Children's Home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Calderdale

Unique reference number SC450728 Inspection date 12/02/2013 Inspector Stella Henderson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/08/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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.

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Brief description of the service

This is a privately run children's home. The home provides care and accommodation for up to two young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

This is the home's first inspection since registration. Young people and staff moved to this new property from different homes within the organisation.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make good progress at the home across all aspects of their health and development. Care planning and practice is effective due to the quality of support and intervention provided by staff. Young people are protected from significant harm and their welfare is promoted. They enjoy educational success and are fit and healthy.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say they feel safe at the home and get on well with staff. Contact with family is managed well and young people are able to have friends to stay over at the home. Young people are supported to gain some basic independence skills and to develop their wider interests. They are active in their own communities and gain a wider understanding of the world through European and international travel.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager of the home currently remains fit for registration. However, there are a number of shortfalls relating to leadership and management and compliance with regulations which require attention. Very effective work by the staff team means that these shortfalls do not immediately or significantly impact on young people's well- being or progress.

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Overall effectiveness

These deficits do however compromise young people's entitlement to live in a home where the manager is known and seen, and where they can rely on independent scrutiny of practice. Actions and recommendations are therefore set to assist the provider to address these matters.

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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.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) notify without delay any of the events listed in column 1 of Schedule 5 to the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table (Regulation 30)(1) 29/03/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that visits to the home are undertaken in accordance with this regulation by an employee of the organisation or partnership who is not directly concerned with the conduct of the home (Regulation 33)(2)(c) 29/03/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) supply to HMCI a report in respect of any review conducted by him for the purposes of paragraph (1). The system referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide for consultation with children accommodated in the home, their parents and placing authorities. (Regulation 34)(1-3)) 29/03/2013

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 ensure all children communicate their views on all aspects of their care and support. This is specifically in recording these views in their placement plans (NMS 1.3)  ensure that children's safety and welfare is promoted in the home (NMS 4.10)  ensure that the overall number, competence and deployment of staff, both as a staff group and on individual shifts, can fulfil the home's Statement of Purpose and meet the individual needs of all children resident in the home (NMS 17.1)  ensure that the manager regularly monitors, in line with regulations, all records kept by the home to ensure compliance with the home's policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Immediate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring (NMS 21.2)  ensure that records are clear, up to date and stored securely, and contribute to an understanding of the child's life. (NMS 22)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people feel that they have done well during their time at the home. They describe the good progress they make at school, some achieving excellent marks in examinations. Young people are ambitious for themselves, with realistic justification. They want to progress to further and higher education and secure good careers.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people say that they feel fit and healthy. This is because they are supported to eat sensibly, stop smoking and maintain their health appointments. Young people are particularly well supported with managing choices around sexual health and in being treated as the emerging young adults they are.

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Outcomes for children and young people

They feel that contact with family is flexible and managed well. They appreciate being able to have friends at the home at any time, and for them to be able to have sleep-overs. Young people reflect favourably on the house move, with friends, schools and families all being closer.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people take full advantage of opportunities to travel abroad and speak positively about the impact this has had on their view of the world. They benefit from being involved in voluntary work. This helps to connect them to their local community as well as providing them with practical skills and experience for adult life.

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Quality of care

Young people say that they are treated with respect. They feel that staff do things to help them, such as making and keeping health and other appointments. One young person felt they were particularly supportive with education noting, 'they will sit down and revise with me and make sure I do my homework. They want me to do the best I can, but it doesn't feel pressurised.’

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Quality of care

One young person felt that key working sessions were very useful and said 'my key worker is very understanding.’ Young people also welcomed the less formal opportunities to engage with staff about things that matter to them. One young person felt that, 'the caring is really good, the home is warm and cosy and we can have friends here to sleep over.'

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Quality of care

Behaviour is managed effectively which has resulted in young people choosing not to go missing from the home. Staff have managed any such incidents well. On this matter, social workers report that, 'we have had strategy meetings when the home were concerned… they also worked well with other agencies.'

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Quality of care

Young people report that they know what is in their care plans and are consulted about decisions to be made. Their views are not evident in their otherwise well- constructed placement plans however. These plans and other documentation accurately reflect young people's needs around diversity and difference.

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Quality of care

There is regular day to day and more formal consultation with young people. Young people feel confident in using the complaints procedures and have successfully done so.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel that staff care for them. They say they feel safe at the home and they know who to go to if they are worried about anything. A social worker noted that the home, 'works well in safeguarding young people.’ Staff are prompt in recognising patterns of behaviour that cause concern and in organising appropriate strategy meetings with relevant agencies.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Risk factors relating to young people's behaviour are thoroughly assessed, managed well and regularly reviewed. Young people are supported to make positive choices with regard to their behaviour. As a result the number of missing from home incidents has diminished.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Behaviour management is such that restraint is infrequent and any sanctions imposed are reasonable. Adequate staffing levels mean that young people are well supervised and the opportunities for bullying therefore are slender.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a home which is routinely assessed for safety and security. This otherwise good practice is undermined, however, by the casual regard to the availability of cigarette lighters and access to house keys. This presents a potential risk to young people.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are adequate .

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Leadership and management

The home's Registered Manager also manages another home within the organisation. Although the manager currently remains fit for registration, there are several areas of practice which need attention.

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Leadership and management

The manager spends little time in the home. For example, in January 2013 management presence amounted to just over 20 hours, the majority of that time when young people were at school. There is no evidence that the manager has spent time with young people who feel that they do not really know her and feel that she has no impact on their lives. This has had little effect on outcomes for young people because of the strong support provided by individual staff.

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Leadership and management

The home's operation and other matters are effectively monitored by members of staff. It is hard to establish how the manager satisfies herself that young people are experiencing optimum outcomes and that the home is complying with regulations. This is because the manager does not sign off records such as the Schedule 6 checks, which are undertaken by staff.

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Leadership and management

Procedural shortfalls include notifications and Regulation 34 reports not being sent to Ofsted in a timely fashion. Visits made on behalf of the provider in accordance with Regulation 33 lack independent scrutiny. This is because they are carried out by the Registered Manager's supervisor.

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Leadership and management

A wide range of training, support and supervision helps staff in their task and they report favourably on management support. Young people feel that they are well supported by their core staff team and staffing ratios meet their needs.

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Leadership and management

A young person's complaint about changes in staffing, due to wider organisation problems, was adequately responded to. These changes occasionally impact negatively on individual young people and contradict the therapeutic approach taken by the home. This is particularly in relation to addressing attachment issues where young people are identified as needing stability, security and predictability. The home recognises this and maintains a regular and stable staff team most of the time.

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Leadership and management

Young people say that they can have access to their records should they choose to. Recording in such documentation is generally of a good standard, but is inconsistent on occasion. For example, records of strategy meetings and a review of key working events were not on file. This means that young people do not have an accurate and up to date record of their day-to-day life at the home.

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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 main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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