Children's Home run by Our Place (2008) Limited in Worcestershire

Unique reference number SC407929 Inspection date 17/12/2012 Inspector Carole Moore Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 01/08/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This privately owned home is registered to accommodate eight children and young people with learning disabilities. The home has a school and offers planned short and long-term placements. The school is registered with the Department for Education.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress .

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Progress

The overall effectiveness of this service was judged adequate on the 01 August 2012. One requirement and four recommendations were made at the full inspection and these have all been met. This inspection identifies good progress for this service. There are no new requirements or recommendations resulting from this interim inspection.

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Progress

There has been a big improvement to address the procedures for notifications. All staff have received raising awareness training, and team meetings have also addressed this area of practice. There are clear notices in staff rooms to enable staff to follow the procedures safely and correctly.

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Progress

Children and young people benefit from comprehensive placement plans. These documents provide clear guidance on how to meet their needs, particularly identifying methods of communication, daily living tasks and any medical needs or strategies for behaviour management. Improvements have been made to these documents, and aims and objectives are set even more clearly with long-term aims identified as well as the short-term targets. Parents and social workers are consulted on these documents, as are children and young people where possible. These documents promote consistency of care and are regularly updated. Requests and comments from parents are included in any revision of placement plans. These documents demonstrate collaborative working with parents and professionals.

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Progress

There is a good training programme in place and all staff benefit from the newly introduced competencies checks that support staff as well as evaluate the training staff have undertaken. This in turn provides the young people with staff who are well trained to meet their complex needs. Staff have a range of skills, qualifications and experience and bring different strengths to the service.

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Progress

The communication between the senior management team and the staff has greatly improved and all aspects of the monitoring undertaken either by the manager or the independent visitor are shared with the staff team. This enables them to be aware of any strengths or shortfalls in the service. Coupled with the sharing of research and updates, the staff team now truly feel they can be responsible for the overall good progress the service has made over the last six months.

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Progress

Staff continue to firmly advocate on behalf of young people, to promote their rights. They make sure that young people receive appropriate transport to enable them to access activities in the community as well as contact with parents or carers. Consequently, young people do not miss out on opportunities because they have a disability.

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Progress

Parental feedback, given as part of the monitoring, is very positive. The manager reports that parents have been very supportive and committed to helping the service improve practice following the last inspection. This is an indicator of how parents value this service and recognise the benefits for their child. One parent said, 'My child has just made such excellent progress’, and another, 'It's like coming to visit my child in his own home.'

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Progress

The manager and the organisation have demonstrated a commitment to working with professionals and parents to secure improvements for the children and young people who use this service. Robust systems of monitoring continue to ensure that the safety and well-being of children and young people are at the centre of practice in the home. There is a clear development plan in place that identifies progress already made and plans for the future of the service. The manager alongside her senior team communicates high expectations to her team to secure further development and improvement in the service.

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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