Children's Home run by Amicus Residential Care Ltd in Reading

Unique reference number SC059221 Inspection date 27/03/2013 Inspector Brian Mcquoid Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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

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Brief description of the service

The home is privately run and provides emergency as well as long-term placements for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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

The service was last inspected during December 2012 when the overall effectiveness was judged to be good. There were three statutory requirements and two recommendations arising from the previous inspection and these have all been satisfactorily addressed. Care planning documents have been reviewed and revised and monthly summaries now include detailed information about the progress young people have made. Medication training is to take place shortly for all staff and provision has been made for regular consultation with young people, their parents, and placing authorities. New procedures are being implemented for the administration of controlled drugs and records are now being made in a book designed for the purpose.

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Progress

Young people are happy living at the home. They are positive about the experience and feel that the care and support being provided has helped them make significant progress in their lives. 'It has really helped me, I have gained confidence and am more independent', and, 'I have matured a lot,' are some of the many positive comments received from young people, who also reported that they were treated fairly and felt safe in the home. Young people's social workers also reported very positively on the service, saying that young people were very happy there and being well cared for.

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Progress

The home demonstrates a clear commitment to the continuing improvement of the service. In addition to addressing the requirements and recommendations of the previous report there have been further positive developments since the previous inspection. An away-day for staff has been used to identify specific areas for development, staff have undertaken additional training specific to young people’s needs, a social networking site has been set up specifically to enable young people previously at the home to keep in touch, and social workers have attended a staff meeting to present information about a specific type of assessment used with some young people. In addition there is an on-going development which is being regularly reviewed.

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Progress

There have been no instances of any young person being reported missing from the home and no incidents where any form of physical intervention has been used since the previous inspection, and the one complaint received has been satisfactorily resolved. The home is judged to have made good progress since the previous inspection. No statutory requirements or recommendations arise from this interim 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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