Children's Home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC419429 Inspection date 28/11/2012 Inspector Rebecca Sharp Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 24/07/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The children's home can accommodate up to four young people between the ages of 10 and 17 years of either gender. Wherever possible, the provider intends to maintain it as a single gender home. It offers medium- to long-term placements for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 on 24th July 2012 the overall effectiveness of the home was judged as good and Ofsted made two requirements and two recommendations for improvement. The purpose of this inspection was to assess if the registered persons have addressed the previous requirements and recommendations. The manager has satisfactorily addressed both recommendations. Monitoring practices are more robust and fire drills are taking place on a weekly basis. As a result, the management of the home is more effective and young people and staff are well informed of the procedures in case of fire in the home.

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Progress

The Statement of Purpose for the home has been updated and sent into Ofsted. This meets the requirement set at the last inspection. The second requirement, which related to behaviour management records, has been met; however, further shortfalls in this area have been found at this inspection. Sanction and restraint records have been updated to include the date, time and location of the measure; and the effectiveness of the use of the measure. However, in some records of restraint the details of the young person's behaviour leading up to the restraint are not clear. This means that the justification of physical intervention is also unclear. In discussion staff are able to explain their reasons for deciding that restrain was necessary. As a result, young people do not have the protection of comprehensive records of all incidents of restraint. A requirement has been made in relation to restraint records.

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Progress

The manager has made significant developments since the last inspection. Training for staff has improved and the company has distributed training packs for staff to refer to following the training session. This enables staff to apply new skills in their daily practice and keep refreshed on their learning, ensuring consistency in their work. In house education has been restructured to enable a more robust timetable for young people. This enables young people to form a routine which will help them to transition into mainstream or specialist learning when placements are secured for them.

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Progress

The manager has developed internal monitoring practices to assure the effectiveness of the tools in place. Consultation with young people, placing authorities and parents are clearly conveyed in the reports in order to project their views on the quality of care provided by the home. To further strengthen the managers review of the quality of care, regular meetings now take place between the management team of the company in order to share good practice. As a result, company policies and procedures have been updated to reflect the outcomes of the meetings. This evidences the emphasis and importance of progress and development in ensuring high quality care for young people.

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Progress

Young people remain generally positive about the care that they receive. They are looked after by a committed and child focused staff team who work consistently to support young people to achieve positive outcomes. While some elements of young people's care have improved, the recording of restraints has deteriorated, but overall the home has made satisfactory progress.

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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 in a children's home, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose which shall include details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure. (Regulation 17B (3) (b)) 07/01/2013

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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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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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