Children's Home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC063103 Inspection date 05/12/2012 Inspector Monica Hargreaves Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 31/01/2012 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 run by a privately owned company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children and young people who have a learning disability.

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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

The excellent standard of care that young people are given ensures that their identified needs are met and that they make significant progress in all areas of their lives. Professionals and relatives report that they are impressed with the quality of care in the home and also with the progress that young people make.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are skilled at communicating with the young people they look after. They know how young people express their wishes and feelings and they ensure that young people are properly consulted about their care and that they and their families are fully included in the decisions that are made. The close liaison with relatives and professionals promotes consistency for young people and supports their development.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff make sure that young people have a healthy lifestyle and that their physical and emotional health needs are met. Staff fully support young people to develop their social and personal skills as part of their preparation for independence. Young people are given many opportunities to take part in activities that they enjoy while promoting their general development.

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Overall effectiveness

Education is highly valued in the home. Staff are keen to ensure that young people have an appropriate education placement. Young people attend school very regularly which enables them to achieve their individual targets.

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Overall effectiveness

Effective management monitoring ensures that the quality of young people's care and the progress that they make is regularly reviewed. Prompt action is taken on any shortfall identified as a result of this monitoring, in order to maintain high standards in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

No requirements or recommendations have been made at this inspection.

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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 make significant progress in all aspects of their development. They benefit greatly from the warm and trusting relationships they have with a staff team who strive to achieve the best possible outcomes for them. As a result of the way they are looked after, young people's confidence and self-esteem grows which further supports their progress. Relatives and professionals report positively on young people's progress in the home. For example, one professional said '(name) is coming on in leaps and bounds' and a relative commented '(name) has come such a long way since living here.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health. They have a healthy lifestyle and their physical and emotional health needs are well met. They eat healthily and take regular exercise. For example, they go walking and swimming with staff and some young people also enjoy dancing. Staff ensure that young people see the doctor, dentist and optician when they need to so there is regular oversight of their general health needs. Young people also have access to additional specialist health care when they need it. This includes psychology services and support from nursing staff in the learning disability team. As a result, young people’s emotional health needs and those relating to their disabilities are met. Young people are supported to develop the skills to manage their own personal health care and routines at a pace that is appropriate to their individual abilities and needs. Young people are given medicines when they need them to

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Outcomes for children and young people

support their good health. The home's medication procedures are robust and protect young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Education is highly valued in the home and care staff ensure that young people are fully supported to attend and to achieve. Teachers report that young people's attendance at school is excellent. One said '(name) never misses' and another reported '(name) is never off; her attendance is brilliant.’ Consequently, young people are achieving their individual educational targets. Some young people are gaining nationally recognised certificates and have a real sense of achievement. Their very regular attendance at school also helps to develop young people's social skills which in turn promote their overall development. Some young people have work experience placements and they make plans for what they want to do when they leave school. These aspirations and achievements support young people's sense of self-worth.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are fully supported to be involved in all the decisions that are made about their day-to-day life in the home and their longer-term care. This helps to develop their understanding of what is happening in their lives and also promotes their sense of self-esteem and confidence. Young people benefit emotionally from the regular contact that they enjoy with family members. Staff are very keen to promote contact and to ensure that young people and their families benefit from positive experiences. They welcome families into the home and they take young people for family visits. Relatives value the support of staff, reporting that they are always made to feel welcome in the home and that staff are 'friendly and approachable'.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit immensely from accessing local facilities. For example they attend a youth club, visit local shops, restaurants and parks and they go swimming in the local swimming baths. This ensures that young people have access to a range of stimulating opportunities and are integrated into the community in which they live.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are fully supported to develop their personal and social skills at a pace that is appropriate to their individual needs and abilities. For example, all young people learn to manage their personal care independently and to make choices in their lives. They also help with simple daily chores in the home. Some young people are able to make drinks and snacks independently and enjoying doing so for staff and visitors. Involvement in these daily activities supports young people's sense of independence and achievement and helps to prepare them for later life.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

The well-being of young people is at the centre of all that staff do and the standard of care that they are given is excellent. This is confirmed by relatives and professionals involved with the home who speak very highly of the way staff care for young people and of the progress that young people make as a result. They make positive comments such as 'staff know the young people inside out. They are genuinely interested in the welfare of young people and want them to make progress' and 'It's a lovely home. I couldn't get a better place for (name)'.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit because their needs are identified in comprehensive care plans. These address all aspects of young people’s care and their developmental needs, including those arising from their culture, background and religion, as well as those arising from their disabilities. Plans identify specific and measurable outcomes and are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain relevant to the young person's ongoing and changing needs. Young people have their own copy of their placement plan that is produced in a format of simple language and symbols appropriate to their individual needs. Staff talk through this with young people, ensuring that young people understand their plans and are involved as much as possible about their future arrangements.

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Quality of care

Generally, young people behave very well. Some young people, because of their complex needs, can at times exhibit difficult or challenging behaviour. Staff have an excellent understanding of each young person and know how to defuse such situations and support young people to behave appropriately. This helps young people to learn how to interact positively with one another and promotes the safety and welfare of all young people. The work that staff do to help young people to behave in socially acceptable ways is recognised by professionals and relatives. One professional said about a young person 'staff manage (name) behaviour much better than anyone else' and reported that this has ensured the safety of the young person and the continuity of their settled placement in the home.

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Quality of care

Staff develop very good relationships with young people. This helps young people to feel safe and settled in their home. Young people who contributed to the inspection reported that they get on well with staff and that they know that staff care about them. One young person said 'This is a caring house. It's nice to live here.’ Young people know how to complain. Staff use a variety of ways to communicate with young people and they know when young people are unhappy or angry. Consequently they can act quickly to resolve problems. Young people also have access to an independent advocate which means that there is someone outside the home who they can talk to when they want.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported very well with their education which enables them to settle at school and to attend very regularly. This promotes young people’s progress and helps them to achieve their individual potentials. Staff work in close partnership with schools to ensure that young people have a placement that is appropriate to their needs. They have a good knowledge of young people's personal education plans which means that they can support young people to reach their goals. Schools report that care staff are 'really supportive' of young people and keen for them to succeed.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from living in a spacious home that is maintained to an excellent standard. The communal areas, such as the lounge, dining room and activities room enable young people to spend time together and with staff if they wish. They have en-suite shower facilities in their rooms, which gives them additional privacy. Young people personalise their rooms to reflect their individual tastes and they are encouraged to take a pride in helping to keep the home clean and tidy. The home is suitably located in a residential area with good access to public transport. This means that young people can easily get to local towns and facilities. The location of the home also allows young people easy access to country based facilities which they enjoy using.

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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

Young people are safeguarded by a staff team who have an excellent awareness of safeguarding issues, in particular issues that may affect young people with disabilities. Staff have attended training in safeguarding and demonstrate a very good understanding of the home's safeguarding policy. This means that staff understand how to report and manage child protection concerns in order to keep young people safe. Staff are vigilant and take suitable action to promote children’s safety. Professionals and relatives report that they are very confident that young people are cared for safely.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All young people have individualised comprehensive risk assessments in place, which help to keep them safe. Young people are further safeguarded by the high staffing levels which ensure that they are appropriately supervised and well supported. The level of supervision in the home minimises the likelihood of bullying and this is not reported to be an issue. Close supervision of young people also ensures that they are not able to leave the home without the knowledge of staff. There have been no incidents of young people going missing from the home although the home has a clear protocol agreed with the local police regarding the actions that should be taken to protect young people if they were to go missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff work with young people to help them to learn about the risks that they might encounter in their own lives. This work is individualised to take account of the specific and complex needs of each young person.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home implements robust and thorough recruitment procedures to assess the suitability of new staff to work with vulnerable young people. These systems protect young people. Similarly, the safety and welfare of young people is promoted by the arrangements for checking and supervising visitors to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are trained to respond positively to challenging or difficult behaviour, including in the use of physical restraint. Physical intervention is used infrequently and only as a last resort when it is necessary to protect young people and staff. Appropriate records are kept of any incident of restraint. The manager regularly checks these records to ensure that the well-being of young people is safeguarded. Young people are helped to understand why they have been restrained and are also supported to add their comments to the records.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a home that is kept safe and free from hazards. Staff monitor the environment regularly and also ensure that the equipment is routinely checked. Robust risk assessments identify possible hazards and these are either eliminated or minimised. Each young person has a personal evacuation plan that records how they should be supported to leave the home safely in an emergency. Young people and staff take part in evacuation drills. This helps young people to familiarise themselves with the alarm systems and how they should respond in emergencies.

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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 appropriately staffed and managed effectively. The manager is experienced in working with young people in residential care. She has started the process of registration with Ofsted. The manager is well supported by a qualified and very experienced assistant manager who ensures that the home continues to run smoothly in the manager's absence. Care staff report that they are supported very well by their managers. Regular supervision and team meetings give staff the opportunity to discuss the care and progress of young people and their own training and development needs. Staff say that they always have access to informal support outside supervision meetings. As a result, staffs’ work with young people is supported.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels ensure that young people receive the individual care, support and supervision that they need. The majority of staff are qualified and newer staff are working towards gaining a relevant qualification. This benefits young people as it means that they are looked after by a team of staff who are competent and who have a very good understanding of their needs. Staff tailor their practice to the individual and specific needs of the young people they care for. This enables young people's identified needs to be met and ensures their progress.

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Leadership and management

Information about the home is provided for relatives and professionals in the detailed Statement of Purpose. This accurately describes how the home works and young people are looked after. It is kept up to date through regular reviews. Information about the home and how they will be cared for is also given to young people in their guide to the service. This is produced in a format that is appropriate to young people's needs and understanding.

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Leadership and management

Robust management systems ensure that the work of the home is monitored, both by the manager and an independent visitor. The manager ensures that the safety and well-being of young people is promoted through these systems. The robustness of these systems also ensures that there is good oversight of young people’s progress. The manager takes prompt action on all issues that are identified through inspections and as a result of the monitoring activity. The recommendation about restraint records that was made at the last inspection is met. These now include comments from young people after any incident of physical intervention. The home's training and development plan is clear and detailed, identifying how the manager is working to improve the quality of the service for the benefit of young people.

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Leadership and management

The home keeps detailed information about young people in individual files that are well maintained and stored securely. The records that are kept ensure that there is a clear history of the young person's time in the home. Young people are encouraged to see and understand all that is written about them. Staff are working with young people on their life story books. They also keep photos, cards, certificates of achievement and other memorabilia for young people, which they take with them when they leave. These things also contribute to young people’s records of their personal histories.

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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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