Children's Home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Hertfordshire

Unique reference number SC379199 Inspection date 28/01/2013 Inspector Gwen Buckley Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 19/10/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This is a local authority long-stay children's home registered to accommodate seven young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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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 in October 2012, the overall quality rating for the home was good, with three recommendations identified for improvement. The manager has made good progress and implemented a number of improvements to systems and documents in response to these recommendations.

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Progress

Staff attended child protection training as recommend. Training is planned for two staff not able to attend at that time. This ensures staff have up-to-date knowledge and are able to respond appropriately to any child protection concerns. Additional training for staff on the impact of trauma on the brain has taken place. Staff found this very informative and helps them understand some of behaviours young people exhibit. Since the last inspection the management team and staff have focused on the restorative justice approach to resolving issues. Young people talk of staff understanding them and being able to address bullying better. As a result, of the training and focus on the restorative approach to care; staff have stopped unwanted behaviour escalating; young people understand the consequences of their actions and they are better able to manage their own behaviour.

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Progress

A recommendation made to ensure all staff's work is consistent with expectations is met. This related to how the transport policy, independence training and pathway planning was being implemented. A further recommendation was made to ensure young people were prepared for adulthood and independence. Systems have been set up to ensure link worker sessions focus on individual needs and staff supervision sessions review the work undertaken. The manager oversees this and young people say she is always talking with them about their progress. As a result, those young people entitled to pathway plans all have one in place. Young people are planning, shopping and cooking one meal a day to a specified budget. Public transport is regularly used and young people are routinely developing skills and confidence in their ability to care for themselves.

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Progress

The service demonstrates its capacity to improve because it has met all the recommendations and the manager continues to develop practice. The frequency in which young people go missing has reduced and attendance at school has improved by 16 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. A comprehensive quality monitoring system highlights strengths and makes recommendations for improvements. The manager recognises that further work on independence planning will improve the outcomes for young people even more. As a result, objectives set in supervisions and in the independence programme are to be clearer and more focused on meeting the changing needs of young people.

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Progress

Young people say they are safe at the home and feel staff care. They know bullying is not acceptable, say staff take action to address any problems and talk to them about how they feel and the consequences of bullying. Young people learn about healthy living, eat healthy food and they are consulted about developments at the home. For example, they influence the menu and their views sought over the planned redecoration of their bedroom and poolroom.

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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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