Children's Home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Rochdale

Unique reference number SC065072 Inspection date 04/10/2012 Inspector Sarah Oldham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/02/2012 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 children's home is operated by a private company and provides accommodation for 2 young people of either sex aged from 10 years to 17 years of age 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

Young people’s care and support enable them to make good progress from their initial starting point on admission to the home. They say that they have good relationships with the staff and feel that they are being supported well.

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Overall effectiveness

Their health care needs are identified and supported. Information is provided regarding promotion of good health and this enables young people to make positive choices to lead healthy lifestyles. Education is effectively promoted and staff ensure clear communication is in place between education and residential staff. This enables consistent levels of support to be provided to enable young people to achieve positive educational outcomes. Staff support young people to have a clear understanding of their history and backgrounds. This enables them to develop emotional resilience and confidence to achieve positive outcomes.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from a staff team that provides continuity of care and support. They have developed positive relationships with staff and feel confident in communicating their wishes and feelings. They say that staff are supportive and treat them as individuals. They say they feel safe at the home and that if they had any concerns or complaints that these would be responded to fairly. Young people are encouraged and supported to manage their behaviours. However, a small number of sanctions made are not clearly evaluated to demonstrate that they have been effective in supporting the young people to understand the consequence of their behaviour.

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Overall effectiveness

External Regulation 33 monitoring of the home is undertaken by a senior manager within the company and reports are forwarded to the manager and Ofsted within a timely manner. These reports highlight good practice and any areas for further development. However, Regulation 34 monitoring reports by the registered person have not been submitted to Ofsted as required by the Children's Homes Regulations 2001.

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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) supply to HMCI a report in respect of any review conducted for the purposes of paragraph (1). (Regulation 34 (2)) 16/11/2012

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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 sanctions and rewards for behaviours are clear, reasonable and fair and understood by all staff and children. (NMS 3.8)

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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 good progress at the home. Young people get continuity of care and support from the staff team. They develop positive and trusting relationships. They gain an understanding of their individual background and history and this means they can develop confidence and skills in preparing for their future.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Health care needs are effectively supported. All young people are registered with appropriate health care professionals and supported to attend medical appointments as required. They develop a clear understanding of their own individual health care needs and positive health care promotion. This includes maintaining a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise as well as an understanding of the negative impact of smoking and drug misuse. These measure promote good health for young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Education is effectively supported. Young people attend the school run by the organisation and attendance for the young people currently living at the home has been good. Staff provide support at the school and this enables good communication with education staff. This enables residential staff to have a good understanding of educational attainment as well as being able to effectively support the young people with their individual leaning, including support with homework.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have a strong sense of identity. They have regular contact with families and this is effectively supported by the home. There is excellent communication between the home and families. This enables clear planning to be implemented and is highly valued by the young people and their families. Support to plan for independence takes place throughout all aspects of care. Young people are involved in planning, budgeting and shopping for food as well as developing further skills for independence. Young people say that they feel that they are gaining a range of skills and are making good progress at the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people undertake activities that promote healthy lifestyles and provide them with opportunity to develop a range of interests that they can continue when they move on from the home. Activities include swimming, using local leisure facilities as well as activities in and around the home. Young people speak positively about their leisure activities and feel that they have support to access local community facilities.

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Quality of care

Young people receive good levels of care and support from staff. This enables them to make good progress to achieve positive outcomes in all areas of their lives. Individual placement plans provide clear information about the young person's needs and how these will be met during their time at the home. These plans are developed involving the young people to enable them to have a clear understanding of how individual needs will be met. This also ensures that young people feel fully involved in all aspects of their care and support. The plans are also agreed with placing social workers and this further ensures that young people are provided with consistent levels of care and support. Placement plans are kept under review and any changes to plans are recorded clearly. This ensures that needs of the young people are effectively monitored and supported.

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Quality of care

Included within these plans are detailed risk assessments and behaviour support plans. These further underpin the care and support that individual young people receive. These regularly evaluated assessments identify risks and enable clear strategies to reduce risks whilst continuing to support and promote the individual needs of young people. Young people discuss these risk assessments and the service agrees them with the placing authority. This ensures that the needs of the young people are appropriately safeguarded and supported. Young people are effectively supported with contact arrangements as identified in their individual placement plans. Staff have a clear understanding of contact and are aware if there are any restrictions in place. This ensures that young people are supported with maintaining contact and appropriate safeguarding measures are in place.

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Quality of care

Young people are consulted on a regular bass regarding their care and how the home operates. This is through regular keyworker sessions, children's meetings and the opportunity to speak with directors of the company. They have been also been involved in recruitment of staff and have found this experience to be very positive. They are encouraged and supported to attend statutory reviews to enable them to contribute to plans for their future. Young people say that they have a good relationship with staff and that they are able to voice concerns or issues with them. They are provided with information with regards making a complaint and say that they are also aware of how to contact other agencies if they have any concerns.

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Quality of care

Staff at the home have a range of knowledge, skills and experience in supporting young people. They promote young people's education by supporting them to attend school, liaising with teaching staff to enable them to have a clear understanding of the curriculum being studied and by providing opportunities for young people to access a range of facilities to further promote education. Young people have access to a range of health care professionals to meet their individual health care needs. Healthy eating is promoted. Young people say that they are supported to plan, budget, shop and cook meals. This enables them to develop skills for independent living. The home provides a good standard of accommodation. Young people are encouraged and supported to be involved in choosing the decor and furnishing of the home. They are able to personalise their own bedrooms and say that the home feels homely and comfortable.

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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 that they feel very safe living at the home and are able to speak with staff if they have any concerns. They say that staff speak with them about keeping safe and there are clear boundaries in place. All staff have undertaken safeguarding training. Additional training has also included missing from care procedures and child sexual exploitation. This ensures that staff have clear up to date knowledge and skills to enable them to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns. This promotes the safety and well-being of the young people living at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Individual behaviour management plans and risk assessments are in place. These help to protect and support the young people. The home promotes positive behaviour. The reasons for sanctions are discussed with young people. Any sanctions implemented are recorded within a dedicated bound book. However, some recording contains limited information as to the overall effectiveness of the sanction. All staff have undertaken training in behaviour management, including physical intervention. This is only used as a last resort to ensure the safety of the young people. Records of physical intervention is clearly recorded and monitored. There have been no recent physical interventions undertaken.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Robust recruitment and selection procedures are in place. All staff are appropriately vetted prior to commencement of employment. Staff ensure that the identity of all visitors to the home are confirmed and they are required to sign the visitors book. These measures protect the young people from unsuitable individuals gaining access to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Systems are in place to ensure young people live in a safe environment. Regular health and safety checks are undertaken and appliances serviced and maintained appropriately. Young people and staff are aware of the procedure to follow in the event of a fire and regular fire tests and drills are undertaken. These measures ensure that the safety of young people is promoted.

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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 benefit from having a staff team who provide continuity of care and support to them. Most staff hold a qualification in caring for children and young people. Systems are in place to ensure that all staff are registered to undertake this training within six months of employment following completion of their induction. The home has a training and development plan in place and all staff undertake training on a regular basis. These measures ensure that staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to support young people. The Registered Manager has appropriate qualifications and experience. He is also responsible for one other local home within the organisation. The manager divides his times between the homes according to the individual needs of young people placed, enabling appropriate support and oversight to be maintained.

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Leadership and management

The home operates in accordance with the Statement of Purpose. This document is made available to placing social workers and other interested parties. Young people are provided with a children's guide. This provides them with information about the home and what it is like living there. Wherever possible, young people are supported to visit the home prior to moving in. Where this is not possible, information is provided to them. This enables them to have an understanding of the home, the location and the facilities available.

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Leadership and management

Regulation 33 monitoring visits are undertaken on a monthly basis and provide an overview of how the home is functioning and meeting the needs of the young people. The views of the young people are gathered and contribute to this. The manager undertakes monthly monitoring to ensure that documentation is clearly recorded and reflects the service provided. However, Regulation 34 quality of care review reports have not been completed and forwarded to Ofsted as recommended on a bi-annual basis to demonstrate how the service continues to meet needs of young people and on going development plans.

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Leadership and management

Young people's records are maintained appropriately and contain a clear picture of their life, development and achievements during their time at the home. Records are up to date and stored securely. Young people are encouraged and supported to contribute to these records to enable them to have an understanding of their achievements and have their views clearly recorded

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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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