Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire County Council in Nottinghamshire

Unique reference number SC036732 Inspection date 28/01/2013 Inspector Judith Longden Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 14/11/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is run by the local authority and is registered to provide short breaks for a maximum of eight children who have a learning disability.

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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

This home was judged as adequate at the last full inspection in November 2012. Since that time the home has demonstrated significant improvements in the quality of care and the safety of young people. The home has addressed and met the two requirements made at the previous inspection. No recommendations were made at the last inspection.

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Progress

The home was required to make sure staff are deployed effectively to supervise activities and ensure young people are kept safe during activities. These issues have been discussed with individual staff in supervision and in team meetings to ensure the supervision and safety of young people are seen as paramount. The handover process and recording of information during handovers have improved. Staff are allocated tasks and responsibilities and these are recorded on the shift sheet. The duty manager attends handovers and signs this record to confirm staff are to be deployed effectively during the forthcoming shift. This ensures young people are sufficiently supervised and are able to enjoy a range of activities.

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Progress

In addition the home was required to update records in a timely manner and ensure recordings are consistent. Again, these issues were discussed in supervision and in team meetings and staff have been supported to understand the need for good quality, consistent and accurate recording. Staff have benefitted from recording training delivered by experienced staff within the team. Staff state the training has been 'very useful' and relevant to the recording practices at the home. In addition, the manager has introduced a new format for recording incidents and this provides a very good overview of the incident and action taken.

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Progress

The monitoring of the home has improved with the duty manager ensuring records are checked on a daily basis. As a result records are consistent and of good quality and contribute to an understanding of the young person's life.

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Progress

Young people continue to be cared for by motivated and experienced staff. Staff have a range of skills and abilities and the deployment of staff in small teams ensures these skills are utilised effectively.

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Progress

Young people continue to be involved in house meetings and make good use of key work sessions to share their views on their care and the running of the home. In particular they have been involved in the design of the new building for the home. Staff continue to have strong and positive links with parents. This means the views of others are taken into account.

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Progress

Staff help young people to prepare for change and adjust to living in different environments. Young people benefit from extensive work on social stories and develop skills and improve their confidence and self-esteem. Staff also work closely with other agencies to ensure any transition is as smooth as possible.

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Progress

No requirements or recommendations are made as a result of this 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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