Children's Home run by Isle of Wight Council in Isle of Wight

Unique reference number SC395944 Inspection date 15/01/2013 Inspector David Coulter Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/08/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is a purpose-built facility owned and operated by a local council. It is registered to take up to 10 young people with learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities between the ages of eight and 17 years.

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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

At the last inspection the overall effectiveness of the home was judged as being good; however, one requirement and three recommendations were made in order to further improve the quality of the provision and ensure compliance with regulations and standards. The home was required to produce monitoring reports at regular intervals in line with Regulation 34. The regulation has been appropriately met and a monitoring report has been produced and submitted. The three recommendations have been acted upon. All long-term residents now receive pocket money that they can regularly access, staff have completed training in an approved physical intervention method, and the building is now subject to regular maintenance.

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Progress

The home is going through a period of transition, and a number of significant changes to the operation of the home are about to be implemented. At the last inspection concerns were raised about the sudden increase in long-term residential placements and their impact on respite provision. The concerns were acknowledged by managers and a plan is currently being implemented that will lead to the separation of respite and residential provision. Two new staff teams are being created with the intention of providing greater consistency in the delivery of care. The physical layout of the building is also being reorganised to ensure that both groups of young people have access to appropriate facilities and equipment. Staff are fully involved in these developments, and focus groups have been created to examine the implications of such changes on specific areas.

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Progress

At the time of the inspection the home was accommodating four long-term residents and providing a time-limited placement to another. Respite placements fluctuate between two and three each night. All the long-term residents are settled and making significant progress in all aspects of their lives, including the development of personal, social and life skills. Incidents of challenging behaviour have significantly decreased. All are engaged in full-time education, and attendance levels are good. Care staff liaise effectively with schools and young people now benefit from consistent approaches to communication and behaviour management. Staff continue to explore more effective forms of communication with young people who experience speech difficulties. Computer tablets with a range of communication applications are now regularly used to ascertain the views of young people.

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Progress

The home has appointed a number of new staff since the last inspection and there is now less reliance on bank and agency staff. Most of the new staff have completed their induction and are now fully operational. Morale among staff is good and the proposed creation of two services with separate staff teams has been welcomed. Staff spoken with felt the role and responsibilities of the home within children's disability services is now much clearer. There is a culture of training and professional development within the home and staff respond to changing needs by accessing appropriate training. Recent training has included courses on behaviour management and epilepsy.

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Progress

The well-motivated staff team continue to provide a nurturing and safe environment in which vulnerable young people can grow and develop. No requirements or recommendations were identified during the inspection.

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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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