Children's Home, Residential special school run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC391860 Inspection date 28/11/2012 Inspector Robert Hewston Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Date of last inspection 21/03/2012 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 is part of a residential special school which is of a large private care organisation. The service is registered to accommodate 14 children and young people with learning disabilities. The home offers planned long-term placements. The school is registered with the Department for Education.

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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 outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people with high levels of complex needs are supported to make excellent progress. Overall this home provides outstanding outcomes for young people particularly evident in relationships with staff and keeping young people safe. Care is personalised and takes account of the individual needs of each young person. They benefit from the familiar surroundings and a strong team of staff.

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Overall effectiveness

Safeguarding young people's welfare is placed at the highest priority in terms of both the health and safety of the environment and promoting their physical and mental well-being. Very effective internal and external monitoring processes provide continuous quality assurance which helps to maintain the home's outstanding standard of care and assists in promoting the on-going development and improvement of the service.

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Overall effectiveness

Promoting equality and diversity is an outstanding feature of this service. An in-depth understanding of each young person’s individuality leads to excellent outcomes for young people. They are treated with a high level of respect. Young people are empowered to make their wishes, feelings and views heard and included in their placements and the running of the service. School attendance and young people’s attainment is outstanding. Young people continue to mature and develop because staff are highly motivated and continuously present young people with opportunities to learn and develop.

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Overall effectiveness

A safe environment is provided for young people with good health and safety control measures. Behaviour management strategies are based on positive interactions and this clearly shows through the young people’s comments.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive outstanding care from a provision that places young people at the heart of all they do. Exceptional levels of care and support from very experienced and motivated staff enable young people to maximise their individual potential. Social workers say the outcomes for young people's education, contact and social development has been outstanding. The staff team have high aspirations for young people and provide incentives, motivation and encouragement. Parents spoken to commented on how fortunate they feel that their young people reside in a home with such a knowledgeable caring staff team. Staff provide excellent and patient support to young people to help them to spend time with others, take part in challenging, character-building activities and cope with their anxiety in social situations. As a result, young people appear relaxed, more sociable, more confident and happier.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people grow in confidence and enthusiastically embrace new opportunities, learn new skills and grow in independence. They are empowered because they have individualised communication strategies and tailor-made plans. Parents stated how the home has given them their child back and have brought their family back together. Young people are more self-assured because they can give meaning to and communicate about their daily care, education and experiences. Young people feel empowered and are keen to have a say about their care and future plans. The evening group meetings are all about young people being given choices in regards to the evening’s events and giving time to all young people’s wishes and opinions.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The extremely competent staff team have successfully created a nurturing environment that has well-defined boundaries, but remains both homely and supportive. Communication between the home and external agencies, parents and carers is excellent. Social workers’ comments support the development of the young people in the home. They stated, 'Young people are able to achieve their goals; they feel extremely well supported by the staff, even after they have moved on.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people thrive and develop high levels of self-esteem, social identity and independence, within their levels of understanding and ability. Parents commented on how they have helped them understand the potential their young person has, especially around personal care. Parents commented, ’Before arriving at the home we felt lost and no one was listening. However, after a short time we saw the changes in our child's development especially in communication and social skills. It was, and is, amazing the work they have done. This is just a special place with special people.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make outstanding progress in education compared with their starting point when they arrive in the home. Their attainment levels, behaviour at school and enjoyment of education improve. Staff help young people to develop behaviour which allows them to benefit from being at school. They support them to learn and develop their skills. The continuity and consistency in behaviour management approach from both the school and home has showed young people thrive in education. Young people have the opportunities to go to College to further their social and education skills. Communication between the care staff and school is excellent and ensures a holistic approach towards young people's development. The knowledge and skills of staff in supporting education results in improving educational outcomes for young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from regular and appropriate contact with their families and friends. This enables them to develop and sustain positive relationships with those people who are important to them. Staff encourage the families to feel part of the home and to visit often. The involvement of their families in the home for daily care and special events allows young people to maintain and increase attachments with their families. Parents are unanimous regarding their child’s developmental achievements and enjoyment at the home. Their comments include, ‘Life changing;’ ‘I have seen my child being part of our family again, able to go out to social events’; ‘more mature, more aware’ and ‘ Huge steps towards an independent future.' The strength of these relationships increases the young people's ability to develop positive relationships with others too. Although the young people have extreme difficulties forming friendships, a number of the young people now see the other

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Outcomes for children and young people

young people as their friends. This is a significant step for them. Young people play an active role in their transition plans, communicating their views at all stages. This engenders a culture that is fully committed to comprehensively meeting the diverse needs of young people with complex learning disabilities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Medication accompanies young people into the home at the start of their care. Excellent procedures, staff training and very clear record maintenance, ensure correct management of all medication and protect young people’s safety. The School nurse is extremely proactive to ensure all health needs of young people are well recorded, monitored and reviewed. With the support and knowledge from parents and staff the nurse ensures all people are up to date with health conditions, any changes of medication and possible side effects of medication changes. This robust approach to young people's health has shown some young people's medication being lowered and in some cases completely stopped. All staff as part of their core training undertake a basic first aid and medication administration course. Staff have also researched and identified any potential side effects of young people's medication. Their health needs are additionally safeguarded because of the comprehensive

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Outcomes for children and young people

access to different health care professionals. Young people who experience changes to their medication receive close monitoring so that their physician can make the necessary adjustments.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people are excellently cared for because there are effective frameworks for care, education and behaviour management. Care, education, risk management and behaviour management plans are comprehensive. Young people make progress because there are excellent communication and review processes with the consistent involvement of the young people.

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Quality of care

Young people clearly benefit from a competent and able staff team who genuinely care about the young people in the home. Some young people have very difficult and challenging behaviours that can affect their relationships. However, this does not discourage staff from providing good quality care with clear boundaries. The well- established behaviour management strategies have shown to help develop and progress young people above expectations. Parents spoken to explained the huge difference in behaviour from when the young people arrived to where they are now. Parents talked about how in a short period of time young people would return home completely different, calmer and seemingly more happy. In the majority of times communication levels had improved, giving the young people a voice to be able to communicate their feeling to their parents.

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Quality of care

Care planning is current. Plans are holistic and responsive to the specific cultural and complex needs of the individual. Detailed plans and risk assessments provide staff with the guidance to manage individual behaviours in a calm, supported and consistent way. Staff have an excellent knowledge and understanding of the individual needs of the young people. They are able to form positive and constructive relationships and demonstrate a continued interest in the welfare of individuals. This includes meeting their cultural, religious and dietary needs.

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Quality of care

Young people’s educational needs are extremely well supported. Staff have consistently high aspirations for young people. Staff maximise every opportunity to help young people engage in education. This supportive approach enables young people to build their knowledge and skills. It also helps them to develop the values and skills they need to help them stay fully engaged in their education. Consequently young people are engaging with their learning.

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Quality of care

Regular reviews with parents, educational provisions, social workers and health care professionals, ensure young people receive specialist care, enabling them to flourish from their starting points. Parents feel that they maintain their primary responsibilities. They play a central role in decisions taken about their child during stays at the home. The service actively encourages parental participation and effectively and efficiently communicates all progress and areas of concern. Comments received from parents include, 'Communication with staff is excellent, they really care, they are wonderful people, they always support my child, their knowledge of young people with autism is exceptional, make you feel they are part of our family.'

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Quality of care

Young people are offered stimulating and exciting opportunities to take part in activities. Staff design these carefully and specifically to stimulate and broaden young people's horizons, through maximising the opportunities for them to positively engage in healthy and/or community-based activities. There is an effective complaints system in place. Complaints from parents have been addressed quickly and well recorded. Staff understand the young people well; they pick up signs through their moods and behaviours. Staff spend time with young people exploring their feelings and giving them the opportunity to discuss any concerns. Parents and families speak with confidence regarding the willingness and approachability of the staff to discuss and resolve any issues.

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Quality of care

Young people are provided with living accommodation that is spacious, very comfortable, well-furnished and well decorated. They have good quality furniture in their bedrooms and ample storage for personal clothes and belongings. Young people are involved in helping staff to keep their home clean and tidy. The home is in a rural location but close to a large town and many recreational and leisure facilities. The home enjoys good links to local facilities. The home also has a vehicle that means that young people have convenient transport for activities, shopping and contact visits with family.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The safety of young people is outstanding. Young people are protected by robust and effectively implemented safeguarding arrangements. Their well-being is promoted because safeguarding is at the heart of the service. Parents are unanimous and confident that the service keeps their young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff keep young people safe in and outside the home. The young people communicate through various methods that they feel safe in the home. Staff fulfil their duties by ensuring the young people are safeguarded. One member of staff commented, ‘Safeguarding and protecting disabled children and young people is a primary concern of all managers and staff.’ This is underpinned by clear procedures and effective refresher training for staff. Young people are supported to keep safe from hazards and risks including self-injury. Shift planning is robust and considers all aspects of a young person's health and safety needs during their stay.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff are aware of their own roles and responsibilities and those of other agencies involved in keeping young people safe. The manager and staff are proactive in establishing effective links and working partnerships with the police and the local safeguarding children's team. This liaison results in safeguarding concerns being robustly investigated and addressed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has excellent systems in place to protect young people should they go missing. The home follows the local authority’s policy on young people missing from care and implements this in accordance with a young person’s risk assessment and care plan. No young people have gone missing from the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people experience high quality nurturing, warm and positive relationships with staff. It is through these relationships that effective routines and boundaries are established. Restraint is used as a last resort, however, in the event of a restraint taking place appropriate records are maintained. Staff are consistent and clear in their expectations and young people and parents have a good understanding of the rules. Practical consequences are used instead of any formal sanction. These consequences are around helping to pick up or clean surfaces if the young person has been disruptive and knocked over furniture or spilt anything. Staff are more focused on achievements small and large. They constantly praise young people for positive behaviour and offer support and guidance on how to manage their behaviours. Parents comment on how these small achievements have helped them at home when the young people visit. Members of staff and manager commented, `It's

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Safeguarding children and young people

the small achievements that always mean the most to us and parents and shows how working in a consistent manner benefits and enhances the young people’s future.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are cared for in a safe environment. Health and safety is effectively managed. Excellent checking and monitoring systems are in place to promote safety. Security is thorough and well-monitored. Young people know what to do should there be a fire. There are excellent, nonverbal communication aids that give young people an understanding of where to go if the fire alarm is heard. They also have a meaningful and practical understanding about keeping themselves safe, both in school and in the community.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected with robust recruitment processes. Visitors are checked, vetted and monitored. Excellent staffing levels further help to keep young people safe and reduce any risk of harm. The organisation’s effective recruitment procedures ensure the careful selection, recruitment and retention of staff. New staff are comprehensively vetted prior to their deployment in the home and before having unsupervised access to any young person. This ensures young people are safe and have a staff team who know them well.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding .

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager and staff team deliver an outstanding level of care for young people. The home is effectively and efficiently managed and the manager constantly communicates high expectations to the whole staff and gives young people, their families and placing authority’s comprehensive information about the services offered by the home. The home is well resourced, indicating the financial viability of the provider. The staff treat young people with the utmost respect and dignity and support them in overcoming significant and complex issues.

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Leadership and management

The home's Registered Manager is suitably qualified and experienced and provides excellent leadership and support to the staff group. This ensures that the changing needs of young people are consistently met and that they are provided with outstanding care tailored to address their individual needs. Staff are very committed to the care of young people and this approach is sustained because of strong and clear leadership from the Registered Manager. Young people’s potential is maximised because managers and staff have high expectations regarding their progress and achievement. Open and honest dialogue helps young people learn from their mistakes. Consequently, young people make significant changes in the way they react to others and in the choices that they make. The promotion of equality and diversity is exceedingly good. There is strong, visible leadership which promotes high quality care and positive outcomes for young people.

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Leadership and management

The home has a development plan and the Registered Manager is able to evidence developments that have taken place in the home and how these have had a positive impact on young people. For example, the staff have looked at how to evidence young people's wishes and choices. Staff meetings show how the staff start with the National Minimum Standards and reflect on how to improve their practice within the home. This has resulted in a choices book. The books are colourful and visually helpful for young people to make choices. Through this regular process, staff have also seen how young people are able to say no to all of the activities chosen. This has meant changes to the evening’s events and staff adapting to the wishes of the young people.

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Leadership and management

The staff in this home have a clear sense of purpose and fully implement the home's Statement of Purpose. They understand the ethos and aims of the home and communicate these effectively to others, including children and young people's families. This clear sense of purpose provides a solid foundation for the outstanding work undertaken in the home.

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Leadership and management

Trends and patterns are used to address improvement because records are clear and accountable. The Registered Manager and staff have an excellent knowledge of the legal framework and regular management checks are carried out. These checks, alongside monthly checks by an independent visitor, ensure a comprehensive audit against the requirements and standards set down for registered children’s homes.

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Leadership and management

Staff receive excellent support and guidance through a clear management structure. This structure is successful at meeting the service’s aims to foster social awareness and mutual respect within the home and wider community. It achieves this by encouraging a happy and caring atmosphere in an extremely professional and motivating environment. Consistent and regular supervision, coupled with team meetings, provide staff with excellent opportunities to discuss their role, their professional development and the impact of working with children with complex needs has upon them.

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Leadership and management

Significant events relating to the protection of young people accommodated in the home are notified by the registered person to the appropriate authorities and appropriate action is taken following the incident. This ensures the safety of young people. Staff receive a quality induction and excellent training in this home. Arrangements are in place for specialist training, advice and consultation to enable staff to develop practical strategies to meet young people’s complex needs. The staff have a strong focus on promoting positive outcomes while enhancing the well-being of young people. They work proactively to help young people overcome barriers and to succeed.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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