Children's Home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Bracknell Forest

Unique reference number SC431806 Inspection date 25/02/2013 Inspector Maire Atherton Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 12/06/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation that specialises in the assessment and treatment of male adolescents who have experienced some form of abuse and have subsequently been involved in perpetrating abusive behaviour themselves. The overall aim of the service is to offer four young people the opportunity to embark on specialised educational and therapeutic training programmes within a safe, supportive and nurturing environment.

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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 full inspection in June 2012 the home was judged adequate overall. At this inspection the home demonstrated on-going improvement in leadership and management and consequently in outcomes for children. The three requirements and two recommendations arising from the last visit have been met. There are no requirements or recommendations made as a result of this inspection.

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Progress

Young people spoke positively about the care the staff team provide. They feel safe and confirmed that they have a say in the day-to-day decisions in the home as well as their individual care plans. They particularly like the new core group system implemented since the last inspection. Each young person has a representative from the residential, education and therapy teams that forms their core group. This group meets every three weeks during term time and the young person is invited to attend. The group reviews progress against goals set out in the placement plan and updates the plan accordingly. Young people are confident that should they not attend the meeting their key residential worker will represent their views accurately and tell them the outcome of the meeting.

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Progress

The young people are enthusiastic about the physical improvements in the home, with the creation of a games room where the office used to be the most popular feature. They are enjoying planning the redecoration, learning to compromise and negotiate to agree a theme and colours scheme, with Super Mario being the consensus. The young people are very appreciative of the new carpets and décor and said that they really like the house now and so are looking after it well. There has been a significant reduction in deliberate damage to the house.

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Progress

Staff have reviewed behaviour management programmes in discussion with young people. The emphasis on tangible, positive reinforcement has worked well. One young person said, 'the new way has really helped me manage my behaviour and I don't have many sanctions now'. Young people also talk positively about their relationships with staff, with considerable warmth and laughter in their interactions.

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Progress

Young people confirm that there is regular discussion about alternatives to the 'calling out' system in place in the home. An alternative was trialled and the young people did not like it, so voted to go back to calling out when moving from room to room. Other systems discussed and dismissed by the young people include the use of CCTV cameras and door alarms. The subject will remain on the house agenda for regular review.

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Progress

Young people said 'another thing that is much better now is having regular staff working in the home'. They were clear that they did not like it when 'their staff' were moved to other houses and expressed their views to senior management. They feel they were listened to because 'this has not happened for a while now'.

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Progress

Since the last inspection the manager of the home has been registered with Ofsted. The management monitoring systems effectively promote the improvement of the quality of care provided. The senior management team has established a new system to tighten up recruitment checks on new staff and managers are booked to attend safer recruitment training with an external provider. The manager has identified the training that staff require and a training programme is underway to meet some of these identified needs. The staff team is efficiently and effectively deployed to meet the needs of the young people. Thus suitable and properly trained staff are delivering good care to the young people living in the home.

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Progress

Young people's records provide a fuller account of their time in the home, ensuring that records contribute to a young person's understanding of their experience. Some written records are very well supported by a photographic record, celebrating daily living experiences along with events and achievements. Staff plan to ensure that this is in place for all young people.

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Progress

The young people were unanimous in their view that things are getting better. One said, 'I really love it here', another said, 'it's a nice atmosphere…we get on well together'.

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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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