Children's Home run by Portsmouth City Council in Portsmouth

Unique reference number SC037588 Inspection date 12/02/2013 Inspector David Coulter Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/08/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is registered for a maximum of six young people between the ages of five and under 18 years. It is owned by a city council and provides short-term placements for young people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities.

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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 was 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. A reporting template has now been designed and is now being used by all residential services within the local authority.

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Progress

The home has experienced a number of significant changes since the last inspection. The Registered Manager has moved on and the acting manager has been appointed to his post. He is currently in the process of applying for registration. After an extensive consultation process with staff and parents it has been decided to change the home's respite provision from seven to six nights a week. The change is calculated to lead to greater efficiency without adversely impacting on the number of placements offered. The home is now fully operational following completion of the recent building work, and staff and young people are enjoying the new facilities. The introduction of extensive storage space in the new lounge has allowed staff to provide a more organised environment and ensures that games, toys and play equipment can now be better managed.

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Progress

The home continues to offer regular support to a large number of young people. The well-being of each young person is carefully monitored and staff keep all relevant parties informed of their progress. Staff liaise effectively with parents and teachers, and as a consequence, young people benefit from a consistent approach to communication and behaviour management. Staff continue to explore more effective forms of communication with young people who experience speech difficulties and deploy a range of techniques, including the picture exchange communication system, to elicit their views.

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Progress

The service benefits from having an experienced and stable staff team who are supplemented by members of a well-established staff bank. There is a culture of training and professional development within the staff team and an expectation that each individual will keep abreast of developments within the care field. Due to the often complex physical, social and learning difficulties experienced by the young people using the service, staff access training from a range of sources including health professionals. For example, learning disability professionals have recently delivered training on sensory integration.

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Progress

The manager reported that recent developments have clarified the home’s specific role within the authority's children's disability service. The new management structure is settling down and senior staff are becoming familiar with their specific roles and responsibilities. Staff and members of the parent support group are now actively involved in developments within the service, and a number of new initiatives have already been proposed. Young people accessing the service receive good quality care within a nurturing and stimulating environment. Outcomes are good. 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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