Children's Home run by Salford City Council in Salford

Unique reference number SC040733 Inspection date 03/10/2012 Inspector Caroline Jones Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 26/03/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This is a local authority children's home. It provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities.

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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

Young people live in a homely environment where they receive high quality care. This supports them in making good progress in all aspects of their lives. Most young people's attendance at educational provision is excellent for others this remains a challenge and requires improvement to promote their life chances. Young people report that they like living at the home and feel safe. Parents and partner agencies are very complimentary about the service, and communication between staff and young people's parents is excellent. However, feedback from partner agencies about the quality of care is not routinely sought to inform the development of the service.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are central to care planning which ensures their care is highly personalised and effective in meeting their needs. Staff have high aspirations for young people and are enthusiastic and committed to ensuring they succeed and participate in society. Staff know young people very well and have built positive relationships with them. Young people comment: 'I like staff, they are like a second mum, I feel safe.' This contributes to young people being very settled and happy living in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is effectively run by an experienced Registered Manager who is focused on developing and improving the service further for young people. Robust plans are in place to secure improvements and tackle any areas of weakness and good monitoring scrutinises the quality of care. A shortfall was identified in relation to recording information, to ensure that this is accurately completed for young people's access in the future.

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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 young people attend school, college or alternative provision regularly (NMS 8.3)  ensure that information about young people is clearly and accurately recorded (NMS 22.5)  ensure that the views of social workers and independent reviewing officers are sought regularly on young people's care. (NMS 1.4)

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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 achieve good outcomes across all aspects of their development which helps them grow in confidence. Staff promote young people's independence and they are encouraged to take appropriate risks and responsibility for their age and understanding. For example, they regularly meet up with friends and go shopping for the day and use local transport confidently. These are notable achievements for some young people. Moreover, pathway planning to independence is excellent and demonstrates young people's achievements in acquiring skills and competence for adulthood, including their understanding of safer relationships and money management.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff are proactive in supporting educational achievement of young people and engage with partner agencies to secure school attendance and achievement. For most young people this is successful and their progress is excellent, however, for others their attendance is low which can impact upon their life chances. Considerable efforts are made by staff to tackle this and recent improvements in school attendance have been achieved. Young people are encouraged to learn at home and staff assist them with their home work to support and encourage their success. Individual school reports, for some young people, highlight exceptional progress including young people achieving above their expected targets.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from effective and consistent health care. They are registered with medical practitioners and have detailed plans to meet their health needs. Young people are educated in a variety of health and well-being matters, including sexual health. Furthermore, individual direct work sessions are completed with young people to enhance their understanding of health risks, consequently risk taking behaviours such as smoking, drug and alcohol use are decreasing. This complements young people's understanding in making informed decisions about their lives. Staff receive suitable training to support health and well-being, and they are first aid qualified to ensure safer caring of young people. Staff provide effective support to enable young people to take part in community activities including church, youth club and local events such as running the sport relief mile. This also builds their confidence and skills further. Young people have

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Outcomes for children and young people

regular contact with family and friends who also visit the home. This reinforces young people's support networks and provides a personal understanding of their background and identity.

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Quality of care

Staff have high aspirations for young people, who feel that staff care about them and protect them. Despite the complexities of young people's needs, staff find creative ways to engage young people and celebrate their achievements. Partner agencies comment:' Staff never give up on young people, they find a way.' Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff, who have excellent understanding of their individual needs. Detailed care planning and proactive relationships with partner agencies contributes to the quality of care received by young people. Although, consultation with partner agencies is good, their feedback about the quality of care received by young people is not routinely sought, which means that suggestions for improvement to the service can be missed.

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Quality of care

Young people are involved in the daily running of the home and their views are sought and responded to regularly. For example, at the request of young people a DIY club was introduced as well as a revised focus on exciting activities such as go- karting and skiing. Young people know how to raise a complaint and feel confident to do so. They comment: I know what to do, I just talk to the manager who will get it sorted.' The children's guide is available and provides information on how to access advice and support from independent sources including the Children's Rights Director. Young people have regular contact with independent visitors to promote their views further. These practices empower young people to have control in their own daily lives.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a healthy environment where their physical, emotional and social well-being is promoted. They engage in physical and social activities with friends and have easy access to health care services to meet their individual needs. Young people enjoy holidays and have recently been to France and Wales. Health professionals attend the home regularly to work with young people individually to promote their particular health needs. Young people are encouraged to pursue their individual beliefs and a range of events are available to promote young people's understanding of diversity. Young people assist to prepare the home’s menu and food to encourage their understanding of nutrition.

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Quality of care

Young people live in comfortable and homely accommodation that blends into the neighbourhood. The home is clean, and decorated and furnished to a good standard. Young people have their own bedrooms that are personalised and reflect their interests. They have space and privacy to see family and friends and to do their homework. This affords respect and dignity to young people.

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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 receive safeguarding training and have a good understanding of their duties in promoting young people's welfare. They are proactive and work individually with young people to ensure they are aware of risks and vulnerabilities. Consequently, risk taking behaviours, including incidents of young people missing from home has reduced over time. Excellent protocols and exchanges of information take place within the protective network of professionals to safeguard young people. Young people comment: 'I feel safe, they tell me they worry about me.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff have built effective relationships with young people which is the foundation of behaviour management. There are no restraints and sanctions are restorative and positive. Methods such as rewards and incentives encourage young people to work towards a goal and accept responsibility for their actions. They comment, 'I think the rules are fair.' Clear plans and risk assessment are in place and reviewed to ensure risks are identified and managed appropriately to safeguard and protect young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a physically safe environment in which health and safety matters are fully considered to protect them. Safety and insurance certificates are up to date and regular fire drills take place to ensure young people and staff are aware of an emergency evacuation route in the event of a fire. Staff are vigilant and take appropriate steps to verify visitors identity to protect the safety of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from an experienced and suitably qualified staff team. No new staff have been appointed for some time reflecting the consistency of the team, hence the recruitment and selection process was not checked on this occasion.

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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

Young people live in a home that is effectively managed in their best interests. The service meets the aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose and young people, staff and social workers are clear about the aims and facilities of the home. The Registered Manager provides clear leadership and accountability and works closely with staff and young people to ensure the smooth running of the home.

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Leadership and management

Young people's care is scrutinised through quality assurance systems which include monthly management monitoring. Excellent trend analysis systems are in place to learn and improve practice further, for example this has been successful in reducing missing from home incidents. All significant events are notified to the relevant authorities and appropriate action is taken to protect young people. The Registered Manager is well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and recommendations have been implemented. Developmental plans are realistic and show a commitment to continual improvement.

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Leadership and management

Staff are very well supported by a Registered Manager who is hands-on and open in her expectations of high quality care. Staff are suitably qualified and the team remains stable which provides consistency and predictability for young people. They have regular supervision, appraisals, team meetings and training opportunities that contribute to their competence in providing quality care to young people. Young people are also involved in the performance assessment of staff to ensure their views count. Staff confirm that the Registered Manager is available to them and that they enjoy the work they do.

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Leadership and management

Staff have a thorough understanding of their roles and responsibilities and have excellent relationships with partner agencies to ensure young people have the support they need to reach their potential. Recording of information is generally good and provides a picture of young people's daily lives. However, accuracy of recording is not always achieved despite clear processes in place. For example missing from home information was not fully completed by staff and recordings of direct work lacked detailed aims and outcomes. Young people's information is securely stored and shared confidentiality to protect their safety and privacy.

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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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