Children's Home run by N H Care Limited in Birmingham

Unique reference number SC365366 Inspection date 19/03/2013 Inspector Amanda Ellis Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 25/09/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This is a small three bedded children's home. The home caters for young people who have autism as a learning disability. The home is run by a private provider.

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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 inadequate progress .

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Progress

At the last full inspection in September 2012, this home was judged to be good. Two requirements and two recommendations were made to promote improvement. The home has not made all of the necessary improvements identified at that inspection.

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Progress

The home’s Statement of Purpose was identified as being out of date during the last inspection. The Statement of Purpose, although recently updated, does not include all staff currently working at the home. The reviewing process is therefore not adequate to provide an accurate picture of the staffing structure of the home.

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Progress

Monitoring of the home has improved. The home has addressed the requirement regarding sending Regulation 34 reports to Ofsted. In addition, the home regularly sends Regulation 33 reports to Ofsted. This means that the monitoring of the home is effective with a focus on improving the quality of care for young people.

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Progress

The manager has initiated measures to improve the maintenance and decoration of the home. Furthermore, significant renovation of the home is commencing now the young people move to their adult care placements. This combined response sufficiently addresses the requirement set at the last inspection.

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Progress

The majority of staff working at the home are employed on a full-time permanent basis. This means that young people receive continuity of care from the staff team. However, the supervision of some staff is not regular. This means that staff may not always be aware of their role and responsibilities and that the manager cannot fully monitor their performance. This may impact on the quality of care and safety of young people.

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Progress

The organisation is not wholly effective in ensuring all staff engage in mandatory training opportunities. Some staff have not received physical restraint training. As a result, staff may not be appropriately skilled in managing incidents of challenging behaviour. Although this shortfall has not negatively impacted on young people to date, there remains the potential for young people to be at risk if they display unsafe or challenging behaviour.

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Progress

Young people receive care from an enthusiastic and stable staff team. There have been some new members of staff recruited to the care team. However, new members of staff have not commenced the children’s workforce development council’s induction standards within seven days of starting their post. This means staff may not be suitably equipped and qualified to undertake their role.

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Progress

Young people continue to make good progress at the home engaging in education and training opportunities. Leisure time is well organised. Consequently, young people are able to choose enjoyable activities outside of college hours. As a result, young people benefit from improved knowledge and social skills and are able to fully explore their potential.

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Progress

The home continues to work positively and communicates well with parents, families and professionals. Proactive work ensures that young people benefit from having their needs and welfare closely monitored and reviewed. One parent commented, ‘The change in him is fantastic. He is much calmer. They manage him well and he is happy.’ A social worker stated, ‘I can't praise the staff enough. The progression of this young person over the past few years is tremendous.’

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Progress

Young people live in an environment that is physically safe and appropriately secure. All fire and health and safety requirements are regularly checked and up to date. However, fire drills are not regularly completed. This means that the manager is not able to evidence that young people and staff practise safe evacuation methods and know how to respond in the event of fire.

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Progress

The home has been without a Registered Manager since October 2012. The current acting manager has been in post since February 2013 and is currently in the process of submitting an application for registration with Ofsted. The absence of a manager has meant that the management of the home has not been wholly effective. The home does not currently have a development plan. This means that the progression of the home and planned changes to the service are not clearly identified. This inspection has identified shortfalls in care provision; however there is no direct negative impact upon young people. The home has made inadequate progress since the last inspection. The management team are clear about what is necessary to ensure that young people continue to receive high standards of care. There have been three statutory requirements and two recommendations made as a result of this visit.

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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) ensure the registered person shall keep under review and, where appropriate, revise the Statement of Purpose, particularly in relation to up-dating the homes staffing appendix, and ensuring future proposals/plans are current (Regulation 5 (a)) 15/04/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure all persons employed receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal (Regulation 27 (4)(a)) 15/04/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that the persons working at the home and, so far as practicable, children accommodated there, are aware of the procedure to be followed in the case of fire. (Regulation 32 (1)(e)) 15/04/2013

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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 the registered person has a written development plan, reviewed annually, for the future of the home, either identifying any planned changes in the operation or resources of the service, or confirming the continuation of the home’s current operation and resource (NMS 15.2)  ensure new staff undertake the children’s workforce development council’s induction standards, commencing within 7 working days of starting their employment and being completed within 6 months. (NMS 18.3)

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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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