Children's Home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Oldham

Unique reference number SC356817 Inspection date 21/11/2012 Inspector Monica Hargreaves Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 10/01/2012 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

The home is privately operated and registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have learning disabilities.

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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 benefit greatly from living in a safe and structured environment. The excellent levels of individualised care and support young people are given ensure that they make significant progress in all areas of their life.

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Overall effectiveness

Education is valued in the home and young people attend school or college on a daily basis. As a result, they are able to make excellent progress towards meeting their individual targets. Young people enjoy very good health. They are supported to develop a healthy lifestyle. Their general health is closely monitored and their additional health needs are fully met. Young people are encouraged to practice and develop their life skills and they take part in a range of activities that promote their social skills and support their general development. Their sense of identity is supported through maintaining positive family contact and their sense of self-esteem is developed through the positive nurturing relationships they have with staff and the friendships they make outside the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from living in a homely and very well maintained environment that is kept safe. Young people report that they are happy and settled in their home and that they feel safe.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is well managed. The manager and staff are keen to ensure that young people are safe, happy and settled and achieve to their optimum. There are very effective arrangements in place to ensure that the progress of young people is closely monitored. These systems ensure that shortfalls are identified and prompt action is taken to address them, so that the service continues to improve for the benefit of young people. One recommendation regarding the young person's guide to the service has been made as a result of this inspection.

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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 young person's guide to the service contains the details of their independent reviewing officer and the Children's Rights Director. (NMS 13.5)

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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 benefit greatly from the long term settled placements that they enjoy in this home. They say that they are happy and that they like their home. Young people are cared for by staff who have an excellent understanding of their individual needs. As a result, they are supported to make significant progress in all aspects of their lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have a strong sense of identity. This is supported by regular meaningful contact with family members. They also make and sustain friendships at school and college as their social skills develop. These positive relationships promote young people's sense of identity and self-esteem.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy education and they attend school or college every day. This excellent level of attendance enables them to achieve their educational potential. Teachers comment very positively on young people's attendance and on how much progress they make. One said '(name) never misses. I can't remember the last time (name) was off' and another said '(name) has made vast improvements at school.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health. Their health needs are thoroughly assessed and there are clear plans in place to ensure that they are met. Young people are registered with all primary health services and staff make sure that they attend routine and specialist appointments. This ensures that their good health is monitored and promoted. Staff also monitor young people's diet to make sure that they eat healthily. Young people enjoy planning menus and take part in activities that promote exercise, such as swimming, walking and dance. This helps them to develop their understanding of healthy lifestyles. Young people benefit from the structured routines in the home, which also support their health and general development. The arrangements for the storage and administration of medicines are extremely robust, protecting young people and promoting their good health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make excellent progress in developing life skills in preparation for adulthood. Young people learn how to make choices and to take responsibility for their personal care; they learn social and practical skills and they are supported to understand how to keep themselves safe in the community. The progress that young people make is commented on very positively by relatives and professionals. One professional said '(name) has matured greatly with the support of staff' and a relative said '(name) is really independent now. It's really good to see.’ Staff ensure that young people have a pathway or transition plan in place when they reach an appropriate age to support them when they move into adult services.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people live in a highly supportive and stable environment. Staff have high aspirations for the young people they care for and they always place the needs of the individual young person at the centre of their practice. This enables young people to feel safe and secure in their home and supports extremely positive outcomes for them.

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Quality of care

Relatives and professionals express a high degree of satisfaction with the quality of care in the home. One relative said 'The home is absolutely brilliant' and a professional commented that the staff 'are extremely tuned into the young people's needs.’ Young people themselves say that they like the staff who look after them and identify particular staff who they would approach if they were not happy.

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Quality of care

Staff plan for young people's care very effectively. They develop placement plans that are highly individualised and based on consultation with young people, their families where possible, social workers and other relevant professionals. Staff are extremely knowledgeable about young people and they recognise and value them as individuals. Staff consistently put young people's plans into practice to ensure that their needs are met. As a result, young people receive highly-individualised care that is tailored to meet their diverse and complex needs and supports their progress.

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Quality of care

Teachers report that care staff take a very positive interest in the education of young people. Staff understand the importance of education to young people's general development and are keen to ensure that young people are achieving their individual potential. Staff make sure that there is a copy of the young person's education plan in the home so they can work in partnership with schools to help young people to meet their targets. Staff support young people to attend school or college every day. They liaise closely with teaching staff and they attend parents' evenings and other education meetings to discuss young people’s progress. These arrangements contribute to the excellent progress that young people make in education.

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Quality of care

Staff work closely with professionals from other agencies, such as psychological services and specialist health providers, in order to ensure that young people have the services and the support they need.

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Quality of care

Young people behave very well. They are encouraged to learn how to manage frustrations and conflict positively. Each young person has an individual incentive scheme which enables them to earn rewards. This scheme encourages young people to achieve their individual targets and also supports positive behaviour. Some young people struggle with their behaviour when they first come to live in the home, but as a result of the way they are cared for, their behaviour improves over time. This benefits young people as it helps to develop their sense of self worth.

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Quality of care

Care staff actively promote young people's involvement in activities within their local and wider community. For example, young people attend local youth clubs where they are able to meet their friends and they are members of their local library which they visit regularly with staff. They use local facilities, such as swimming baths, bowling and cinemas and they go out for meals with staff. Staff encourage young people to join other group activities and one young person particularly enjoys dance classes. Involvement in these types of activities promotes young people's inclusion in their wider community and contributes to their general development.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit greatly from living in an environment that is exceptionally well maintained. The house is safe, comfortably furnished and very well decorated. It offers young people a warm and welcoming home. Young people have an obvious pride in their home, in particular their bedrooms, which they personalise and help to keep in good order.

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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 arrangements for safeguarding young people are extremely robust. Young people are safe and feel safe. They are protected from harm by competent carers who treat young people’s safety and well-being seriously. This is confirmed by relatives and professionals who report that they are confident that young people's safety is given the highest priority in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are given good training in safeguarding and safe care; they have a clear understanding of the home's safeguarding procedure. This means that they know how to respond to and manage safeguarding concerns in order to keep young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff develop detailed risk assessments and risk management plans, which fully address young people’s vulnerabilities. These promote consistency in the way staff work with young people and effectively protect them from harm. Plans are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate to young people's changing needs and continue to protect them. Staff help young people to learn about possible risks they may encounter to enable them to understand how they can keep themselves safe. For example, they talk to young people about internet safety and they monitor young people’s use of computers in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Good staffing levels ensure that young people are appropriately supervised both in the home and when they are out on activities. These levels of supervision ensure that young people are not able to leave the home without the knowledge of staff. They also protect young people from the risk of bullying. There have been no incidents of young people going missing from the home for some considerable time, but there is a clear protocol and agreed arrangements with the local police to ensure young people's safety if they do go missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The organisation has very good systems for recruiting staff and checking visitors that are followed in this home. These arrangements are effective in ensuring that all new staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before they start work and that visitors are checked before being allowed into the home. The measures protect young people from unsuitable individuals being able to gain access to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from being cared for in a home that is kept safe. This is achieved by robust risk assessments and regular checks on equipment and installations as well as on the environment itself. Regular fire drills enable young people and staff to practice leaving the home safely in an emergency.

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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 managed effectively. The manager has only recently been appointed to the role. However, she has worked in the home for some time, as a senior care worker, and undertaking duties as a deputy manager. Consequently, she is experienced in managing and supporting a staff team and has a very good knowledge of the young people who are looked after in the home. The manager has not yet submitted her application to register with Ofsted, but understands her responsibility to ensure that this is completed as soon as possible.

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Leadership and management

Young people are well looked after by a team of competent staff who have a very good understanding of their individual needs. Staff are either qualified or working to gain a relevant qualification. They are given good training to help them to develop and maintain the skills they need for their work. Staff report that they feel well supported by the manager. Staff have regular supervision and say that they feel able to seek advice from managers outside these meetings. This ensures that staff are supported in their work with young people and also that their work is monitored.

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Leadership and management

There are effective systems in place to ensure the work of the home is monitored. Regular visits are made to the home by an independent person who assesses the quality of care that is given to young people. The manager also undertakes regular checks on the work of staff. As part of the monitoring activity, the manager ensures that there is regular consultation with young people and their relatives. This activity gives young people and their families an opportunity to influence the running of the home. These arrangements enable the manager to be confident that good standards of care are maintained for young people and that their welfare is promoted. The manager takes prompt action on any issue that is identified as a result of all monitoring activity. There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection. However, the home has a good history of ensuring that any issues identified during the inspection process are also acted on. This demonstrates a clear

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Leadership and management

commitment to continuous improvement. There is a plan in place showing how the manager proposes to develop the service for the benefit of young people.

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Leadership and management

The service has a Statement of Purpose that is detailed and accurately describes how the home operates. This is available for relatives and professionals so they can see how young people are cared for. The young person's guide is presented in a format of pictures and simple language that is appropriate to the needs of the young people who live in the home. It gives them a good understanding of who will be looking after them and also information about their rights in care. The guide does not contain details of the Children's Rights Director or young people's independent reviewing officer to enable them to contact these individuals if they wish.

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Leadership and management

Information that is held about young people is stored securely. Files are well maintained, clear and detailed. They provide a good record of young people's time in care and in this placement and contribute to their understanding of their history. Young people are encouraged to read and contribute to their files so that their views are taken account of and incorporated into their documents.

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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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