high regard. This extends to viewing their staff as a strength of the home. A good rapport exists between young people and staff that is both trusting and sincere and promotes young people’s confidence in expressing their views and opinions. Whilst young people express confidence about their ability to express concerns and complaints, the recording of these, and the recording of resolutions currently fails to meet either the home's policies or regulatory requirements. The physical care of the young people is of a very good quality, the home has a nurturing atmosphere and young people are encouraged to eat healthily and to take their health care needs seriously. Health and safety are seen as a priority and regular checks of safety equipment help to keep everyone safe.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team fulfil their responsibility to provide care and protection, which ensures young people feel and stay safe. Decision-making is extremely child-focused. Both internal and external monitoring of the home, although regular, has not proved effective in ensuring that complaint and physical intervention recording has remained both robust and clear. Whilst this has not directly impacted negatively upon the young people's care experience, the potential for it to do so remains. One requirement has been made, concerning the need for the home to keep legible records of complaints that include clear resolutions. Three recommendation have been made, in respect of ensuring that staff apply the home's behaviour management policies at all times, particularly in respect of accurately recording why, a physical intervention has been applied. Recommendations have also been made in respect of ensuring that both the home's manager and the home's regulation 33

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Overall effectiveness

visitor effectively monitor all of the home's recording systems, but particularly those involving complaints and physical interventions.

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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, in particular to ensure that records are legible and responses are properly recorded. (Reg 24(5)) 19/10/2012

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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 that the home has a clear written policy on managing behaviours, which includes supporting positive behaviour, de-escalation of conflicts, discipline, control and restraint, that all staff understand and apply at all times, particularly in respect to accurately recording why, a physical intervention has been applied (NMS 3.3)  ensure visits of the home carried out under Regulation 33 include relevant checks set out in regulations. In particular the checking of complaints and physical restraint records to form an opinion of the standard of care provided in the home (NMS 21.7)  ensure that the manager regularly monitors, in line with regulations, all records kept by the home to ensure compliance with the home's policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends, particularly in respect of young people's complaints and the recording of physical interventions. (NMS 21.2)

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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

The home's competent staff team have successfully created a nurturing environment that has well-defined boundaries, but remains both homely and supportive. Young people clearly benefit from the security and structure that exists within this home. Boundaries are consistent and help to give young people a feeling of security without denying them their individuality. They enjoy generally positive relationships with the staff group, based upon respect and positive regard; this helps them to improve their self-image and build up their emotional resilience.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy a healthy lifestyle and are encouraged to take an active interest in and responsibility for their own physical health. Young people's health including physical, emotional, and psychological health is actively supported. Healthy eating is encouraged and young people know and understand the benefits of a nutritious and varied diet. Staff assist young people to make well-informed choices about their personal health, emotional and social issues, including sexual health, relationships, and the dangers of substance misuse.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are successfully encouraged to express their feelings and emotions. The home promotes a positive ethos that fully embraces diversity and difference; as a result, young people learn to appreciate the significance of differing values and cultures and to have respect for other people. This ethos also promotes positive behaviours, assists young people to understand the consequences of their actions, and encourages alternative and more acceptable responses.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people learn to value and enjoy their environment. They are actively involved in contributing to the selection of furnishings and items for the home. They are also encouraged and supported to decorate their bedrooms. Young people raise suggestions to improve the home through their young people's meetings and in day- to-day discussions with staff.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All young people are on the roll of an appropriate educational establishment. Young people are encouraged to take a pride in their educational achievements, subsequently attendance is good. This does much to improve young people’s self- image and build up their emotional resilience. Staff maximise every opportunity to help young people engage in education. This supportive approach enables young people to build their knowledge and skills. It also helps them to develop the values and skills they need to help them stay fully engaged in their education.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff support enables young people to maintain appropriate contact with their families and important people in their lives in line with their care plans. Guidance and practical experience in managing their own allowances, shopping, cooking and cleaning help young people prepare for their eventual transition into adult life.

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Quality of care

An experienced and competent staff team have created a nurturing and homely environment. Young people clearly benefit from the security and structure created by the home's well defined boundaries, which are consistent and give them a feeling of security without denying their individuality.

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Quality of care

Good quality day to day care is provided, which ensures that each young person's individual cultural and gender needs are identified and met. Adults provide good role models that emphasise equality and promote the value of individuality, which effectively challenges the negative impact of stereotypical gender, cultural and age- related issues.

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Quality of care

Each young person benefits from having an individualised programme of support, in line with their identified needs. This programme is delivered by both the staff in the home and when appropriate by independent specialists such as clinical psychologists and members of the child and adolescent mental health services team. Comprehensive care plans identify areas for development based upon young people’s individual skills and abilities. Young people generally enjoy good relationships with staff, based on mutual respect, which enables them to learn how to form more meaningful and sustainable attachments. Staff display very good communication skills and young people confirm that they feel listened to and actively involved in their care.

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Quality of care

Good care planning supported by up to date and accurate assessments of risk ensures that staff have access to good up-to-date information about the young people in their care. Vigilant checking in and dispensing of medication ensures accurate and up-to-date records, which evidences safe practice. Clear policies and procedures effectively applied by a well trained staff team effectively safeguard young people’s health.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a healthy environment where their individual health needs are identified and services provided to meet them. Care files contain health information and details of each young person’s General Practitioner, dentist, optician and specific external specialists. Staff support and encourage young people to access external health professionals in line with their identified need. Staff support young people to take charge of their own health care to better prepare them, for adulthood. The staff group provides the right balance between nurturing and enabling young people to develop appropriate self-reliance. Clearly maintained records of appointments with health professionals’ evidence that the physical, emotional and mental health needs of the young people are effectively met.

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Quality of care

Young people have their individual cultural, religious, language and racial needs effectively identified and addressed. They have regular meetings with their key worker to discuss progress and any issues of concern. Young people state that staff are approachable and acknowledge their rights and truly value their contributions.

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Quality of care

Young people confirmed that they know that they have a right to complain and all have done so. None expressed any concern with the home's complaints procedure and all felt that their concerns were taken seriously by the staff. The home has a good policy and procedure in respect of young people wishing to raise complaints; however, this is not being applied. The recording and resolution of young people's complaints currently fails to follow the home's stated procedures. A legible record of complaints is not being properly maintained, resolutions of complaints lack detail and are not being shared effectively with young people. Complaints forms are not being kept in young people's care files, nor are they being routinely shared with placing social workers. The majority of recent complaints are minor and the lack of procedure in there processing does not appear to have had any detrimental impact on the welfare of the current residents. The lack of proper and effective recording

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Quality of care

and resolution of complaints, however, potentially undermines the young people's confidence in the system and leaves the home open to reproach.

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Quality of care

The management and staff of the home promote high levels of educational attendance and attainment, whilst recognising the difficulties that young people have experienced in sustaining education placements prior to living at the home. Staff support young people’s education and liaise regularly and effectively with the schools they attend, this ensures that young people achieve positive outcomes.

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Quality of care

Young people are actively encouraged to pursue their own particular interests, and to try new activities, this increases their experiences and helps them to enhance their confidence and their social skills and abilities.

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Quality of care

Young people are involved in their care planning and have a general understanding of their care arrangements and can describe the support they receive and the objectives they are working to achieve. Young people's progress is shared regularly with placing social workers and parents, to ensure that they are up to date with developments. Placement meetings and reviews take place at appropriate intervals. Young people are encouraged to contribute to their review and care planning. This ensures that all decisions are known and understood by all and can be implemented effectively into the daily living arrangements. Up to date care plans include all required information regarding young people’s needs. This ensures that staff can deliver care that focuses on the individual needs of each young person.

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Quality of care

Communication between staff and young people is good, which results in staff being able to respond effectively; this ensures that young people’s needs and wishes are well known. Young people are encouraged and supported to make decisions about their lives in line with their individual needs. They have regular meetings with their key worker to discuss progress and any issues of concern. As a result, they feel valued and actively influence the running of the home. Young people present well, wear appropriate clothing and have sufficient belongings to meet their needs and receive pocket money and appropriate allowances to help purchase clothing and toiletries of their choice.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a well maintained home that provides sufficient space to meet their needs. When redecoration or repair is identified as necessary, these are proactively addressed through a short-term maintenance system and a long-term development plan. Young people have good quality furniture in their bedrooms and ample storage for personal clothes and belongings. The home enjoys good links to local facilities and is within reasonable reach of good transport links. The home also has a vehicle that means that young people have convenient transport for activities, shopping and contact visits with family.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is adequate at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people confirm that they feel safe living in this home. The home has a good set of individualised risk assessments for each young person in residence. Risk assessments are proactive, identifying potential risks and providing effective strategies to help to minimise these. These cover aspects of the young people's potential behaviour, the environment and the activities they wish to undertake.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff, guided by other relevant professionals, work hard to enable young people to moderate and improve their behaviour. The use of sanctions is minimal, fair and consistent. There is an emphasis on recognising and rewarding positive behaviours, rather than purely punishing those behaviours identified as being unacceptable. This enables young people to develop more socially acceptable behaviour and better prepares them to interact positively with the wider community. Young people understand that the boundaries in place are there to ensure their safety. They are invited to sign all records relating to the use of sanctions, which helps them develop understanding and responsibility.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Physical interventions are infrequent, being used as a last resort, by staff, to ensure safety for all. The resolutions of most incidents are through the skilful application of staff support and the sensitive use of conflict resolution techniques. The recording of why physical interventions have been employed lacks consistency and detail, which makes independent assessment of the legitimacy of the actions taken impossible. This leaves the home and the staff group potentially susceptible to allegations of inappropriate uses of these interventions to enforce compliance.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home’s manager monitors each physical intervention, to ensure that the intervention is necessary and has been applied and recorded correctly. She also ensures that young people are aware of their right to complain, receive any medical attention if required or requested and that social workers and, where appropriate, parents are fully informed. This process of monitoring has failed to spot the inconsistencies inherent in the current records, as has the monthly external management monitoring system.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive regular and wide-ranging training in safeguarding. As a result, they demonstrate a good understanding of the action they should take should they have any concerns about a young person's safety or well-being. Effective working with external partners, such as the Local Authority Designated Officer, ensures the continued development of staff’s knowledge and understanding of child protection practice. The home has effective policies in place in relation to young people absenting themselves from the home, without staff approval. These procedures and there application, ensure that the care and support provided minimises the risk that young people will go missing and reduces the risk of harm should they absent themselves. Established protocols and positive relationships with the local police complement this practice. Staff remain acutely aware of the potential reasons why individual young people may go missing, however, and use this insight to assist them in managing

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Safeguarding children and young people

young people’s feelings and frustrations in a more productive manner, which deters young people from running off and putting themselves at risk.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a good range of detailed policies and procedures covering aspects such as prevention of bullying, the safeguarding young people and behaviour management. These policies and procedures are applied constantly, by a well trained staff team that receive regular updates to their training this ensures young people are effectively protected from abuse.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a good health and safety regime, which ensures that all fire precautions, drills and equipment servicing are conducted routinely, consistently and within timescales set by the relevant regulations. Good quality risk assessments of the whole children's home environment have been conducted, which identify all potential sources of harm. These assessments are recorded in writing and are regularly reviewed. Good staffing levels further help to keep young people safe and reduce any risk of harm. The organisation’s effective recruitment procedures ensure the careful selection, recruitment and retention of staff. This ensures young people are safe and have a staff team who know them well. New staff are comprehensively vetted prior to their deployment in the home and before having unsupervised access to any young person. This ensures young people are safe and have a staff team who know them well.

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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

Appropriate supervision, support and resources enable staff to understand the developmental needs of young people. Well-established multi-agency partnerships with health services, placing authorities and the local mental health team ensure they all work together in the best interests of young people.

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Leadership and management

All staff members comment positively about the manager’s commitment, child- centred approach and staff support. Clear lines of accountability in the home has enabled a stable, consistent and structured environment to be established. Staff duty rotas confirm that the home keeps sufficient staff on duty at all times, to meet the young people’s identified needs.

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Leadership and management

The home has a clear accessible and comprehensive Statement of Purpose and young person’s guide giving young people, their families and placing authority’s good information about the services offered by the home. The young person's guide is age appropriate, accessible and is explained to young people at the point of placement by a member of the staff team. The financial viability of the provider is clearly shown by the development plans that show dates of further staff training and planned maintenance and decoration to ensure the physical environment is maintained to a high standard. Young people confirm that they are treated with respect and dignity and are supported by staff to overcome their significant and complex issues. Since the home's last inspection there has been a change in manager. The home's previous established Registered Manager left the home at the end of May 2012 and the present manager was appointed in July, however, she has yet to apply for

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Leadership and management

registration. The home's new manager is appropriately qualified and experienced, but due to holiday commitments has effectively been in post for less than one month.

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Leadership and management

The staff team is well informed and understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff know who they are accountable to and what tasks and responsibilities are delegated to them. They feel well supported by the home's management. Consistent and regular supervision, coupled with team meetings, provide staff with good opportunities to discuss their role, their professional development and the impact that working with children with complex needs has upon them.

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Leadership and management

The staff team are positive about the training and induction programme and feel it equips them to meet the needs of the young people. The company's training programme is well established. The staff team receive comprehensive training that is specific to the needs of the young people in residence. Personal training plans are created for every staff member who initially receive a comprehensive programme of induction, followed by mandatory training that is refreshed at regular intervals.

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Leadership and management

Internal quality assurance is provided by the home's manager conducting a monthly audit of all the home's reporting systems and submitting a report on the functioning of the home to senior managers. This internal monitoring is supported by regularly monthly Regulation 33 visits, undertaken on behalf of senior managers, which include additional quality assurance mechanisms and involve consulting young people wherever possible. The effectiveness of these monitoring systems is questionable, however, as neither system highlighted any deficiency or concern in respect of complaints processing or physical intervention recording.

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Leadership and management

The home has comprehensive development plans for continuing improvement based upon its record of accomplishment, staff training programme and provision of a high quality physical environment. Records are clear, up to date and stored securely, and would contribute significantly to the young people’s understanding of their life in care, if they choose to access these documents. The registered person notifies the appropriate authorities about all significant events relating to the protection of young people accommodated in 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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