Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Herefordshire

Unique reference number SC062223 Inspection date 03/12/2012 Inspector Suzanne Young Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 16/03/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home accommodates up to seven young people who have emotional or behaviour difficulties. The home is owned by a private limited company.

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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

The home provides good outcomes and quality of care for young people. It is well managed and young people are safe. Young people are developing positive and constructive relationships with staff which helps them develop emotional resilience and sustain positive attachments. Young people’s emotional and psychological health needs are well met as they are able to access the services and support they need through the company’s in-house psychologist team. The educational achievement of young people in particular is a clear strength of the home. All young people are in school or college. They attend regularly and are making good progress from their starting point.

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Overall effectiveness

Care planning is highly personalised. Individual placement plans are tailored to meet the specific needs of each young person. Young people are involved in the plans for their future and their views are sought about the development of the home. Equality and diversity issues are clearly identified in care planning and positively addressed in daily living. This ensures young people’s cultural and religious needs are promoted.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people feel safe in the home. Staff work closely with the police and other professionals to help reduce the vulnerability of young people and to stabilise young people’s behaviour. There is a strong emphasis within the home on promoting and rewarding positive behaviour.

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Overall effectiveness

The management team is focused on improving and developing quality of care. They understand the strengths and weaknesses of the service provided in the home. They have recently developed their internal monitoring systems to ensure the quality of care is evaluated and to track continual improvements. As a result of this visit, there is one requirement relating to medication records and three recommendations relating to records, the young people’s guide and smoking.

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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 that a record of the administration of any medicine to any child is included in the case records of children accommodated in the home as well as in the home's record- this relates specifically to the recording of controlled medication (Regulation 28 (1)(a); schedule 3 (24)) 31/12/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that a home's record is kept of any medicine that is administered to a child as well as being recorded in the child's file- this refers specifically to the recording of prescribed medication and homely remedies (Regulation 29 (1); schedule 4 (5)) 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 young people’s health needs are promoted. This refers to young people smoking (NMS 6.1)  ensure that the young people’s guide includes information about how they can contact the Children’s Rights Director and Ofsted (NMS 13.5)  ensure placements plans are updated and reviewed to ensure it accurately reflects the day-to-day care of the young person. (NMS 25.2)

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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. They develop emotional resilience and self- esteem and are beginning to make and sustain positive attachments. Young people also gain in confidence and make good progress in readiness for independence. They develop practical and life skills to help prepare them for adult life. One parent commented ‘Staff have done a fantastic job (Name’s) confidence has improved.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family and are encouraged by staff to develop positive friendships outside of the home and attend social and sporting activities in the local area. They contribute to the running of the home through planning activities, meals and decorating bedrooms and living areas.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people achieve some positive outcomes with regard to their physical, emotional and psychological health and are beginning to take responsibility for their own health. This, however, is compromised as nearly all the young people in the home smoke. They are encouraged to stop smoking, however, this has had little success and a culture of smoking has developed. Young people attend regular professional therapy counselling which helps them develop personal strategies and positive behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make very good progress in their education. This is because staff are proactive and consistent in supporting the educational achievement of young people and promoting their attendance at school. All are attending the company’s specialist residential school or are at college and on apprenticeships. Young people who have previously had very poor school attendance are now attending and enjoying school. As a result they are beginning to achieve positive results. One placing social worker commented ‘He is co-operating with school which is a major breakthrough.’

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Quality of care

Staff develop positive and constructive relationships with young people, who in turn interact well with staff. This is because staff develop an environment in which young people begin to trust adults. Young people are aware that staff are concerned about their welfare because staff listen to them and, where possible, act upon their wishes. Parents and placing social workers are very positive about the care and commitment of staff. A placing social worker stated, ‘I am very happy with the services provided I couldn’t say any better.’ One parent commented, ‘The home has been a life saver.'

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Quality of care

Young people know and understand how to make a complaint. The home reminds young people through meetings, notices and the young people’s guide, about the various ways they can raise concerns. The young people’s guide also includes information about a range of people and agencies that a young person can approach with a concern about the home. However, they do not have access to full or accurate information as it does not include the contact number for the Children’s Rights Director and the telephone number for Ofsted is in incorrect.

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Quality of care

Young people are able to significantly influence the running of the home. Staff routinely ask them for their views and feelings regarding aspects of their care and about issues regarding the day-to-day running of the home. Young people also actively contribute in the recruitment process of staff. They participate in interviews and their comments and views are taken into account when considering the appointment of new staff.

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Quality of care

The home provides young people with good personalised care. Young people are cared for in line with their individual plans and agreed behaviour management strategies. As a result young people get a good level of support to meet their diverse needs. Individual placement plans are of a high quality and are tailored to meet the specific needs of each young person. Although, staff review the placement plans monthly to ensure they are current, one placement plan has not been fully updated. This can compromise the awareness that staff have about the young person’s current care needs.

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Quality of care

Staff identify and promote young people’s cultural and religious needs. Equality and diversity issues are clearly identified in care planning and positively addressed in daily living. Staff’s religious and cultural needs are also recognised and met well by the organisation.

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Quality of care

The home is appropriately located and well maintained. All young people have their own bedroom which they can personalise to their own tastes.

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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 say they feel safe living in the home and believe staff will listen and respond appropriately to any concerns they have. This is because staff work proactively with young people to help them understand how to protect themselves from harm. They respond proactively to any instances of bullying and do all that they can to make sure that young people are safe and feel comfortable in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is a strong emphasis on promoting and rewarding positive behaviour through individual praise and reward. Staff treat young people with respect and as a result are able to develop good and trusting relationships with them. Staff receive regular training in the use of physical restraint which is only used as a last resort. One young person stated, ‘My behaviour has changed dramatically since I first came here.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff have a good understanding of the action to take should they have any concerns about a young person's safety or well-being. They receive regular safeguarding training and the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures are accessible to them.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are some young people who do go missing from the home. When they do, however, it is usually only for short periods of time. Staff work closely with the police and other professionals to help reduce the vulnerability of young people and to stabilise their behaviour. This has ensured that the risks associated with young people going missing have reduced. Placement plans clearly identify risks and the measures that staff need to take to safeguard young people and to minimise any risk. These are regularly reviewed. Young people live in an environment that is safe and takes account of their needs. Detailed individual and environmental risk assessments and procedures are conducted to ensure young people’s safety. All health and safety checks and fire checks are completed appropriately. There are clear and robust procedures for the recruitment of staff which prevents unsuitable people from being recruited. This

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Safeguarding children and young people

process is managed by the human resource department and consistently follows the safe recruitment and selection process.

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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 home is effectively managed with a permanent Registered Manager in post. There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection and the home continues to meet the aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose.

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Leadership and management

The management and staff team are fully committed to improving the quality of care and achieving positive outcomes for young people. The management team understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have development plans in place. Systems have recently been revised to evaluate the homes’ performance to enable the Registered Manager to improve the quality of care provided to young people and to track continual improvement.

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Leadership and management

Staff work effectively with young people to improve their social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Social workers and parents are, on the whole, happy with the care provided. One parent stated she felt the home is, ‘Outstanding.’ Another commented, ‘I think the home is doing very well.’ Social workers report that staff communicate well with them. Responses from parents regarding communication varies. However, all state, that they are able to phone the home whenever they wish and will be updated by staff on the progress of their child.

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Leadership and management

Staffing arrangements are good. There is a sufficient number of staff to meet the diverse needs of young people. Staff receive regular supervision and are well supported. They receive training which enhances their individual skills. New staff undergo approved induction training. The majority of permanent staff either have suitable qualifications or are working towards them. This ensures that staff provide good quality and safe care for young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people’s needs, development and progress are well recorded and contribute to an understanding of their life. These are stored securely and are updated on a regular basis. Records that are kept of the medication that is administered to young people do not fully conform to regulations. Controlled medication is only recorded as a home’s record and not on children’s files. All other medication is recorded on children’s files and not maintained as a home’s record. This therefore does not provide a full picture of the care that children receive.

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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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