Children's Home run by Sunflower Children Care Services in Leicestershire

Unique reference number SC449099 Inspection date 05/12/2012 Inspector Elizabeth Barrett Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 23/07/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The service is a privately-operated children's home, registered for up to three young people aged from 9 to 17 years. Children and young people may have emotional and 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 thrive and make good progress while staying at this service. Their behaviour, education, social and safeguarding needs are effectively supported and significantly improved.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff and management team are the key strength in delivering a high quality of care. There is a positive atmosphere where care arrangements and planning take into account the individual and diverse needs of young people. It is through these effective structures and nurturing relationships that young people learn to develop, and begin to take more responsibility for their actions.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people feel safe and happy at the home. Attendance at school is strongly supported and young people enjoy a range of activities. Young people are valued and treated with respect, which enables them to grow emotionally and to develop their coping abilities. The service invests a great deal of time working alongside other professionals to ensure a collective approach to the care of young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager and staff team establish good communications with placing social workers and parents, ensuring that effective partnerships are established and maintained. Parents are very positive about the standards of care provided by this home.

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Overall effectiveness

This service demonstrates a capacity to improve. This is because the Registered Manager is continually evaluating the standards of care and support and the impact this is having on young people’s lives. There is one recommendation made in relation to improving the physical environment of the home.

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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 provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated, with particular reference to young people's bedrooms. (NMS 10.3)

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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 in this service. They grow and develop because staff provide a nurturing, warm and secure environment. Young people thrive due to the excellent quality of care, behaviour management and robust safeguarding arrangements. Young people are helped to develop a positive self-view, feel valued and are given opportunities to explore different experiences. They enjoy positive relationships with the adults who care for them, based upon openness and honesty. This helps them to build confidence and emotional resilience.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people with complex behaviours and difficulties grow in self-esteem. Staff respond quickly to any anxieties they may have and provide consistent reassurance, which enables young people to feel that staff genuinely care for them. Young people say they enjoy living in this home, with one young person commenting, 'it's the best home I have lived in.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people, who have previously experienced early childhood trauma and placement breakdown, achieve good outcomes while living in this home. This includes improvements in managing their risk taking behaviours, attending education and in developing appropriate attachments with others. Young people recognise how these improvements have positively influenced their relationships, and how they now benefit from regular contact with their families. Young people receive effective support to maintain contact with family members and those of significance in their lives. Young people say that contact arrangements are extremely positive, including overnight stays for some young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people become increasingly empowered to take more responsibility for their behaviours and to make positive choices and decisions. Parents and social workers are extremely confident and complimentary about the positive outcomes and progress made by young people. They identify progress made in taking personal responsibility for behaviour and being more confident to verbalise their views and emotions. Comments received from parents include, 'I am pleased with all of my child's progress and how happy he is living in this home.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people attend the provider’s school, which is attached to the home. They make good individual progress and attainment, whatever their personal learning and ability needs. Some young people are making significant progress with their reading and writing skills and in working towards academic qualifications. Young people are encouraged to understand and take more responsibility for their health needs, including the importance of taking their medication. They enjoy improved physical and emotional health, because of staff support and access to health services. Young people’s psychological health has improved, because they are supported with ways to talk through difficulties, become less anxious and better manage their anger. They lead healthier lifestyles, including a better diet, exercise and improved personal hygiene.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive support to participate in a range of leisure activities and individual pursuits within the community. Young people benefit from close links with their communities through attending the local youth club, go karting, the cinema, going on bike rides and walks in the local area.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people receive outstanding care in this home. They benefit from a highly competent, well-organised and motivated staff group who are passionate about meeting their needs. The commitment of the Registered Manager and the staff team, creates an environment that is structured and developmental, enabling young people to achieve significant outcomes across all areas of their social, educational and personal development.

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Quality of care

Young people and staff are open and respectful to each other. This helps young people build stable attachments and manage their own behaviour appropriately. Young people say that staff are there for them when they need them and that they can talk to them about any concerns. This is because they feel that staff listen and are interested in them. Staff display an enthusiastic and committed approach to caring for young people, including praising them for their positive behaviours and achievements. This helps young people to engage meaningfully in all areas of their care.

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Quality of care

Some young people display very difficult and challenging behaviours towards themselves and others. Staff work with these young people to provide consistent support, through clear daily routines and structures. Young people develop a greater acceptance of these boundaries, enabling them to modify their behaviours and negotiate their wishes. Comments from one professional include: 'My young person is much calmer in his behaviours, responding positively to the daily routines which suit him well. The quality of care is very effective.'

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Quality of care

Young people make positive progress due to the staff team's extensive and thorough knowledge and understanding of their individual backgrounds and needs. Young people's care, placement and behaviour management plans are personalised, comprehensively reviewed and supported. Support for young people is creative, which enables them to manage risks, sustain appropriate relationships and to make informed choices. Young people's contribution to the planning process is valued and encouraged through their involvement in a young person’s version of their placement plan.

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Quality of care

Young people participate in regular meetings with their key worker to progress their care plan objectives and to discuss any issues of concern. They are encouraged to engage in young people's meetings. This means that they are provided with regular opportunities to influence the care and practices of the home.

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Quality of care

Young people confirm that the rules of the home are fair and that staff set boundaries consistently. They are well aware of the service’s complaints procedures. Young people say that they are confident that any complaint they may raise will receive full attention.

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Quality of care

Young people receive full staff support to attend and achieve in their education. Care and education staff talk proudly of the impressive steps taken by young people in relation to their educational attendance and personal achievement. They recognise the difficulties young people have experienced in sustaining education placements prior to living at the home. Staff ensure that individual education plans are tailored to meet learning abilities and aspirations.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to participate in a wide range of leisure activities that enable them to develop their individual preferences and social skills. The staff team are effective in supporting family contact, by facilitating the practical arrangements such as setting up visits and transport and in building positive communication links with parents. This ensures that progressive relationships between young people and parents are maintained, to enable efficient and consistent transitional care and support arrangements.

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Quality of care

The atmosphere within the home is very relaxed and young people say that they enjoy living there. The home provides a healthy environment for young people, with access to services that meet their holistic health needs. All young people have well documented and up-to-date health plans, which include individual measures to support personal health care needs and objectives. The plans encourage young people to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. Medication arrangements are robust and in line with requirements.

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Quality of care

The home provides spacious accommodation. The furnishings and décor are mainly of a good standard. However, young people's bedrooms are not sufficiently repaired and maintained in a timely manner, to ensure that all areas of the home are in good order and homely in character.

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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 are safe in this home. They say they feel safe and that staff protect them from harm. Individual risk assessments and behaviour management plans recognise specific vulnerabilities, with robust planning and positive proactive strategies to inform and guide staff practice.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Safeguarding young people has a high profile. Staff see this as an essential part of their day-to-day care. There are procedures to ensure that young people's safety and welfare is effectively managed. Staff are vigilant about following these procedures. They also attend training on a range of safeguarding issues; for example, young people at risk of sexual exploitation.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Care and behaviour management plans clearly identify risks and protective factors for individual young people. Staff work closely with young people in developing and building trusting relationships that are helping to minimise such risks. Staff discuss with young people what triggers these behaviours. They explore the coping abilities young people can adopt to help reduce risks. Staff deployment further promotes young people's safety, while ensuring that risk management is appropriately facilitated to promote levels of independence.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff promote a positive culture of managing behaviour, with a focus on dealing with issues quickly to avoid escalation. They manage young people's behaviour by listening to them and understanding their concerns. Staff are helping young people to increase their levels of self-control and awareness of the impact of their behaviour and to help them reflect on significant incidents. This strengthens attachments and encourages young people to manage their future behaviour. Young people benefit from individual personal incentive and positive reward plans that promote and celebrate personal achievements. As a result of these practices, sanctions are rarely used in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are well trained in the use of interventions. They are highly motivated to manage challenging behaviour by using de-escalation and diversion techniques. Some young people with histories of restraint in previous placements, have significantly reduced these episodes since living in this home. Young people are clear about why staff intervene. They say it is for their safety and the safety of others. Procedures in relation to young people going missing are well organised and robust. When missing from care is an issue in this home, staff follow local police protocols for reporting and recording these incidents. They maintain consistent dialogue with key individuals to ensure that risk management is meeting individual specific needs.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in an environment that is physically safe and appropriately secure. All fire and health and safety requirements are regularly checked and up to date. All staff working with young people are carefully selected and vetted before commencing employment, to ensure their suitability to work with young people.

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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

This home benefits from strong and efficient leadership and management arrangements. The Registered Manager is accomplished and professional, ensuring that the quality of care provided in the home consistently meets the complex individual placement objectives of young people. The manager and staff are driven by commitment to make a big difference in the lives of the young people in their care. Staff are persistent in addressing any shortfall in the care of young people. They are effective in pursuing authorities and professionals for meetings and specific support services for young people.

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Leadership and management

There is good staff retention in the home, with all staff receiving quality supervision, annual appraisal and individual development opportunities. Staff training is comprehensive. Staff say that they are receiving good levels of support from the home's managers, enabling them to offer young people high quality care. Comments from staff include, 'the leadership and management of the home is very positive and the manager has excellent relationships with the young people and the staff.'

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Leadership and management

Care planning paperwork is current and on file, with good quality records of the young people's placement needs and objectives. Equality and diversity is reflected throughout the home's practices, with individualised care planning taking into account the young person's background, learning abilities, and identity. Feedback from one stakeholder commented that there is good professional communication with the home, through regular updates and well-written summary reports.

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Leadership and management

The manager is committed to further improving the home and has a development plan in place. This document clearly identifies areas for the home to improve and also ensures that the staff team is clear on planned developments. The quality of care is monitored by the home's manager and by external personnel who visit the home on a monthly basis. Reports are produced and forwarded to Ofsted as required. Records are up to date and provide an understanding of the young person’s journey through the home. The manager is aware of the need to improve aspects of this monitoring, to ensure all records are sufficiently maintained.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose provides clear aims and objectives for the service with the home meeting these in practice. The children’s guide is accessible and uses simple language to explain the purpose of the home. It contains all relevant information, including information about independent advocates, appropriate help lines and Ofsted’s contact details.

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Leadership and management

Parents and professionals speak very highly of the manager's commitment and her drive to improve the lives of young people. As a result of this positive management, young people receive an excellent level of care and they are, making significant progress in many areas of their lives. Comments from professionals include, 'The staff team and manager work well together and there is a good relaxed atmosphere in the home. They go the extra mile to make the home a safe and positive experience for all young people.'

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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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