Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Leeds

Unique reference number SC428895 Inspection date 26/11/2012 Inspector Malcolm Stannard Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/06/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide accommodation and care for up to three young people with 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 good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people at the home benefit from a good quality of care provided by the staff team who are supported by an effective management structure. Some considerable progress can be seen in the outcomes for young people, especially in relation to understanding how to keep themselves safe.

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Overall effectiveness

Since the last inspection there has been a clear improvement in the management of young people's behaviour and there is minimal use of interventions by staff. Positive reinforcement and motivation is used successfully. Comprehensive care planning and assessment of risk allows staff to deliver a consistent level of care. Young people feel safe at the home and their welfare is protected by the home’s policies and practice.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager has a clear vision for future development of the home and acknowledges that there are opportunities for further progress in the provision.

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Overall effectiveness

An area for development identified at this inspection is to ensure that the monitoring of records carried out and any corrective action taken is evidenced. This does not have a direct impact on the care provided or the welfare and safety of young people.

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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 that the manager regularly monitors all records kept by the home to ensure compliance with the home's policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Specifically, ensure that evidence is available of the action taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. (NMS 21.2)

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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 make good progress at the home. They are able to be more confident about themselves and demonstrate increased self-esteem due to the support available from staff. One young person spoke extremely positively about the progress she felt she had made since coming to the home, particularly in forming safe and sustainable attachments. Due to the varying lengths of time young people have been at the home, they have achieved differing levels of progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are fully involved in all aspects of work relating to their extended families and are guided in maintaining relationships. Young people's contact with families and friends is encouraged where appropriate and facilitated by staff who provide individual support in order that visits can be positive and successful.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people understand the importance of good health and benefit from the proactive approach taken by staff. While on occasions they decline to attend some of the appointments made for them or experience lengthy waits for treatment at external providers, they engage fully with work on smoking cessation and drug awareness which enables them to follow healthy lifestyles. Young people take responsibility for their own health and are able to manage some of their own medication independently.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to eat healthily and make choices from the meals available. They are also able to shop for ingredients and will often take a major role in the preparation, menu planning and cooking of food. Physical exercise is promoted and young people have an individual fitness planner. They benefit from the activities available which support them to lead an active lifestyle. This means that young people are able to have an understanding of their health and the need for them to play an active role in ensuring a healthy lifestyle.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from the opportunities to engage with the local community. They are enabled to attend local groups which offer support in empowerment and self-esteem and are involved in voluntary work projects and work experience placements. Young people's educational attainment and attendance is good when considered against their starting point. All young people attend educational placements at school or college and are currently engaged in courses such as child care, beauty and employability. Some of these enable them to gain a recognised qualification. This ensures that young people are able to make a contribution to the local community and make positive choices about their educational future. Young people who have previously demonstrated unsafe behaviour are making considerable progress and show a reduction in their risk taking behaviours. There have been no recent occurrences of anti-social or offending behaviour in the

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Outcomes for children and young people

community. This means that young people learn about inappropriate or risky behaviour and are able to demonstrate an awareness of how to prevent it occurring.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are effectively prepared for independence and are able to learn skills which will prepare them for adult life. They benefit from working through a formal independence package which includes a cooking workbook and are able to open bank accounts and obtain passports. They also gain knowledge about health and safety and food safety by undertaking training courses. One young person demonstrated a thirst for knowledge regarding safe practice following recent attendance on a course.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to play a part in the day-to-day running of the home and are fully consulted in regard to decisions about their futures. All young people are aware of the plans for them and are supported to contribute by staff.

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Quality of care

Detailed assessments of young people are used to inform the compilation of highly individual placement and care plans. These regularly updated plans detail the needs of young people, how they are to be met and by who. There are clear measurable outcomes for young people and staff are able to demonstrate a good verbal knowledge of individual plans. Weekly updates on young people's progress are sent to the placing authority to ensure a consistent approach to working with young people can be carried out.

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Quality of care

Planned sessions are undertaken with young people by key workers to address relevant areas of support and learning required in line with their plans. Equality and diversity information, including each young person's background and culture is clearly identified on young people's plans. Relevant areas are addressed both within the daily life of the home and in formal sessions. Recent packages of work have been completed on racism and the understanding of culture.

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Quality of care

Young people feel that staff are concerned with their welfare. One young person stated that, 'The staff have really helped me to stop getting involved in things I shouldn't.' There are some good positive relationships in place between young people and staff which constructively support appropriate behaviour. Individualised strategies are in place for all young people and staff show a good understanding of these. The strategies enable young people to develop their behavioural and social skills, and they are guided as to what are acceptable and positive behaviours. Staff encourage progress and continue to do so even when barriers are put in place by young people. The health needs of young people are met in a proactive manner by staff. All are registered with local services and are supported to attend initial check up and follow- up appointments. Staff are good at motivating young people to attend appointments

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Quality of care

which they have previously refused. For example, meetings with the looked after children nurse. The manager stated that they can occasionally be frustrated by the lengthy wait for treatment where this is required. Young people are given a range of information on keeping themselves healthy and are able to hold their own medication in secure storage following an assessment. Staff work hard to ensure that young people's emotional, physical and psychological health needs can be met.

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Quality of care

A varied range of activities are available for young people to undertake. These include art and craft sessions, the use of local leisure facilities and attendance at particular group activities where young people show an interest. Young people are able to improve their skills and develop confidence by taking part in the sessions.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported to attend formal education placements at college and school and all young people are included in some form of provision. Tailored packages are in place to meet with individual need and these include vocational and subject specific courses such as beauty and child care. Daily communication is undertaken with educational provision to ensure that young people's progress can be monitored closely and any challenges addressed.

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Quality of care

Good and continually developing relationships are in place with a number of external agencies. Arrangements for support and contact have been put in place with mental and emotional health teams, the local police, missing from home coordinators and Youth Offending Teams. This enables proactive and informed work to be carried out by the staff with young people.

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Quality of care

A complaints procedure is in place which is understood by young people. They feel confident that they are able to raise any concerns they may have. The manager reviews any complaints made and responds to these quickly. Where appropriate changes are implemented following an issue being raised, for example, practice in relation to the use of bathrooms. There are very few formal complaints made as young people feel able to approach the manager and staff with what tend to be minor grumbles.

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Quality of care

Young people are able to give their views on the running of the home and there are formal residents meetings held. All requests and suggestions made are responded to by the manager and reasons are explained when a request cannot be met. Young people have recently been able to make choices about the type of furniture and beds they would like in their rooms.

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Quality of care

The home is domestic in nature and some recent improvements have been made to communal areas, enabling increased use for a variety of purposes. Furnishings are of good quality and appropriate for the home. All young people have their own room and adjacent access to toilet, bathing and shower facilities. A garden area is available for young people to use, plans are in place to enhance this area by some remodelling and provision of an allotment area so young people can grow plants and vegetables.

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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 said that they felt safe at the home and knew that staff cared about them. There is some excellent work undertaken by staff to educate young people about keeping themselves safe from abuse or harm. An appropriate protocol and communication links are in place with the police and missing from home coordinator. Contact is made in relation to missing young people and those at risk of sexual exploitation. Positive staff practice in interactions with young people has resulted in a considerable reduction in the number who have gone missing from the home and there have been no recent occurrences.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Risk management plans are in place for each young person. These detail any behavioural risks to young people and the appropriate control measures in place to address these. This ensures that staff are able to provide a consistent approach when dealing with any inappropriate behaviour or action displayed by a young person. Staff use negotiation and diffusion techniques successfully to ensure that situations do not escalate. Young people are closely monitored to make sure the opportunities for them to place themselves at risk are minimised.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are appropriate safeguarding procedures in operation and staff benefit from training which helps them to understand how to help young people to keep themselves safe. There are good links with external child protection services and the police ensuring advice and support is available when required. Evidence is available of previous allegations of harm being handled effectively and appropriately.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is minimal use of restraint or sanctions in the home. Staff use positive reinforcement whilst encouraging young people to demonstrate positive and acceptable behaviour. There are clear boundaries and expectations of behaviour set out and young people clearly understand these. Individualised incentive schemes are used to promote positive behaviour and outcomes for young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff are trained in recognised physical intervention techniques, ensuring they are aware of permitted and appropriate interventions which may be used if necessary. All behaviour management events are recorded as required by legislation and give a clear picture of the period leading up to the occurrence, events which took place and steps taken afterwards. Young people are invited to view and comment on all entries and on many occasions they do so. Where they do not wish to do so, refusal is noted.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The welfare, health and safety of everyone at the home is protected by the arrangements in place for recruitment, vetting of visitors and the maintenance of a safe building. Gas and electrical equipment is tested on a regular basis and fire procedure testing is carried out at least monthly. Additional practice evacuations are undertaken for each new admission. The staff recruitment process is robust and visitors are required to show identification, sign a visitors’ book and are accompanied while in the home.

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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 Registered Manager has been in post since April 2012 and has built up a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. There is a clear vision for the desired development of the home and in conjunction with the external regional manager; comprehensive plans have been devised to enhance the quality of care provided.

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Leadership and management

The aims and objectives of the home are clearly set out in a statement of purpose, which features the desire to provide the best possible outcomes for young people throughout. Young people receive their own guide to the home. This sets out the expectations of staff, young people's rights and their responsibilities.

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Leadership and management

A management structure is in place which enables increased guidance to be available for all staff. A senior staff member has been given the role of deputy manager which allows enhanced support for staff in their day-to-day practice. There is effective leadership for staff who receive regular supervision and appraisal. The staff team also receive support in their work from an external psychologist who meets with them as a group each month.

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Leadership and management

The manager keeps up to date with legislation and practice developments and shares these with staff to enhance their development. A training package is available for staff covering all mandatory and developmental training and all staff hold or are completing a formal qualification. Additionally, staff are given an area of responsibility for areas of work such as equality and diversity, health and safety and enrichment activities. This ensures that any work required is carried out and that developments in practice or legislation are identified and can be cascaded to the rest of the staff group.

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Leadership and management

The number of staff employed is sufficient to ensure that the needs of young people can be met. There is a mix of genders and experience in the staff team. Young people spoken with were clear that they were able to interact with all of the staff, but that some were easier to discuss more personal issues with.

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Leadership and management

Internal monitoring allows the manager to fully evaluate the quality of care provided. Regular monitoring of daily records and case files is undertaken. However, counter signatures, any deficiencies noted and the manner in which they are fed back to staff cannot always be clearly evidenced.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring is also carried out on a monthly basis by an external manager. A report is completed following each visit detailing the findings and any actions required. Internally, an enhanced overview report of practice and development within the home in line with regulation is compiled. All of the reports are submitted to Ofsted as required by legislation. Notifications of serious events are made to the appropriate agencies. There has been a reduction in the number of notifications made since the last inspection as young people's behaviour has become increasingly settled.

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Leadership and management

Young people's records are detailed and held securely, ensuring confidentiality is maintained. The difference the home has made to young people's lives can be seen by the presence of photographs and achievements on the files. Some of the recording systems in use mean that on occasions information recorded is duplicated. While the duplication of information has minimal impact on the actual care young people receive, it is time consuming for staff. The external regional manager stated that plans for the development of recording systems are currently under consideration by senior management.

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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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