Children's Home run by Knossington Grange School Limited in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC436386 Inspection date 08/04/2013 Inspector Caroline Oldham Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 17/10/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people and usually takes boys. The home caters for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. This home is owned by an independent provider with a school site nearby; young people may also attend this school.

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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 previous inspection in October 2012 the overall quality rating for the service was judged as good, with one requirement and two recommendations for improvement.

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Progress

The requirement and one recommendation were regarding the use of physical restrain. The home was asked to ensure that a written record is made of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline, which includes a description of the measure used, and that staff only use the home's agreed restraint techniques. The home reviewed the incident reporting process, and issued further guidance to staff. There have been very few further incidents of restraint since the last inspection, however, records show a clear description of the measures used, which all conform to the agreed restraint techniques. In addition, there is good documentation of de- briefs for young people and staff, and the actions and outcomes arising, which give the effectiveness of the action and any follow up. This ensures that only approved measures are used and documented, so that young people are held or restrained in appropriate ways.

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Progress

The second recommendation asked the home to ensure that information recorded in the young person's daily log is recorded clearly, and in a way which will be helpful to the young person when they access their files now, or in the future. The home has radically changed the format of this document, to ensure that the daily log reflects the care plan which is the key document for each young person. There are now clear sections covering each aspect of a young person's care and well-being. Staff report that by linking the daily log into the care plan, it gives a better indication of how each young person is progressing towards the targets in their care plan. There is now clear evidence of the excellent progress that young people are making towards their individual goals, such as improved diet and exercise regimes.

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Progress

Since the last inspection, the home has continued to review and refine the documentation to make the systems more effective, for example, this is ensuring that care plan objectives are being met. Bank staff have been recruited to alleviate the necessity to use agency staff, which leads to greater consistency amongst the staff team and greater consistency of care for the young people. Female staff identified an issue and with the support of the manager used the excellent reward scheme to curb unwanted behaviour. This illustrates the confidence of the staff team, and such working together illustrates how young people's behaviour quickly improves. Young people were actively consulted about a new admission into their home and as a result the young person has integrated well and all young people care for, and support, one another.

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Progress

The organisation has in place a system to monitor the standard of care in the home. A copy of the monitoring reports is sent to the home, but a copy is not sent on every occasion to Ofsted. The manager also has systems in place to monitor the home and is actively looking for ways of making improvements. A recent development is the staff skills self-assessment. From this survey the manager has produced a staff skills matrix, which has identified areas for training. The training programme reflects the needs arising from this review. Consequently staff receive highly personalised training and young people benefit from confident, appropriately trained staff.

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Progress

All young people attend education, either at the nearby school or via the outreach provision provided on-site. Given their starting points they have all made excellent progress, in both attendance and achievement. Consequently all young people are making significant progress with their learning and growing confidence, and some have achieved awards for their achievements.

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Progress

All young people are encouraged to eat a healthy diet and take part in regular exercise such as visiting the gym and going to exercise classes such as Boxercise. Consequently some young people are improving their body weight to a more healthy level, and they are learning about leading a healthy lifestyle.

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Progress

All young people come to the home with complex behavioural issues. Staff work closely with other agencies to put in place support and strategies to lessen unwanted behaviour. This is highly individualised, according to the specific needs of each young person. Very good staff ratios ensure that young people have the supervision and attention that they need. Personal support work gives young people time to talk about important issues which are integral to the care plan. Consequently, young people's behaviour improves all the time, and incidents requiring sanctions or restrains are now very rare. There have been no incidents of young people going missing since the last inspection.

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Progress

The home has good strategies to keep young people safe, and staff are aware of what to do if they are concerned about the welfare of a child. All staff receive the appropriate training to enable them to provide safe care, and the building is regularly checked for health and safety compliance. Consequently, young people in the home are kept safe and well cared for.

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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 that the registered provider shall supply a copy of the report required to be made under paragraph (4) (c) of this regulation to HMCI. (Regulation 33 (5)) 31/05/2013

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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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