Children's Home run by Aspris New Education Services Limited in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC443959 Inspection date 14/02/2013 Inspector Dennis Bradley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 03/05/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is maintained by an independent company. The home is registered for eight young people with learning disabilities, five of which can be accommodated on a short break basis.

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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 home provides good, consistent and well-planned care resulting in good outcomes for young people. Young people make good progress in their placements. For example, they receive good support and encouragement to become more independent. Staff also make sure young people’s achievements are celebrated.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff actively seek, and take into account, young people’s wishes and feelings about how they should be cared for. Young people benefit from planned and consistent interactions with staff who care about their welfare. Good staffing levels help ensure young people receive personalised care and support. Young people feel safe and the manager and staff demonstrated a commitment to using their knowledge and skills effectively to keep them safe.

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Overall effectiveness

The management team ensures the home is managed efficiently and effectively. They understand the home’s strengths and areas for development. They also ensure young people, their families and placing authorities are consulted about the service and quality of care the home provides.

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Overall effectiveness

Many of the shortfalls identified during this inspection relate to weaknesses in record keeping. For example, staff do not always keep suitable records of incidents when they use physical restraint on young people, and there is no record available of the supervision held for the Registered Manager. Other areas for development include: the provider’s quality monitoring visits, and obtaining written consent from placing authorities for one of the measures used to safeguard young people.

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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 if any staff in the home resort to any measure of control or restraint this is carefully and clearly recorded with full details by the staff involved (Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraph 2.91.)  ensure the home’s policy on managing behaviour is applied at all times, in particular with regard to obtaining multi- disciplinary agreement in advance regarding the use of planned physical intervention (NMS 3.3)  ensure, where it is necessary to adjust the environment of the home so that it is safe and secure, the use of locks is based on a careful risk assessment that allows young people with as much freedom as possible, consistent with the need to keep them safe (Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraph 2.108.)  ensure, where physical restrictions on normal movement within or from the home are used, such measures are only used where agreed with the responsible authority and, if appropriate, the parents of the young people (NMS 10.4)

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Recommendations

 ensure, where specific measures are used to monitor young people, there is a written policy that sets out the information specified in NMS 10.5 (NMS 10.5)  ensure visits carried out under Regulation 33 include, wherever possible, private interviews with young people living at the home and, if appropriate their parents, relatives or carers. Ensure staff employed at the home are interviewed privately (Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraph 3.13.)  ensure a written or electronic record is kept by the home of each supervision held for each member of staff, including the registered person. (NMS19.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home has a collaborative approach to care planning and the young people and their families are actively involved in this process. Effective planning during the admission process helps ensure young people receive consistency and continuity of care, provided by staff who are well informed about their individual needs, preferences and routines. For example, the social worker for one young person described how, prior to them moving into the home, staff had looked ‘in depth’ at the care and support they would need for the placement to succeed. Young people also benefit from being supported by key workers who maintain good links with their families and school.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported to make good progress in their self-care skills and independence. This helps build their confidence and self-esteem. A parent said their child has made ‘lots of progress’ since commencing short breaks at the home. They can also have their say about, for example, how their child is cared for, and what they want to eat and do. Staff use a variety of approaches to enable each young person to express their views and feelings. For example, staff had training from a speech and language therapist in the communication system used by one young person.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Good staffing levels help ensure young people receive personalised support to meet their needs. They are able to access a variety of stimulating activities and pursue their individual interests and hobbies with staff support. A parent said it was ‘really good’ how staff planned for and met the individual needs of their child. Another parent said that one of the reasons their child liked going to the home was because, ‘there is always something for them to do’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s health and welfare is actively promoted by staff who work hard to meet their individual and diverse needs. For example, their specific dietary needs are identified and catered for during their stays at the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have good attendance at school. This is supported by the routines of the home and the good communication between the home and the school the young people attend. For example, staff regularly liaise with the school about young people’s needs and progress.

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Quality of care

Staff are good at developing positive relationships with the young people. They ensure there is a secure and caring environment within which young people are able to feel safe and relaxed. One parent said that anything their child didn’t like about their accommodation was ‘rectified’ and now ‘she absolutely loves it’.

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Quality of care

Staff ensure the diverse needs of the young people are clearly recorded in their individual care plans. They also make sure they ask young people for their views and feelings about their day-to-day care and the running of the home. For example, as well as being involved in choosing activities and outings each day, young people have been involved in choosing the decor in their bedrooms. There are clear procedures for young people and their families about how to make a complaint. The home has received no complaints.

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Quality of care

Staff work constructively with young people’s parents and carers and make sure they have regular contact, for example, by telephone and, where appropriate, through the use of communication books for each young person. This helps to ensure continuity of care and good outcomes for the young people. The home has waking night staff on duty each night which enables parents to have contact with staff at any time of the day or night. Parents confirmed they can talk to staff about the care of their child as often as they wish, and that staff are good at keeping them informed about their progress. Young people experience a good range of activities within the home and in its garden and outdoor play area. For example, there is a sensory room and a room equipped with personal computers for the use of the young people. Staff also support young people to access activities such as swimming and bowling as well as outings to museums, and cinemas. This helps the young people to develop their

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Quality of care

social skills, self-confidence and self-esteem.

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Quality of care

There are good arrangements for storing, administering and monitoring the young people’s medication. For example, only staff who have had training in safety with medicines can administer medication to young people. Also, care staff are trained in emergency first aid should a young person need this. Parents confirmed that their child’s health needs are met when they stay at the home.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy staying in a comfortable, spacious and secure environment. The home is situated in a residential estate and is close to a range of local amenities. There are good arrangements for ensuring the home is well maintained and is furnished and decorated to a good standard.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe staying at the home and there are satisfactory arrangements in place to keep them safe. Staff try hard to protect and promote young people’s welfare and they are clear about their roles and responsibilities in doing so. They take prompt and appropriate action when young people are at risk and ensure the home’s safeguarding procedures and risk assessments are implemented.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There have been no occasions when a young person has gone missing from the home. Staffs’ vigilance and the high levels of supervision they provide young people with helps ensure this does not happen.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff implement positive behaviour strategies to support young people to manage their emotions and anxieties. Young people are rewarded and praised for positive behaviour and staff try to enable to them understand the impact of their behaviour on others. Staff do not use sanctions and they said they only use physical restraint on young people as a last resort. When they do it is to keep them or others safe. Staff have been trained in the use of de-escalation techniques and use these where possible.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Some of the records of incidents when staff have used physical restraint on young people are not fully satisfactory. For example, on some occasions the duration of the holds used was not clearly recorded. Consequently, it is not always clearly evident in the records that the use of physical restraint was proportionate and applied for the shortest possible time. The home’s behaviour management policy states that, where the use of physical intervention is planned, pre-arranged strategies and methods should be agreed in advance by the multi-disciplinary team working with the young person. However, there was no evidence in the records for one young person, where it was known that their behaviour may require the use of physical intervention due to their disability, that this agreement had been obtained. The manager explained that she intends to obtain this agreement at the next care team meeting arranged for the

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has clear and effective staff recruitment and selection procedures. These help make sure only suitable people are employed to care for the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a home that is safe and secure. For example, the home’s fire procedures are implemented and there are good systems to identify and minimise any risks or hazards. Staff use each young person’s individual risk management strategies effectively in order to safeguard them and promote their welfare. Key pad locks are used on a number of doors within the home to help provide an environment that is safe and secure for the young people. However, a recorded risk assessment has not been completed in relation to the use of these locks, and written consent has not been obtained from placing authorities and parents, regarding their use. Also, the doors to young people’s bedrooms contain window panels that enable staff to monitor the young people in their rooms. It is evident that where this monitoring is carried out it is to safeguard the young person, has been agreed with their parents and is included in their individual risk assessment. However, the home

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Safeguarding children and young people

does not have a written policy setting out, for example, how young people will be protected from the potential abuse of this measure.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The home has a Statement of Purpose that provides clear, accessible information about how it operates and how young people will be cared for. The management team ensure all staff working at the home consistently follow its policies and procedures and understand their roles and responsibilities. There is also a young people’s guide to the home which tells them what the home is like and includes important information, such as how to complain or contact an independent advocate.

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Leadership and management

The manager of the home is skilled, experienced and appropriately qualified. They ensure they keep up to date with developments in legislation and care practice, and use forums such as team meetings to share these with staff. They provide effective leadership for the staff team to enable them to provide good outcomes for the young people. The Registered Manager ensures the home has a clear ethos and staff work with commonly understood objectives. This is the first inspection of the home since it was registered.

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Leadership and management

The manager has a system in place to regularly monitor the home’s records to identify any concerns and to improve the quality of the care provided. There is also an external quality monitoring programme that involves visits to the home to check the quality of care provided and the welfare of the young people staying there. However, there is no evidence that the views of young people and their parents are sought and taken into account in this external monitoring of the home. Also, the person carrying out these visits has only once interviewed a member of staff, other than the manager. Consequently, any concerns or issues young people, parents or staff may have, might not be identified and addressed.

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Leadership and management

Many of the staff are skilled and experienced. All those who have completed their induction and probationary period either have a relevant qualification or are undertaking training to achieve one. Staff demonstrated a commitment to meeting the complex and diverse needs of the young people who stay at the home. The support and supervision they receive enables them to have a good understanding of young people’s needs and how to support them and keep them safe. The manager confirmed she receives regular supervision from her line manager. However, a suitable record of this supervision was not available in the home.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels are very good and enable staff to spend time meeting the individual needs of the young people. There is a core group of permanent staff and the home also uses a pool of bank staff as well as some agency staff. The manager tries to use the same agency staff in order to provide consistency and continuity for the young people. Staff meetings and the handover arrangements between shifts help ensure there is effective communication within the staff team. This helps staff to keep up to date with any changes to young people’s needs or circumstances.

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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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