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

Unique reference number SC069293 Inspection date 16/10/2012 Inspector Simon Morley Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/05/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people of either gender. Young people living at the home have emotional and behavioural difficulties and are usually aged between 11 and 17 years old. The home is owned by a private limited company.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress .

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Progress

At the last full inspection in May 2012 the overall effectiveness of the home was judged to be good. There were no improvements required to be made at that time. Since then there has been suitable progress in maintaining the quality of care and outcomes for young people living in the home.

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Progress

The previous registered manager has left. The registered provider has appointed a new manager who is in the process of applying for registration with Ofsted. This is helping maintain the quality of care young people receive. For example the manager supports staff to continue to work with a range of different agencies to help meet young people's individual needs. Young people are safe. Issues of bullying are addressed and there is effective multi-agency work protecting young people when they are missing from home. Young people learn how to take care of themselves. Record keeping does not always reflect the quality of care practice when young people are missing from the home. On occasions there is not sufficient detail of the protective action taken by staff, the circumstances of a young person's return and follow up action afterwards. This compromises the ability to share relevant information with other agencies and review current safeguarding strategies for

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Progress

There is effective care planning and risk management to promote suitable outcomes and meet the needs of individual young people. For example, since moving into the home young people have made improvements in their ability to make and sustain relationships. Young people benefit from better family contact, attend school more regularly and make suitable progress with their education. There are times young people dis-engage with staff and other caring professionals. Staff find this hard in sustaining continued improvements in outcomes for young people. However, overall the quality of care and outcomes is judged to have been maintained since the last inspection.

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Progress

One allegation has been made about the care of young people since the last inspection. This was not robustly investigated by the registered provider which can compromise the effective protection of young people. The registered provider did not follow guidance set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) and did not discuss the investigation with the local authority designated officer for safeguarding. Failure to follow correct procedures also affects the quality of support for staff who are subject to any allegations.

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Progress

The registered provider's monitoring of care standards is regular, systematic and focusses on the quality of care. However it does not adequately focus on outcomes for young people, how well they enjoy, achieve and make progress in their lives. This weakens the ability of leaders and managers to plan and continuously improve outcomes for young people. Monitoring reports by the manager have not been sent to Ofsted. It is not clear how any trends or issues of concern are being identified. This can hinder all those involved in the home from working towards improving outcomes for young people.

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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) promptly refer to the local authority in whose area the children's home is situated, of any allegation of abuse or neglect affecting any child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 16, (2), (b)) 30/11/2012

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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 written records of when a child goes missing detail all the action taken by staff, the circumstances of the child's return, any reasons given for running away and any action taken in light of this information (NMS 5.10)  follow the framework for managing cases of abuse against people who work with children as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (NMS 20.8)  ensure that reports required by Regulation 33 focus on how well children enjoy, achieve and make progress (Statutory Guidance, Vol 5, para 3.12)  ensure that Regulation 34 reports are sent to Ofsted at six monthly intervals and are used to contribute to improving outcomes for young people. (Statutory Guidance, Vol5, para 3.14)

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011).

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