Children's Home run by Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC378181 Inspection date 25/10/2012 Inspector Louise Redfern Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/02/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This privately-owned home is one of two children’s homes registered to provide care and accommodation for two young people who may 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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from individualised, well planned care which takes into account their individual needs. As yet, the present group of young people do not fully engage with this support to enhance their life skills consistently. They enjoy positive relationships with the staff team and mostly with each other. On what needs to improve one young person commented, ‘nothing needs to change, it’s a good home. Better than I expected it to be.’

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Overall effectiveness

Young people report that they are safe and know that staff are concerned about their welfare. Overall effective professional relations with local agencies such as the police ensure individual support for young people. The placement plans show the progress and achievements that they are making. The manager has made some recent improvements to the rewards and sanctions system, which has not had the time to embed into practice; as a result sanctions have been imposed which have not been reflective of the presenting behaviour. Young people benefit from a committed manager who effectively monitors the home and has a development plan in place, which identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

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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 where sanctions are used, that they are clear, reasonable and fair. In particular, that sanctions are proportionate and relates to the behaviour (NMS 3.8)  ensure that the Registered Manager follows the local RMFHC protocol, in relation to ensuring appropriate strategy meetings are arranged. (NMS 5.6)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are making progress in the home because of consistent support and care from the whole staff team. As a result, they are forming and sustaining positive attachments with staff and make progress in developing emotional resilience. Young people are able to enjoy the company of positive male and female staff role models and take pride in their personal appearance.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people maintain appropriate contact with family members, friends and other people who are important to them, which maintain support networks for them outside the home. Young people have engaged in meaningful activities in the local and wider community at the start of their placements. However, they are now choosing to spend the majority their time with their peers in the local community. As a result, on occasion young people have gone missing from home and not adhered to the boundaries of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s physical and emotional health is good. They receive support from health professionals and staff to understand the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. Young people benefit from having access to a therapist and from attending routine health appointments to support their emotional well-being and maintain their general health. However, some young people continue to have a smoking habit, despite smoking cessation information being available to them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people actively participate in day-to-day decision making about their care, through individual young people’s meetings and key work sessions. Young people are beginning to develop practical life skills, for example, living to a budget and doing some of their own cooking. As a result, they are becoming more competent to take care of themselves in preparation for adult life.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are maintaining their educational placements and are undertaking GCSE examinations as part of their education. However, young people who are post 16, despite the encouragement and support, are not yet choosing not to attend education or seek employment in spite of support from staff.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy good relationships with each other and staff. They interact positively with one another and report that there is no bullying in the home. Young people state they understand how to make a complaint and have done so and that they are happy with the outcome and the process.

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Quality of care

Young people have a say in how the home is run; for example, choosing the decoration of the home and planning holidays and activities. Where requests are not appropriate or possible, young people receive explanations to help them understand why. One young person commented that ‘I don’t want to know why it’s a no straight away, but when I am ready, staff explain things to me.'

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Quality of care

Young people regularly attend their education placements and are supported by staff to maintain their placements. Where young people are post 16 and not enrolled in either education or employment they are encouraged to undertake training alongside the staff team, for example, completing food hygiene training. This provides them with the opportunity to achieve some qualifications and build on their life skills in preparation independent living. Young people engage in a variety of activities with staff. For example, young people enjoy ice skating, playing pool, wild camping and have recently returned from a summer holiday. The variety of activities enables young people to build their self-confidence, self-esteem and broadens their horizons.

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Quality of care

Young people have access to a range of health promotion information in the home. Staff work hard to support young people to access health services, such as general practitioners, dentist and opticians. However, some young people choose not to access all health services. For example, young people are continuing to smoke, despite support around smoking cessation being available. As a result, their potential to lead full and healthy lifestyles is not optimised.

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Quality of care

Individual placement plans and behaviour management plans are in place, which effectively guide staff in the management of young people’s behaviours. Young people’s progress is well charted and outlined in reports and reviews. As a result, these plans ensure care and support is individually tailored for young people depending on their need.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a well-decorated and well-maintained home, which promotes a homely environment. They have been involved in choosing some of the décor and furnishings. Young people have individual bedrooms, which are personalised and suitability furnished.

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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 report that they feel safe and can talk to an adult when they are concerned. One young person commented, ‘I definitely feel safe here and that’s because of the staff.’ Staff are well trained in safeguarding and the home has extensive policies and procedures in place, which underpin effective practice.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There has been a significant reduction in the frequency of young people going missing over time. However, on the occasions when they go missing staff comprehensively search for young people and actively encourage their quick return home. Through effective monitoring of the incidents, the manager and staff team develop a clear understanding of the reasons why young people do go missing. Young people are supported to understand the risks associated with going missing through regular key work sessions, missing from care consultations and effective behaviour management plans. The home has also developed good links with local police to promote the safety of young people in the local area. However, no formal strategy meetings have taken place in line with the RMFHC protocols. This does not currently significantly impact on safety of young people because of the already established links between agencies currently supporting them.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from positive and firm boundaries in the home. As a result, there are no incidents of young people being physically restrained. The manager has recently made some improvements to the reward and sanction procedure in the home to promote positive behaviours. These changes have not yet embedded into staff work practice. As a result, when sanctions are imposed they are not always consistent or reflective of the presenting behaviour. As a result, young people are not supported to best effect in managing their behaviours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff are selected and checked through the organisation's robust recruitment procedures. The manager takes an active role in recruitment, ensuring the safe recruitment of staff who are able to meet the young people’s needs. Young people participate in fire drills, which are scenario-led, effectively preparing young people for fire related emergencies in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home is physically safe and appropriately secure to take into account the needs and characteristics of the young people cared for. Staff pay excellent attention to health and safety management. They use comprehensive risk assessments around the home and in the local community.

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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 has a good approach to identifying young people’s individual needs. Impact risk assessments are now used for all new placements. This helps ensure that the welfare of young people already accommodated in the home is taken into account when new placements are being considered for the home. An effective individual placement plan is established which enables each young person to make progress and achieve their full potential, for both living at the home and forwards into adulthood. The manager can clearly demonstrate the impact and value that living at the home has had on some young people’s lives and how their life chances have improved over time. For example, this includes young people once they move on from the home living independently in the community, sustaining their own tenancies.

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Leadership and management

The manager has built up a good relationship with the local community and neighbours through acting on any issues raised by neighbours quickly. This enables young people to feel part of the community and develop a positive understanding of how to live in it. The manager has ensured that both requirements made at the previous inspection have been fully addressed.

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Leadership and management

The staff team are a group of experienced and well-trained professionals committed to improving the outcomes of young people. Their performance continually improves with well-planned team meetings, effective handovers between shifts, annual appraisals and robust and supportive supervisions. The manager effectively challenges any identified shortfall in staff performance. Staff commented, ‘the managers are supportive and I don’t have to wait for supervision to talk to them about things.’

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Leadership and management

The home employs a sufficient number of staff. Any shortfalls in the rota are covered by existing staff doing extra hours or with a small number of company casual staff. This ensures a level of consistent care to meet the needs of the young people. The home demonstrates good quality record keeping. Records contribute to an understanding of young people's lives and show the progress they have made. Young people routinely sign placement and behaviour management plans. This encourages and enables them to be part of their care planning and setting goals for the future.

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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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