Children's Home run by Knossington Grange School Limited in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC436386 Inspection date 17/10/2012 Inspector Caroline Oldham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 01/05/2012 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 provides care and accommodation for up to four young people and usually takes boys. The home caters for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. This home is owned by an independent provider with a school site nearby; young people may also attend this school.

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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

Each young person has a highly personalised care plan. All are encouraged to be actively involved in their plan, which is created to address their specific needs. These are reviewed and updated regularly. However, the daily logs do not always reflect the well-documented care plan, which makes it difficult for young people to easily see the progress that they are making. Young people express positive views about the home, they have established good relationships with the staff team, and they are learning to get on with each another.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are passionate to make a difference in the lives of the young people, and continually explore imaginative ways of helping and supporting young people to make progress. Consequently, young people's behaviour is significantly improving, they are changing patterns and ways of behaviour and begin to learn new skills and enjoy their time in the home. For example, the number of incidents is now negligible, young people settle at night, and are therefore refreshed and able to partake in education and other activities. They are developing their social skills. They make a positive contribution to the home, and are involved in some aspects of the running of the home which helps to prepare them for independence.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people feel safe and are kept safe, through excellent working practices, and staff have a good understanding of safeguarding issues and the welfare of young people. There is occasional issue about practice and recording of restraint that lacks detail and prevents a clear understanding of how a young person is restrained. Young people confirm that they feel safe and happy, and there are no incidents of bullying.

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Overall effectiveness

Leaders and managers have thorough systems in place to monitor progress, and to analyse trends and review significant issues. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home, and has development plans in place. Staff say that they feel very well supported, and they receive regular supervision and appraisals. There are good opportunities for staff development through training, including specialist courses to help staff meet the complex and specific needs of the young people. Consequently, young people make good progress in relation to their starting points, across all aspects of their welfare and development, and respond very well to the clear routines and boundaries.

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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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control , restraint or discipline, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose that includes all elements of this regulation, specifically, a description of the measure used. (Regulation 17B (3)(c )) 17/11/2012

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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 information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future, this is with particular reference to the daily logs (NMS 22.5)  ensure that where restrain is used, staff only use the home's agreed techniques. (NMS 3.15)

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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 are making good progress in developing a positive self-view and building confidence and self-esteem. For example, they take pride in their appearance and self-care. A good indicator of their own self-image is their ability to acknowledge other people's strengths, such as saying; 'I really want to praise…'. They show awareness of the vulnerability of others, and are protective where appropriate, for example, caring for animals. Young people are developing much improved social skills, such as playing cards and board games together, and becoming aware of the impact that their negative behaviour has on others.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff help young people to understand their background through using the care planning documents, and helping young people to express their feelings verbally. Young people are making a positive contribution to the home through regular meetings to discuss menus, decoration and improvements, developments such as keeping chickens and caring for their room and belongings. They are involved in staff recruitment and interviews, devising thought provoking questions, and sitting in on parts of interviews. They are starting to get involved in the local community by helping the local fishing bailiff, and joining a local gym. Consequently, young people grow in confidence, and given their starting points, their behaviour improves significantly.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and take pride in their appearance. Some are reducing their smoking habit through a carefully monitored programme, and others are maintaining a drug free lifestyle. All young people are encouraged to attend their health appointments and eat a healthy diet. Consequently, their levels of fitness are improving, they are maintaining a healthy body weight, and learning about healthy lifestyles.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people regularly attend education in some form, and enjoy learning. This is a significant step for all young people who have been outside of any education programme for some considerable time. They are all making good progress and are proud of their achievements. Young people are encouraged to become more independent and are learning skills such as self-care, managing their laundry, keeping their rooms tidy and doing some simple cooking. Young people are gradually becoming more confident in their skills to prepare them for adult life.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family, friends and other people who are important to them. Staff are frequently involved in some capacity with contact visits to ensure that they are well managed and young people are supported. As a result, some young people form good attachments and benefit from contact with people who are important to them.

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Quality of care

All the young people have very complex needs, and staff work hard to help them socialise with one another and the staff team. They encourage group activities and shared meal times and one-to-one time with members of staff. Consequently young people learn to manage their behaviour and expectations. Staff are extremely skilled at helping young people understand why it may not be possible to act upon their wishes, and set very clear limits. Young people's behaviour can be challenging, but staff persevere to ensure consistent, clear boundaries. Young people have made great developments in this area, and are now learning the skills of negotiation, and an awareness of the impact of their behaviour on others.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to make a complaint or raise an issue when they are unhappy. They know that their concerns are treated seriously, and written documentation shows that all concerns are followed up. Young people are treated with respect, and their views are frequently sought through regular house meetings and individual discussions about matters such as; activities, staff recruitment, decor and menus. Young people have a highly individualised, detailed care plan that sets out their specific, individualised needs. However, the system of daily notes, introduced recently, is not being fully utilised to pick up on monthly targets. This means that progress for each young person is not consistently monitored to celebrate the small daily successes. Care plans include information about religious and cultural backgrounds, and personal identities. Some young people attend church and learn more about their cultural heritage. Recent changes to the care planning

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Quality of care

process and accompanying paperwork enhances young people's involvement in the plans that concern them. Staff actively and imaginatively support young people to enable their views to be expressed appropriately.

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Quality of care

Social workers and independent reviewing officers speak very highly about the home, and the progress that the young people make. They say that the home has made a big difference in the life of young people and that staff are very proactive and give clear messages about what is expected. They are very pleased with the excellent progress that young people make, and highlight emotional developments and such as calmed behaviour, and no re-offending behaviour. They are impressed with the communication between staff and the local authority, so that all are kept well informed.

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Quality of care

Staff work proactively with other agencies to meet the young people's on-going physical, emotional and psychological needs. For example, meetings are set up between Child and Mental Health Service professionals, Youth Offending Team specialists and the home, to create joined up plans of action to ensure all are working together for the best interests of the young person. All young people are encouraged to give up smoking, and through the support of health organisations, some young people have made significant strides in reducing their smoking habit. Young people are encouraged to be healthy and active through a range of sports and activities and currently enjoy bike riding, going to the gym and playing games in the garden. They are encouraged to follow a healthy diet and for some young people this has led to significant improvements in their body mass index score to a much healthier level.

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Quality of care

All young people have significant issues around school attendance and have significantly disrupted attendance and long periods on non-attendance. Consequently, currently all young people receive tuition from the company's school outreach worker, with further support offered to the care staff to progress vocational qualifications with young people. In addition, young people attend part-time college placements and specialist training opportunities. This highly tailored approach encourages young people to find their interests and skills, and to achieve success such as making bird boxes and cooking.

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Quality of care

The home is beautifully maintained and furnished, and there are ample grounds for formal gardening, playing football and basketball. Nearby, there are shops and good public transport facilities. Two cars are available for activities further afield.

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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 are kept safe in the home, and they say that they feel safe. Safeguarding practice is effective and the manager identifies and follows through any issues immediately in conjunction with the safeguarding authorities. Young people confirm that there are no issues of bullying within the home, and staff say that any potential issues are quickly resolved. There are very comprehensive risk assessments for the home and various activities, in addition to those for the young people. These are regularly reviewed according to changes in circumstance. There has been a significant decrease in young people going missing since the last inspection, and this is now very rare. Physical restraints are also rare events, but there has been an occasion when staff struggled to maintain the home's designated methods of holding a young person and the record of this incident is insufficiently clear.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are individual incentive reward schemes in place, and although young people say they do not like them, they also talk with enthusiasm about their achievements. This has been a significant development, and consequently there has been a dramatic decrease in sanctions and physical restraints, as young people start to manage their own behaviour, and benefit from the rewards of conforming to the clear expectations. This imaginative programme, created with the young people, is successful in raising young people's self-esteem and helping them to better manage their own behaviours. After one incident a young person reflected, 'I'm pleased that I didn't hurt staff… I think I calmed down a bit quicker than I used to'.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A real strength of the home is the stability of the staff team. Although there has been a small turnover, the core team remain. There have been some additional staffing appointments, and the recruitment and selection process remains rigorous. Comprehensive checks are made to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with young people, and they are kept safe from harm.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The environment is very well maintained and kept safe through a system of internal safety checks and risk assessments. In addition, services such as electricity, electrical appliances and fire fighting equipment are regularly checked by the appropriate professional companies. Fire drills happen regularly and where there have been any concerns about the speed of evacuation, drills have been repeated to ensure speedy exits. Visitors to the home have their identification checked on arrival, and they are signed in and out. Consequently, young people live, are cared for, in a safe environment, and are kept safe.

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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 manager is passionately involved in the running of the home and is actively supported by a newly appointed senior manager. The staff team are caring and enthusiastic and take on additional responsibilities to develop their skills and expertise. Staff clearly enjoy their work and the challenges that it presents. They are determined to make a difference in the lives of these young people, and to give them the chance to turn their lives around.

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Leadership and management

There was one requirement and five recommendations made at the last inspection. The manager now sends reports, completed under Regulation 34, to Ofsted. The reports include reflection upon trends and significant incidents, and are a useful management tool to highlight strengths and weaknesses of the home. The home was asked to ensure that where any sanction, disciplinary measures or restraint are used, children are now encouraged to have their views recorded on records of any sanction, disciplinary measures or restraint. this is now being noted, and This contributes to the beginnings of greater self-awareness and improved self-control for the young people involved. Staff now have the opportunity to review incidents of challenging behaviour with the manager, to examine trends or issues emerging from this, to enable them to reflect and learn to inform future practice. This is now occurring and led to the development of the excellent reward programme for

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Leadership and management

children. The staff meeting minutes show, and young people confirm, that rewards for good behaviour are clear, reasonable and fair and are understood by all. Significant events are now notified appropriately, although such events are rare. Handovers now include planning for staff to spend time with individual children.

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Leadership and management

The manager has development plans in place and is very aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The management continue to make excellent improvements and develop the service to provide a better experience for the young people. They support staff very well and continue to offer excellent training opportunities to enhance staff skills and qualifications. Care planning documentation and all policies and procedures are going through a thorough and radical review to ensure that they are fit for purpose, and easily accessible documents. The registered person ensures that monthly monitoring visits occur, and that these include consultation with young people. The manager identifies the impact that living in the home has on young people, demonstrating the significant improvements in behaviour, such as managing violent outbursts, showing awareness of others, significantly less destructive behaviour and achievements such as woodwork, fishing

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Leadership and management

There is a Statement of Purpose, which clearly sets out the aims and objectives of the home. Placing authorities confirm that they are clear about the aims and objectives of the home, and what services and facilities it provides. Social workers say that the manager and the staff team show, 'exceptional care' and, 'go above and beyond' what is expected of them. The manager will often come with possible solutions to problems, and is not afraid of taking a degree of risk to enable young people get a better sense of the real world. Young people understand the purpose of their placement in the home, and their plans. They talk proudly about the home and like to show people who are important to them where they live.

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Leadership and management

Staff rotas show very good staffing levels, which ensure that young people receive the levels of care that they need. Staff receive regular on-going training, and all staff are suitably qualified or working towards professional qualifications. The home is financially well resourced.

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Leadership and management

Young people's individual needs are clearly set out in the care planning documents. The staff review these on a monthly basis with the young people. Further improvements are in hand to develop care planning documentation further. All young people's files are kept in a locked cabinet in the office. The home has established very good working relationships with the other agencies, including, health services, youth offending, colleges, police and placing authorities.

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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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