Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Unique reference number SC417795 Inspection date 27/09/2012 Inspector Malcolm Stannard Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/01/2012 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 children's home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for no more than four young people who have emotional and/or 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

Young people at the home benefit from a well-managed service with an enthusiastic and supported staff team. Young people are able to make good progress while at the home, both in terms of their behaviour and educational achievement. A particular strength of the home is the positive and effective relationships between staff and young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Comprehensive planning of care means that young people are able to benefit from a high quality of provision, where staff understand their individual needs. There is excellent support for young people's educational and employment needs and their achievements are celebrated.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people feel safe at the home and their welfare is protected by the home's policies and practice.

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Overall effectiveness

There is one area for development identified at this inspection, concerning increasing the availability of evidence of auditing and monitoring records. This does not have a direct impact on the care provided or the welfare and safety of young people.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  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. Specifically, ensure evidence is available of the action taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. (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

Young people make excellent progress at the home. They are helped to develop confidence and understand their backgrounds fully. All young people demonstrate an increased positivity about themselves and display high self-esteem and confidence throughout their daily lives. They benefit from appropriate, supported contact with family members. Good individual work is undertaken which has resulted in some young people enjoying positively enhanced relationships with their families.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health and have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They engage with the proactive arrangements made for them by staff and take responsibility for many aspects of their healthcare. Young people are knowledgeable regarding the risks associated with smoking and drug use due to the information and guidance given to them. They have dramatically reduced these behaviours. Young people have a choice of meals from a range of foods and are supported by staff to ensure they eat healthily. Physical exercise is promoted and young people can benefit from the opportunities to take part in varied activities. The looked after children’s nurse who visits the home states, 'Young people are well cared for both physically and emotionally.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate educational and employment provision. The support and encouragement given by staff enables them to achieve at school, college and in their jobs. Young people enjoy a good level of attainment and the progress from their starting point is excellent. One young person takes an extremely active part in after school clubs which aids their development. Communication between the home, school and employer is regular and positive ensuring consistency of practice and support.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to learn about life skills which will support them in their transition to adult life. They benefit from sessions relating to budgeting and domestic tasks such as cooking and shopping. All young people engage to some degree with the individualised packages which are appropriate for their development stage and ability.

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Quality of care

Young people's development and progress is promoted by all who work at the home. Staff have good, respectful relationships with young people; one young person stated 'staff are great'. Staff work imaginatively to ensure care needs can be met. An independent reviewing officer stated that the staff provide 'very committed care'. Placement plans for each young person are comprehensive in detail and clearly state their needs. Staff are knowledgeable about these needs and how they are to be addressed. Young people are involved at all stages including when plans are reviewed and during key work sessions; they are able to contribute their comments to records about their progress on a daily basis.

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Quality of care

Staff at the home support young people fully to achieve in education and employment. Exceptional support is given when young people wish to purchase their own motor transport to travel to their employment. They are assisted to save appropriately, are helped with the purchase of required safety equipment and supported to attend relevant training. The desire to see young people progress is reinforced by the constant dialogue with school staff and employers. One employer stated, 'Staff at the home are very good to deal with and very approachable.' Staff have advocated well to ensure young people are able to complete their college courses.

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Quality of care

Young people have the opportunity to be involved in a range of purposeful and enjoyable activities. Many of these enable them to engage in the local community. Support is available from qualified staff external to the home that make available outdoor adventure type activities and staff provide varied on-going sessions such as sport, fishing and craft activities. An external tutor currently visits the home to provide a structured art session for all the young people. The achievements of young people are celebrated and praised by staff. A record is held on young people's files of all positive attainments and progress in both education and leisure pursuits. This includes where there has been particularly good social interaction and behaviour.

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Quality of care

A varied package of work is undertaken with young people to address any health issues. This helps them to understand the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and behaviours which may be harmful to their health. Outstanding work has been undertaken in relation to smoking and drug use and there has been a large reduction in occurrences. Arrangements in place with external agencies means that young people are able to access a range of support for their physical and emotional health needs. A children's mental health specialist stated, 'Considerable time and attention is devoted by the home to thinking of the individual needs and requirements of each young person.'

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Quality of care

Young people are able to contribute their views on the daily running of the home in a number of ways. There are regular meetings, individual sessions with key workers and forums held by the manager during which he gains views on all aspects of the home. Views expressed are fed back to staff in their supervision sessions. A complaints system is available and young people stated that they knew how to access this if required.

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Quality of care

Positive behaviour is promoted and behaviour management strategies are highly individualised. Staff use varied negotiation and motivation techniques to diffuse any negative or unsettled behaviour and physical intervention is minimal with no instance recorded over the last eight months.

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Quality of care

The home is domestic in nature and well maintained. It provides a number of areas for young people to use which enables them to spend time on their own should they wish to do so. Furnishings are appropriate and of good quality. The home is situated in a residential area with good transport links and access to local facilities.

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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 at the home stated that they felt safe and that staff were good at protecting them from harm. Young people rarely go missing from the home although there are agreed arrangements with the local police which can be instigated if required. Safeguarding policies and guidance are in place for staff to follow and staff undertake training which helps them to have knowledge of how to support young people to stay safe. There are strong links between the manager and the Local Authority Designated Officer so that advice may be sought if required.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Individual risk assessments are in place for each young person. These identify potential risk and the proactive actions for staff to take to lessen risk and protect the welfare of young people. The assessments are updated regularly and staff are able to demonstrate a good working knowledge of the contents. This helps them to ensure safe practice when working with the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A clear structure is in place in the home in relation to expectations of socially acceptable behaviour. Young people understand this and benefit from individualised incentive schemes which help to encourage positive behaviour. There is minimal use of sanctions and restorative or reparation approaches are taken should any unsettled or unacceptable behaviour occur. All behaviour management records are held and completed as required by legislation.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The welfare, health and safety of everyone at the home is protected by the arrangements in place for staff recruitment, vetting of visitors and the maintenance of a safe building. The process for recruitment of staff ensures that all required checks are completed prior to commencing work within the home. The identification and clarification of gaps in employment is particularly robust. All visitors to the home are required to show identification and are accompanied while in the home. Gas, electrical and fire detection equipment is serviced and checked on a regular basis, in order that any deficiencies can be identified at an early stage.

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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 home is effectively managed by an experienced manager who is supported by a deputy. The manager holds a care qualification and is currently working towards achieving a qualification in leadership and management. He is clear about the areas which he would like to develop further to enhance the quality of care. These are part of the development plan for the home which clearly identifies particular strengths and weaknesses. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been met; these relate to areas of the building requiring maintenance, an update to some young people's records and ensuring clarity of anti-bullying systems.

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Leadership and management

There is strong leadership and guidance in place for staff who are supported by regular supervision and training opportunities which promote their professional practice and development. The training and professional qualification opportunities ensure that young people receive care from staff that are competent and confident in their role. All staff undertake a comprehensive induction programme before moving on to the diploma qualification course. All staff hold a relevant qualification or are undertaking one. Four are in the final stages of completion and two others have recently commenced appropriate courses.

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Leadership and management

The staffing arrangements ensure there are sufficient staff to meet the needs of young people and there is a mix of gender and experience available. This ensures young people can receive assistance in their care from a staff member they feel comfortable with. Any gaps on the rota are covered by staff working additional hours or by a member of the organisation’s own bank of staff. The home does not use agency staff; this ensures young people receive consistency of care. Young people speak positively about the staff; one said, 'Staff are easy to talk with.'

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Leadership and management

Young people's records are clear, detailed and regularly updated. They are held securely and confidentiality is maintained. The information contained in the files contributes to an understanding of the young person's life and enables the progress they have made to be clearly identified. Internal monitoring of records is carried out by the manager and deputy which allows them to fully evaluate the quality of care provided. However, any deficiencies noted and the manner in which they are fed back to staff cannot always be visibly evidenced. On occasions some of the systems in place mean that information recorded is duplicated. While the duplication of information has minimal impact on young people, it can on occasions be time consuming for staff. The manager is looking to address this as part of his development planning.

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Leadership and management

External monitoring of the care provided is carried out on a monthly basis by a representative of the organisation. A report is completed following each visit detailing findings and any actions required. An enhanced overview report of practice is also compiled on a regular basis. Copies of both these reports are submitted to Ofsted.

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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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