Children's Home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Unique reference number SC051739 Inspection date 20/12/2012 Inspector Julian Mason Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 16/05/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

The home is registered for three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a private organisation which has several homes within the area.

p.3

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.

p.3

Progress

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

p.3

Progress

The home was judged as adequate overall at the last full inspection in May 2012 and this grade remains in place. One requirement for improvement was made at that time, which has been actioned. This related to maintaining records of medication given to young people as part of the range of documents that the home is required to keep for a designated period.

p.3

Progress

Seven recommendations were also made, four of which have been met and three have been repeated or converted into requirements. The recommendations related to measures that routinely restricted the liberty of young people; maintenance of the home’s environment; risk assessments; plans for independence; scheduling of shift handovers and staff induction and training.

p.3

Progress

Young people’s needs and how the home will meet them are being continually reviewed and updated. This includes assessing risks and how staff work with young people to promote their safety and welfare. Previous staff practices have included the routine locking of external doors without clear justification for doing this. This practice had stopped for a period of time and young people could leave the home without asking or waiting for doors to be unlocked. However, the home’s front and back doors are currently being kept locked when young people are in the house. Although this measure has been deemed necessary, no specific assessments have been completed to support or review this measure. By locking the external doors to the home, young people’s liberty is sometimes being unnecessarily restricted.

p.3

Progress

The home’s environment is regularly checked to ensure it is safe and there has been some essential maintenance carried out to ensure basic health and safety standards are met. Risk assessments are also in place to inform the staff team about any measures needed to make the home safer; for instance, the routine use of plastic cutlery and plates to eat meals with.

p.4

Progress

The detached house provides enough space for young people and staff to comfortably share with each other or to spend time away from the main group. However, parts of the home’s interior are shabby, worn and in a poor decorative state. For instance, the upstairs landing is not suitably decorated or maintained; the appearance of the young people’s bathroom is very old and basic and offers little in the way of being a conformable room to use. Other communal areas are slightly better. Overall, young people are not being provided with living accommodation that consistently promotes a comfortable or homely atmosphere.

p.4

Progress

Staff promote and encourage participation in the domestic life of the home and support young people to practice and learn skills relating to independence. Where formal independence plans for young people are missing, the manager follows this up with placing social workers. However, this does not prevent young people from being involved in planning for their futures and they are fully involved in meetings and consultations. Staff provide effective support and strongly advocate on young people’s behalf to ensure their wishes are known and understood.

p.4

Progress

Staff are supported and enabled to discuss their work with young people on a day- to-day basis because the Registered Manager is accessible and fully involved in the home’s operation. This is supported by team handover meetings which are designated times on the staff rota that enables key information to be shared about young people’s planned routines and circumstances. Staff attend training to ensure their core skills and knowledge is kept up to date as well as more specific training that relates to young people’s current needs. However, the Children’s Workforce Development Council’s induction standards are still not being completed so this is an area in which the home's practice still does not meet the national minimum standard.

p.4

Progress

The Registered Manager and staff team place a high importance on building positive, constructive relationships with young people that help them cope with their difficulties. Young people’s emotional well-being and safety is a priority and factors that affect this area of need are well known to the Registered Manager and staff team. Young people who are sometimes emotionally troubled are provided with effective care that helps them deal with their distress. This is because staff are sensitive and patient; they spend time allowing young people to talk about their feelings and concerns. Young people can display some difficult and risky behaviours but this does not deter staff from being clear about what is reasonable and socially acceptable. Staff respond in a way that takes account of an individual’s personality and they provide the necessary support that is respectful and non-judgemental.

p.4

Progress

The home has established systems in place to monitor the outcomes being achieved for young people. These systems include regular monthly visits from a representative of the organisation through to the Registered Manager’s own monitoring activities. Information is included in monitoring reports that are completed by the Registered Manager but this information is not currently being sent to Ofsted as required although this shortfall has minimal impact on young people.

p.5

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.

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all parts of the children's home use by children are reasonably decorated and maintained (Regulation 31(2)(e)) 28/02/2013

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) supply to the HMCI a report in respect of any review conducted for the purpose of monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 and improving the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 34(2)) 31/01/2013

p.5

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.5

Recommendations

 ensure that the liberty of any child is not restricted as a matter of routine (NMS 3.19)  ensure new staff undertake the Children’s Workforce Development Council’s induction standards, commencing within 7 working days of starting their employment and being completed within 6 months. (NMS 18.3)

p.5

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.

p.6

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.

p.6