Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Durham

Unique reference number SC423407 Inspection date 28/11/2012 Inspector Bill Drumm Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 03/05/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home accommodates up to eight children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and is owned by a private company. It is dually registered with the Department for Education as an independent boarding school. An inspection of the school was carried out at the same time as this inspection and the report is available on the Ofsted website.

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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 good progress .

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Progress

At the last inspection in May 2012, the overall effectiveness rating of the home was good. The home has made good progress since the last inspection. Developments and improvements ensure that young people remain well-cared for and safe. Young people say they are very happy and feel safe living at the home. They are polite and have a warm, relaxed and friendly manner with staff.

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Progress

Three requirements and three recommendations were made at the last inspection. All these matters have been addressed. The Registered Manager was required to ensure that young people have access to a telephone without having to refer to staff, unless there were specific reasons to restrict access for safeguarding reasons. This has now taken place. Where appropriate, each young person has a pre-paid telephone card which allows them to make private calls from the home's own phone or a community telephone box. The cards have an agreed weekly minimum allowance recorded against them and each young person has their own unique personal identification number. This means that, where there are no safeguarding concerns, young people can freely make private calls to friends, relatives or advocacy services.

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Progress

The organisation has reviewed the documentation used by the independent visitor to record their visits to the home. The documentation has specific areas which the independent visitor must complete in order to collate this information. This helps to ensure that all interactions are fully recorded and that the opinions of all those involved are borne in mind, including the relatives or family members of young people.

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Progress

The home's manager was also required to review the language used for recording the holding or restraint of young people. The description of the method of restraint or hold used is recorded clearly and written in plain English. This means that the description of what happened is clear to anyone who needs access to the records.

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Progress

Recommendations were made about the children's guide to the home, the supervision of staff and the manager's monitoring of quality at the home. The children's guide has been reviewed and updated. The children's guide includes the contact details of key people outside the home, such as their independent reviewing officer or an independent advocate. The children's guide complies fully with national minimum standards and is available in two separate formats to aid understanding. This means young people know who they can contact if they have any concerns.

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Progress

The home's manager has reviewed the system for ensuring all staff receive appropriate, formal supervision as well as the documentation used for recording the supervision sessions. Responsibility for formal supervision of care staff has been delegated to senior staff members with the manager retaining overall responsibility and oversight of their practice and supervision. In addition, supervision records indicate that the needs of young people are central to the supervision process. Staff are supported and equipped to look after young people effectively.

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Progress

The final recommendation was in relation to the manager's internal monitoring and oversight of quality within the home. The manager has developed a questionnaire for the parents or relatives of young people to complete and this process has started. The manager also has plans to find out the opinions of the looked after nurse for children about the care provided to young people at the home. In addition, the provider has supplied copies of internal monitoring reports to Ofsted. This means the regulating body is able to have proper oversight of the service.

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Progress

Young people have also become involved in a number of voluntary activities in the community, such as taking part in a sponsored event to raise money for charity and taking an active part in selling poppies for Remembrance Sunday. This helps to improve each young person's community presence and self-esteem. Young people also enjoy a variety of hobbies and interests, such as pony club, dance groups and ladies football. They also attend the local youth club. All of these activities help young people to develop their confidence and friendships outside the home. In addition, young people also have 100% attendance at school and the number of occasions when they run away or go missing has dramatically reduced. This means young people are better placed to achieve their maximum potential and are kept safe.

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Progress

One further recommendation has been set following this inspection. The written records relating to the holding or restraint of young people are completed. However, in one instance the de-briefing of a young person following a restraint was recorded to have taken place by three staff members all of whom were involved in the incident. In addition, the perception of young people about why they have been restrained is not regularly recorded. This means that young people are not given the opportunity to discuss their feelings about the incident with an independent person and there is no indication that they have been offered this opportunity.

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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 each young person who has been restrained is afforded the opportunity to be debriefed by a responsible adult who has not been involved in the restraint incident and to talk through their experience. (Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraph 2.103)

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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.

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