Children's Home run by City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in Bradford

Unique reference number SC059635 Inspection date 28/11/2012 Inspector Monica Hargreaves Type of inspection Full Provision subtype

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Date of last inspection 20/01/2012 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 children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight young people who may be experiencing a range of social, emotional and behavioural problems.

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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

Young people benefit from the excellent level of individualised care and support that they are given by staff and they make good progress overall. Their physical and emotional health needs are met and they are encouraged to develop a healthy lifestyle. They are supported to gain the practical and life skills they will need for later life and to take part in activities outside the home that broaden their experiences and promote their general development.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff work hard to enable young people to achieve in education. They liaise closely with partner agencies to ensure that young people have an appropriate education placement and that they attend regularly. Overall, school attendance figures are good, with some young people achieving an excellent level of attendance. This has enabled young people to make good progress from their starting point on admission to the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are cared for safely and they report that they feel safe in the home. They respond positively to the way staff work with them and generally behave well towards one another and staff. Young people say that although there has been bullying, staff have dealt with it. This helps them to feel safe. Staff have worked well with other professionals to reduce the number of times young people go missing from the home. As a result, young people are less likely to be exposed to risks. The home itself is kept safe and free from hazards.

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Overall effectiveness

Managers provide good support and leadership to care staff. All staff are committed to making sure that the service continues to improve for the benefit of young people. The management monitoring arrangements are effective and ensure that good standards are maintained and the welfare of young people is promoted.

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Overall effectiveness

One requirement and two recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection. These relate to the manager's monitoring reports, young people's personal education plans and records of incidents when young people are missing from home.

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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

(2001) ensure the system for the review of quality of care provides for consultation with children accommodated in the home, their parents and placing authorities. (Regulation 34 (3)) 31/12/2012

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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 the home has up-to-date information about each young person's education needs and performance, specifically a copy of each young person's personal education plan (NMS 8.7)  ensure that a written record is kept of all incidents when a young person goes missing from home. (NMS 5.10)

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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 well cared for and as a result they make good progress in all aspects of their development. They form positive relationships with staff over time which enables them to feel settled in their home. Their confidence and sense of self- worth improves as a result of the way they are cared for and this supports their progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home has good arrangements in place to make sure that young people become and stay healthy and learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Young people are registered with primary health care services and are supported to attend routine health appointments. This ensures that there is good oversight of their general health needs. Young people are able to access other health resources when they need them. For example, they have prompt access to psychological services which ensures that their emotional health needs are met and they have advice and guidance from other professionals, such as substance misuse and sexual health teams. They are given healthy food which they enjoy and they are encouraged to learn how to plan, shop for and cook their meals in order to promote their understanding of healthy eating. They are also encouraged to take part in activities that promote physical exercise. The home's arrangements for managing medication

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Outcomes for children and young people

are robust, protecting young people and ensuring that they receive medicines when they need them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

When they arrive at the home, some young people's attendance at school is poor. Staff are successful in helping young people to greatly improve this. At the time of this inspection, young people's attendance at school was generally good, with some young people achieving an outstanding level of attendance. This has enabled young people to make progress in education and young people who are of an appropriate age are on target to achieve success in examinations which will help to improve their life chances.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people report that they are encouraged to learn how to be more independent. They are all supported to learn practical and life skills, such as managing their money, cooking and cleaning. They are helped to develop their social skills which will benefit them in later life. Young people are also supported as they leave the home and move into independence. Some young people keep in touch with staff after they have left. This demonstrates that the positive relationships they have built up with staff continue after they leave and that they feel confident about returning to see them in the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff help young people to keep in touch with different members of their family, where this is an agreed part of their care plan. This supports young people's sense of identity. Some young people also develop and maintain positive friendships in their community which also promotes their sense of identity and self-worth.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from the excellent level of individualised care and support that they receive from a team of staff who have a very good understanding of their needs. Staff work very well together and with partner agencies and this consistency supports young people's progress. Professionals involved with the home make many positive comments about the quality of care given to young people. For example, one said, 'Staff are continuously looking at young people's needs and how they can be met' and another said, 'The quality of care is extremely good.'

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Quality of care

Care staff are committed to ensuring that young people improve their life chances through education. They work extremely hard to ensure that young people have an appropriate education placement and attend regularly. As a result, young people's level of attendance improves over time in the home. This gives them the opportunity to achieve to their individual potential. Staff have a very good understanding of individual young people's education needs and these are detailed in their individual placement plans. Staff make great efforts to ensure that a copy of young people's personal education plan is available in the home. However, copies of these plans are not in place for each young person.

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Quality of care

Young people report that they get on well with staff. They say that they feel that staff treat them with respect and listen to what they have to say. They are regularly consulted about their care and about the day-to-day routines in the home. This is achieved through house meetings and individual key work sessions, as well as informal discussions. This enables young people to be confident that their views are taken seriously, supporting their sense of self-worth. Staff are very keen to ensure that if young people are concerned or dissatisfied about their care they are supported to make a complaint. They make sure that all young people have access to an independent advocate. In addition, some young people have an independent visitor. This enables young people to talk to individuals outside the home if they wish. Young people confirm they know how to complain and say their concerns are always taken seriously and appropriately dealt with.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported to behave appropriately towards one another and staff. Staff challenge any inappropriate behaviour that arises as a result of disputes between young people. They encourage young people to respect each other as individuals and also to respect staff. This enables young people to develop socially acceptable behaviours, which in turn will help them develop and maintain current and future relationships.

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Quality of care

Staff actively encourage young people to be involved in activities within their community. For example, young people have recently completed a project to repair cycles. This has given them a sense of personal achievement as well as providing each young person with a cycle. Young people are also supported to identify and pursue individual activities that they enjoy. Some young people play football for local teams and also go to the gym. All young people enjoy organised trips to theme parks and other leisure facilities. They also have access to electronic games and other equipment in the home such as a pool table that they enjoy using. Involvement in activities promotes young people's general and social development and helps them to learn to structure their leisure time.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from living in a homely environment that is well maintained, internally and externally. The home provides them with spacious accommodation that allows them to spend time together as a group if they wish or to be private if they want to. The house is appropriately located in a residential area and there is good access to public transport. This enables young people to travel into the city and to visit friends independently.

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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

The home's arrangements for safeguarding young people are good. This is confirmed by professionals involved with the home who say that staff work hard to ensure young people's safety, both inside and out of the home. Young people themselves say that they are safe in the home and that staff give them advice about staying safe in the community.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are trained in safeguarding, including in the exploitation of children and young people. This develops their knowledge and skills in safe care. Staff have a good understanding of the home's safeguarding procedure and of their responsibilities in relation to reporting safeguarding concerns. There is a clear whistle blowing policy which staff report they would be confident about using if they needed to. Staff develop clear risk assessment and management plans for young people, based on their knowledge of the young person's assessed needs and vulnerabilities. These enable all staff to understand what action to take to minimise identified risks. Plans are regularly monitored to ensure they are kept up to date so they continue to be relevant to young people's needs.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Managers and staff take action to minimise the risk of young people going missing from the home. They have been successful in reducing the number of these incidents for individual young people. Close liaison with professionals outside the home ensure that there is good communication between the home and other agencies. These arrangements offer protection to young people if they do go missing. Information about the times young people go missing is noted in the home's electronic log book, but there is no central record of these events.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Some young people have complained of bullying at times. However, they report that this is not a current issue. They understand that bullying is not tolerated and they say that if problems arise, staff deal with them quickly. This helps to give young people a sense of safety and security.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff effectively promote positive behaviour in the home and young people respond well to the way staff work with them, learning over time to behave in ways that are socially acceptable. Staff are trained to respond positively to behaviour that is challenging. This includes training in the use of physical restraint. Staff are very clear that restraint is used only as a last resort and consequently, there are very few incidents of physical intervention. This contributes to young people's feelings of safety and well-being in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Robust procedures for recruiting staff ensure that all checks are done and that staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before they start work in the home. Visitors to the home are also checked before being allowed in and their whereabouts monitored during their visit. These systems protect young people from harm as they prevent unsuitable individuals gaining access to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a home that is kept safe and free from hazards. Equipment and installations are regularly checked to ensure that they are in good order. Risk assessments on the environment are developed and kept under review to ensure that all identified risks are eliminated or minimised. These measures protect young people, staff and visitors.

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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

Young people benefit from living in a home that is well managed. The home's manager is qualified and experienced and is registered with Ofsted. The deputy manager, who is appropriately qualified and experienced, covers in the absence of the manager. Together, managers provide effective leadership to staff in the home.

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Leadership and management

Young people are looked after by an appropriate number of competent staff who have a very good understanding of their individual needs and who work hard to ensure that those needs are met. This means that young people have the support they need to make good progress. Care staff are either qualified or working to gain a relevant qualification. They report that training opportunities are generally good and enable them to develop and maintain the knowledge and skills they need for their work with vulnerable young people.

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Leadership and management

Care staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and they say that they feel they are well supported by their managers. They have regular supervision and report that they feel able to seek advice from managers outside these meetings. These arrangements ensure that staff are supported in their work with young people and also that their work is monitored. This in turn ensures that there is good oversight of the progress young people make. Communication within the staff team is good and supports consistency in the way staff work with young people. There are regular team meetings which enable staff to discuss the care and progress of young people and to talk about the routines of the home and the development of the service.

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Leadership and management

The home's Statement of Purpose is clear and detailed, giving good information about the ethos of the home and how young people are cared for. The document is made available to relatives and professionals so that they can see how the home works. The young person's guide also provides good information about the home so that young people themselves can understand the routines of the home and their rights in care.

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Leadership and management

The arrangements for monitoring the work of the home are robust and ensure that there is good oversight of the progress young people make. The manager and an independent person regularly check all the records that are kept. The manager prepares regular reports on the quality of care and the progress young people make. There is evidence that the views of young people and their relatives are regularly sought in order to inform the day-to-day running of the home. However, these views are not reflected in the regulation 34 reports prepared by the manager. The manager takes action on any issue that is identified during the monitoring process. The home has a good history of responding promptly to any requirement or recommendation made during the inspection process. This demonstrates a clear commitment to the continuous improvement of the service for the benefit of young people. No requirements or recommendations were made at the last inspection. The manager

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Leadership and management

has put in place a development plan for the future of the home. This details achievable goals and targets for further improvement.

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Leadership and management

The manager and staff have developed positive relationships with their neighbours. This benefits young people because it helps them to feel safe in their local community.

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Leadership and management

Information about young people is stored electronically and in paper form. All records are well managed and kept up to date. They are stored securely to protect young people's right to confidentiality. Young people are encouraged to read what is written about them and to contribute their views. This ensures that they have a good knowledge of the information that is kept about them and that their views are reflected in their records. The information that is kept about young people provides them with a clear record of their history in care and their time in the home.

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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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