Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Senad Group Limited in Derbyshire

Unique reference number SC372504 Inspection date 03/10/2012 Inspector Philip Cass / Pete Hylton Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Date of last inspection 09/03/2012 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 service is part of a privately owned residential school for children and young people with learning difficulties. The service can accommodate up to 55 children and young people.

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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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make good progress during their time at the service. They grow in confidence and develop improved social skills. They attend school regularly and achieve well at school. Staff develop good relationships with young people and are attentive to their needs. However, despite the generally good quality of care provided to young people, isolated incidents of inappropriate care practice impact negatively on young people. Young people are safe, and staff are vigilant in their efforts to keep them safe. The leadership and management judgement is limited to adequate as a result of a failure to fully address recommendations from the previous inspection.

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Overall effectiveness

The service is required to address practice issues to ensure that the privacy and dignity of young people is always respected, improve standards of maintenance and decoration in particular areas of the service, and to ensure that the children’s guide contains accurate contact details for Ofsted. It is recommended that the home take measures to promote continuity of staffing.

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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 the home is conducted in a manner which respects the privacy and dignity of children accommodated there (Regulation 11 (2)(a)) 12/11/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all parts of the children’s home used by children, are reasonably decorated and maintained (Regulation 31 (2)(e)) 12/11/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) produce a children’s guide which shall include the address and telephone number of the HMCI. (Regulation 4 (3)(c)) 12/11/2012

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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 every effort is made to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted. (NMS 17.8)

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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 do well at school and make very good progress from their starting point at the time of admission. Because the service is good at recognising, celebrating, and rewarding educational achievement, young people enjoy school and look forward to the school day. The service achieves high levels of attendance because it is good at addressing the barriers to education attendance such as poor previous experience, anxiety, or changing interpersonal relationships. Care staff accompany young people to school and support them through the day. Care rotas have recently been amended to reduce the impact of staffing changes during the educational day. This has led to an improvement in attendance.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people grow in confidence and self-esteem during their time at the service. This means that they are able to make a smooth transition into adult care services. Young people look forward positively to the future. They discuss their future plans confidently and fully understand them. Young people undertake life skills training as appropriate to their age and understanding. There are good links with the school to deliver functional skills training. This means that young people are equipped with the skills and knowledge to succeed as they move into adulthood. As well as practical skills, young people generally make great strides towards developing appropriate social skills. Parents speak with great enthusiasm of the ‘staggering progress’ made by young people at the service in this regard. The service is particularly strong in supporting young people to use communication aids. Because they are given the tools to communicate effectively, young people become better

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Outcomes for children and young people

able to establish and maintain friendships.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The service is good at facilitating and supporting positive family contact and home stay arrangements. Where young people struggle to cope with the transition between home care and residential care, the service develops very effective strategies to reduce anxiety and minimise the impact of the change. Because transitions are managed well, young people experience minimal distress and can spend enjoyable and nurturing time with their families.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health outcomes. On-going conditions are well managed. Young people are supported to understand and take responsibility for their own health. On site therapeutic services enable young people to develop improved emotional well-being. Good links with mental health services mean that mental health conditions are stabilised and young people have improved mental health.

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Quality of care

Staff interact in a warm and affectionate manner with young people. Parents are confident in the care provided because they see how comfortable their children are in the company of staff. They also reflect on how attentive the staff are to the young people. However, where care practices are seen to compromise the dignity and privacy of the children and young people in residence, the home take prompt and robust action.

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Quality of care

The service works well with parents and social workers to develop highly individualised placement plans. Because young people often have complex learning difficulties and associated needs, the service ensures that staff can access advice from specialist external services. This enables them to confidently identify and address care needs. Care planning is further strengthened because the service is committed to identify and respect needs that stem from a young person’s culture or background.

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Quality of care

Incidents of challenging behaviour are managed in an empathetic and positive manner. Staff have a clear understanding of the individual behaviour management strategies in place for young people. They use these strategies well to minimise the impact of challenging behaviour on the individual and the group as a whole.

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Quality of care

Health care arrangements are strong. Health planning is detailed and comprehensive. Because a holistic approach is taken to health care, young people have their physical, emotional, and mental health care needs met. Arrangements to manage on-going conditions are good. Staff are skilled and sensitive in providing intimate care. In addition they are good at supporting young people to maintain good standards of personal hygiene. Health promotion work is delivered sensitively in line with the individual needs of the young people. Medication administration systems are safe and well organised.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy a range of stimulating and interesting activities. Young people are encouraged, where appropriate, to join community organisations such as the Girl Guides. This contributes towards improved social skills and improved confidence as well as enabling young people to take an active part in the local community. A broad range of on-site activities are also available for young people. These include good quality sports facilities. A range of toys and games, appropriate to the age and understanding of the young people, are also available. Staff engage positively with young people. They encourage young people to try new activities and learn new skills. This means that young people lead stimulating lives and are not bored. Young people speak proudly of their sporting achievements and skills.

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Quality of care

The service is creative in its efforts to consult with young people and seek feedback from them. A range of tools are used that reflect the young people’s level comprehension and methods of communication. Consequently, young people feel listened to and are empowered to suggest improvements. The home is good at feeding back to young people when their suggestions have been acted on. A ‘you said … we did’ wall display is produced so that young people can see the impact of their suggestions. Young people know how to complain and are confident that their complaints will be taken seriously and acted on.

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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 feel safe and secure at the service. Staff are proactive in preventing bullying. They support young people to interact with each other in a friendly and supportive manner. Supervision levels reflect the care needs and potential risks of individual young people. Supervision levels are amended promptly when risks are identified. Because staff adhere to agreed supervision levels and monitor young people carefully, young people rarely go missing from the service. When young people do leave site without permission, staff go to great lengths to ensure their safe return.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Safeguarding systems are robust and effective. All staff receive safeguarding training. This enables them to respond well to any allegations or suspicions of abuse. Safeguarding training also ensures that they are aware of whistleblowing procedures. Because all staff fully understand and adhere to the safeguarding policy, children face a reduced risk of abuse. Managers are good at working with safeguarding agencies and ensure that all concerns are notified promptly. Because the service deals with safeguarding issues in an open and transparent manner, issues are fully addressed and great effort is made to ensure that young people feel that they are treated fairly. Investigations are handled fairly, quickly, and consistently so that young people are protected and supported. The service makes every effort to ensure that staff are carefully vetted before commencing employment. The effective use of Criminal Record Bureau checks, as

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Safeguarding children and young people

well as the telephone verification of references, significantly reduces the risk of inappropriate adults finding employment at the service. Good security arrangements, including the careful checking of identification, reduce the risk of individuals entering the site without permission.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety systems are robust and carefully monitored by the health and safety manager. Detailed risk assessments are regularly updated in light of changing risk factors. A safety culture is effectively fostered by clear ‘near miss’ and accident reporting systems. Any potentially hazardous substances are securely stored and monitored. This means that young people have a reduced risk of accidental injury. The risk of injury is further reduced as a result of the detailed and effective fire risk assessment and fire safety systems.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service goes to great lengths to ensure that restraint is carried out in a safe manner and is for the shortest possible duration. Restraint practice is carefully monitored by senior managers. Considerable efforts are made to reduce incidents of restraint. This is demonstrated by a recent management led review of restraint policy that resulted in the decision to end the practice of floor based restraint. Young people have a reduced risk of injury as a result of this policy change.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are adequate .

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Leadership and management

Experienced and knowledgeable managers demonstrate a commitment to continual improvement. The development plan is comprehensive. It promotes improvement in key areas such as consultation, and care planning. A range of quality assurance and monitoring tools are used to further promote improvement. Monitoring visits identify shortfalls and suggest strategies to remedy these shortfalls. Managers take swift action to address these shortfalls.

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Leadership and management

A requirement and recommendation relating to the recording of disciplinary measures and restraint have been addressed. Consequently the service is better able to monitor these systems. However, two recommendations from the previous inspection are not met. This means that, although many areas are well decorated and maintained, some areas do not benefit from effective maintenance regimes. In these areas, the decoration and furnishing gives the home a sterile and institutional feel. The staff team continue in their efforts, with the help of the young people in residence to make the home more attractive. Although there is minimal impact on young people, the failure to fully update the young person’s guide means that the contact details for Ofsted are incorrect. Young people may not be able to contact Ofsted if they wish to make a complaint.

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Leadership and management

Staff and managers are trained and qualified to a high standard. Managers are good at identifying individual training needs that reflect both the needs of young people and the developmental objectives of staff. Training systems are well organised and ensure that mandatory training is undertaken and refreshed in a timely manner. New starters receive a thorough induction that includes the Children’s Workforce Development Council’s induction standards before going on to complete the level three Children and Young People’s Workforce Diploma. This means that staff are well prepared to meet the needs of young people at the start of their careers.

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Leadership and management

Managers ensure that they are available to offer support and guidance to staff at all times. Consequently, staff report that they feel well supported and have confidence in the leadership of the service. Formal support arrangements, such as supervision and appraisal, are used well to promote good quality care and the personal development of the staff group. Managers have made considerable investment to improve performance management systems and improve timekeeping, absenteeism and staff turnover. A new electronic time management system offers managers the opportunity to better monitor and identify trends and patterns. Despite this, high staff turnover, and high levels of absence from work, impact negatively on the service’s ability to achieve consistency of care.

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Leadership and management

Because managers are experienced and competent, they are able to effectively challenge other agencies and service providers. This means that the service is a good advocate for young people, and good at ensuring that their needs and wishes are fully addressed. Social workers report that the service is good at interagency working. The home engages particularly well with local safeguarding agencies. This ensures that any allegations or concerns are fully responded to and managed in a timely manner.

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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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