Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC411142 Inspection date 15/05/2013 Inspector Trevor Hall Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 10/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This is a small private children's home for one young person, who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

The home reopened only two months ago, having been closed for several months. It has been refurbished, has a new manager, a new staff team and new residents, who have lived there for just over a month. The home has all the required policies and procedures to ensure an adequate quality of care; however, the service has not yet operated for a sufficient length of time to demonstrate how outcomes for children, quality of care and safeguarding practice are embedded in consistent practice.

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Overall effectiveness

This is a supportive home where young people are making progress in all aspects of their welfare and development. This is due to a high standard of consistent care from a well trained staff team who have high expectations of the young people they care for. Care planning is highly personalised, ensuring that young people have every opportunity to do well.

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Overall effectiveness

The safeguarding of young people is adequate. Staff are appropriately knowledgeable and appropriately trained. Young people benefit from an effective, fair and consistent behaviour management policy, which reduces behaviour likely to place them at risk. This is supported by a good health and safety regime within the home. Young people know what is expected of them and feel settled because of this. There is good leadership which results in young people being cared for by a motivated and professional staff team. There are effective arrangements for monitoring quality and this contributes to the high quality care that young people receive. Good records are maintained to support the work undertaken at the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are currently making adequate progress, when viewed from their individual starting point at admission. Their self-confidence is developing, and they are supported to explore their background, culture and ethnicity. The home promotes a positive ethos that embraces diversity and difference; as a result, young people learn to appreciate the significance of differing values and cultures and to have respect for other people. This ethos promotes positive behaviour and assists young people to understand the consequences of their actions, encouraging alternative and more acceptable responses.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people lead a healthy lifestyle and are enabled wherever possible to take responsibility for their own health. Staff identify, support and address young people’s health issues. Young people are encouraged to take part in a wide range of physical activities, which not only promote fitness but also promote social development. Individual needs are included in placement plans that are updated when needs have been met, or when new issues are identified. This helps the staff team monitor young people’s emotional and physical well-being and ensures continuing good health and development. Healthy, balanced and varied menus enable young people to learn the importance of a good balanced diet. Menus are developed with the young people at house meetings; these reflect the young people’s likes and dislikes and encourages them to explore food from other cultures.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's attendance and educational attainment have improved. This has done much to improve their self-image and build up their emotional resilience. Staff use every opportunity to help young people to successfully engage in education. This supportive approach enables young people to build their knowledge and skills. It also helps them to develop the values and skills they need to help them stay fully engaged in their education.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The service works in partnership with families and significant others to ensure young people can maintain helpful and close relationships with important people in their lives. Particular attention is given to planning and organising family contact; staff listen to young people and family members in order to achieve arrangements that are appropriate and safe.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team are committed to providing young people with individualised support, focused on their personal development and individual circumstances. Young people benefit from a pragmatic approach, which fully involves them in day-to-day routines that help them learn about personal responsibility and growing independence.

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Quality of care

Staff have high expectations and aspirations for young people and this results in young people feeling cared for and valued. Young people placed at the home receive a consistent and adequate standard of care. Care planning is highly personalised, child-focused and is frequently reviewed and updated. Staff encourage and enable young people to express their views and to be involved in their care planning.

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Quality of care

The home's key work system plays an important role in the work undertaken with young people. Key work sessions not only look at recent events, but also support the work of the organisation’s therapy team in helping young people to make sense of the events that have resulted in them being looked after. Work is also undertaken on young people's cultural identity, on building their self-confidence and self-esteem, and any other issues identified in their care plan.

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Quality of care

The home has a variety of systems for consulting with young people on their individual care and the day-to-day running of the home which helps to promote feelings of self-worth and inclusion. These include individual key work sessions and house meetings. These meetings are well recorded and evidence that young people are listened to, their views are valued and when appropriate acted upon. Where it has not been possible to implement a young person's request or ideas the reasons why are fully shared with the young person. This helps to promote meaningful relationships between the young people and the staff group, based upon honest and open dialogue.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to make a complaint and express confidence that any complaint made would be dealt with quickly and fairly. However, no complaints have been made so far.

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Quality of care

Young people’s health care needs are appropriately met within the home. All young people have attended required medical appointments and health checks. They are all registered at a local doctor’s surgery and with a dentist and option. All staff are trained in first aid and medication administration. This is supported by a robust system for the safe handling, administration, storage, disposal and recording of medication.

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Quality of care

The staff team have high expectations for the young people they care for and place great importance on regular school attendance and on high attainment. Young people with records of previous poor attendance are supported to re-engage with education. Successes are celebrated, which improves individual self-confidence and personal self-esteem. Current attendance is good and attainment levels are improving when compared with young people’s individual starting points. Good communication with the educational establishments attended ensure that the young people receive the support they need to make progress and achieve their potential.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to partake in a wide range of activities both in the home and in the local community. Young people attend local clubs and youth groups as well as accessing local leisure and sports facilities. These activities are not only enjoyable but purposeful and have enabled the young people to develop their personal confidence and to socialise with a wider group of their peers.

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Quality of care

Communication between staff and young people is good, which results in staff being able to respond effectively; this ensures that young people’s needs and wishes are well known. Young people present well, are appropriate dressed and have sufficient belongings to meet their needs. They receive pocket money and appropriate allowances to help purchase clothing and toiletries of their choice.

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Quality of care

The home is well maintained and is furnished appropriately to meet the needs of the young people. Recent refurbishment and redecoration have improved the home's facilities and have done much to improve the homely atmosphere. Communal areas are clean tidy and functional, with very little evidence of damage. Young people are encouraged to take appropriate ownership of 'their' home and to personalise their individual areas. Although in a rural setting, the home enjoys good links to local facilities and is within easy reach of good transport links. However, the home also has a vehicle that means that young people have convenient transport for activities, shopping and visits with family.

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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

All staff have completed appropriate training in safeguarding, which is updated regularly, to ensure they are up to date with current best practice about how to protect young people from harm. Young people are protected from harm or abuse by robust policies and procedures. However, due to the short time span since the home's re-launch, many have yet to be tested in practice. Young people say they feel safe and well looked after at the home. They can identify a number of people they would happy to talk to if they had any problems or worries.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people's individual care plans are supported by very good up-to-date behaviour management plans. These identify young people’s individual vulnerabilities and behavioural triggers; they provide agreed strategies to promote their welfare. Staff have a good understanding of the individual young people’s needs and vulnerabilities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff, guided by other relevant professionals, work hard to enable young people to moderate and improve their behaviour. There is an emphasis on recognising and rewarding positive behaviour, rather than purely punishing behaviour identified as being unacceptable. This enables young people to develop more socially acceptable behaviour and better prepares them to interact positively with the wider community. Young people confirm that the use of sanctions is minimal, fair and consistent. Young people understand that the boundaries in place are there to ensure their safety. They are invited to sign all records relating to the use of sanctions, which helps them develop understanding and responsibility.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home's policies state that physical intervention by staff is a measure of last resort, which will only be used to preserve safety. The resolution of most incidents is through the skilful application of staff support and the sensitive use of conflict- resolution techniques. So far staff have not needed to impose any physical interventions, since the home's re-launch in January 2013. The home has a good set of policies and procedures to counter bullying behaviour; however, bullying is not currently an issue within the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has effective policies in place to safely manage young people's unauthorised absence. Established protocols with the local police complement and support these policies; however, these have yet to be tested in practice as there have been no incidents of unauthorised absence since January 2013. Staff remain aware of the potential reasons why young people may go missing, however, and use this insight to assist young people in managing their feelings and frustrations in a more productive manner, which deters young people from running off and putting themselves at risk.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are robust policies and procedures for staff recruitment which go some way to promoting young people's safety and welfare. All new staff undergo an induction which covers safeguarding and requires the staff member to read the home's child protection policy. As a result, staff understand and follow safe working practices which help to protect young people. There is a wide range of measures for ensuring that young people live in a home that is physically safe and secure. This includes fire safety checks, fire drills and regular checks on appliances within the home.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The home's current manager is an agency manager, who is currently awaiting the process of registration with Ofsted to be completed. The manager is suitably qualified and experienced and has made progress in establishing a cohesive care team and a nurturing care environment. Staff report that the manager provides good leadership and support, and supervision is regular and meets their needs. The home has a clear, accessible and comprehensive Statement of Purpose and young person’s guide giving young people, their families and placing authority’s comprehensive information about the services offered by the home.

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Leadership and management

The home has a very good system for dealing effectively with young people’s complaints. Young people are aware of the home’s complaints system and would use it with confidence. However, no complaints have been received to date.

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Leadership and management

There is frequent and effective monitoring of quality in the home which helps to identify problems and raise standards. This includes daily checks around the building and monitoring inspections. The information gained from these checks are used to make improvements to the service. Development plans are in place which help to ensure that there is a clear focus on improvement.

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Leadership and management

The manager and the staff have a good knowledge of the young people in their care and are committed to providing the best service possible for them. The staff team is of an appropriate size to meet the needs of the young people placed.

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Leadership and management

Consistent and regular staff supervision, coupled with team meetings, provide staff with excellent opportunities to discuss their role, their professional development and the impact that working with children with complex needs has upon them. All staff receive annual performance appraisal.

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Leadership and management

Staff are provided with quality induction and further training, support and resources and therefore understand the developmental needs of young people. The comprehensive training covers all mandatory areas such as safeguarding, behaviour management and first aid, as well as any specific training indicated by the needs of individual young people.

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Leadership and management

Records are clear, up to date and stored securely, and would contribute significantly to the young people’s understanding of their time in the home, if they choose to access these documents. The registered person notifies the appropriate authorities about all significant events relating to the protection of young people accommodated in the home.

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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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