Children's Home run by Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd in St Helens

Unique reference number SC063284 Inspection date 14/05/2013 Inspector Maria McGranaghan Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 31/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is provided by an independent company and provides care for five young people with emotional and 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 good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people live in a supportive environment. From their initial starting point, young people make good progress, specifically in the areas of educational attendance and social development. Young people are happy and relaxed in a home that suitably meets their individual needs.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are safe and feel protected from significant harm. Good safeguarding systems are in place to ensure the correct measures are taken should there be a risk of harm. Young people are very positive about the care they receive and the relationships they have formed with staff and external agencies who support them. Consequently, young people gain stability in a home suitably equipped to meet their individual needs.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are looked after by staff who are appropriately trained and supervised in order to meet the sometimes complex and demanding needs of young people. Suitable staff ratios ensure that young people are afforded the care and attention they need in order to feel safe and begin to settle in the home. One young person said, ‘I love it here and the staff are great they really understand me.’

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from planned and personalised care. Placement plans include information that ensures young people are cared for in line with their individual needs. Staff work together with a range of external services and this ensures young people get the right help, guidance and support they need to make significant changes in their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is suitably managed. Good monitoring systems are in place to ensure that care is reviewed regularly and updated in accordance with the needs of the young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Despite these strengths there are weaknesses. Although pathway plans are in place, some plans do not contain pertinent information in order that the aims of the plan are met in a timely fashion. Likewise, some young people do not routinely comment on documents about them. This process enables young people to gain ownerships of the work being completed with them while also offering the opportunity for them to share their views. Although behaviour management systems have improved, strategies to manage those who occasionally smoke in the home are not robust and serve to compromise safety in the home. Furthermore, where maintenance issues are identified there is a delay in them being suitably addressed and this compromising the appearance of the home.

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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 a clear written policy on managing behaviour specifically with regard to young people who smoke in the home (NMS 3.3)  ensure young people are sufficiently informed and prepared for their transition into independent accommodation (NMS 12.1)  ensure young people are encouraged to read their files, other than confidential or third party information and correct errors and add personal statements. (NMS 22.5)  ensure the home provides a comfortable environment and is well maintained and decorated (NMS 10.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good progress in their education and emotional resilience. They trust staff and professionals who offer them structured support both inside and outside of the home. Good residential care plans and well-planned keywork sessions capture the work undertaken with young people and this assists them to begin to understand their lives. As a result, young people’s engagement with staff is improved and they are settled and happy in the home. Young people say ‘staff are really great here, I am getting on really well now I feel like my life is getting in order.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s health needs are suitably assessed. Health care plans are in place and serve to identify individual health care needs of the young people. Likewise, young people are given valuable information to assist them in making informed decisions and choices. A range of external health care professionals work closely with young people offering services, such as counselling, drug and alcohol awareness, smoking cessation and sexual health. As a result, the number of young people who use cigarettes or illicit substances has significantly reduced.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s views and opinions are encouraged and respected in the home. Young people say, ‘we have young people’s meetings and we talk about all sorts. We write things down we want to talk about and we discuss it together.’ Likewise, young people regularly complete a questionnaire. This enables them to record what they think is good about the home and what they think needs to be improved. Evidence of suggestions being acted upon include the appointment of a personal trainer for young people. It is clear that young people’s views and opinions are respected in the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people live in a home where educational attendance and achievement is well supported. Young people who have a significant history of non-attendance are now placed in the most appropriate educational setting with some securing 100% attendance. Staff promote education offering time and commitment enabling young people to step back into education and gain the ability to recognise their own potential. Likewise, personal education plans provide a suitably summary of the additional support arrangements in place to enhance young people’s overall educational experiences.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from planned and supported contact with family and friends. Staff maintain close links with families and involve them where appropriate in the overall planning of the young people’s care. Detailed contact plans are now in place to ensure that contact only takes place with whom it has been agreed and this is now reviewed on a regular basis.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff encourage young people to develop independence skills in accordance with their age and ability. Pathway plans work together with the home’s independence programme to set out independent training targets. However, some plans do not provide sufficient detail such as timescales for securing independent accommodation. Consequently, there is a lack of clarity regarding when some young people will be moving on from the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Planned and unplanned activities take place on a regular basis. Individual interests are well supported and include bike riding, fishing, gym, personal trainer and attending music concerts. Young people say, ‘we do lots of stuff, sometimes we do arts and crafts in the house or we will go out. We go out with our keyworker mostly and this is better.’ Furthermore, young people have developed friendships within the local area. Friends call to the home and are made welcome. As a result, young people have formed a sense of belonging within their community.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is good . Young people live in a supportive environment. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of young people’s needs and work hard to secure the best outcomes for them. Young people are happy and confident in the company of staff.

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Quality of care

Young people’s positive behaviour is consistently acknowledged and praised within the home. Individual behaviour management plans and personal incentive schemes help young people to develop an understanding of what is acceptable behaviour and provide a useful tool for addressing some negative behaviour. Similarly, it is clear the home has worked hard to assist young people to reduce or stop the use of cigarettes or illicit substances, and on the whole this has been effective. However, strategies for managing the risk of young people smoking in the home are not consistently effective and compromise the safety of those in the home.

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Quality of care

Young people’s placement plans are regularly reviewed to ensure the care offered is consistently meeting their individual needs. Effective partnership working assists to highlight the changing needs of young people and on the whole ensure the appropriate steps are taken to address them. However, not all young people routinely review or comment on the work undertaken with them. Encouraging young people to record their views enables them to feel empowered and develop a sense of ownership and control about their individual circumstances.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to complain. Information is available and includes contact numbers for external agencies. One young person said ‘I know how to complain, my keyworker has told me and she asks me all the time if there is anything I am unhappy with. I can talk to all the staff they are really good and they take the time to listen to me.’ Likewise, young people are supported by an independent advocate whom they can share any worries or concerns with independently from the home. Records of internal and external complaints demonstrate that all concerns are suitably managed and concluded.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported by staff that are trained at National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level two in equality and diversity. Regular theme nights assists young people to learn about cultures, religions and colonial histories while enabling them to celebrate their own identity. One staff said, ‘we promote each individual’s heritage by having special meals, trips to different places of worship and fun evenings.’ The home demonstrates a commitment to ensure young people are afforded opportunities to understand their diverse nation.

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Quality of care

Young people live in spacious home that blends well into the local community. They are encouraged and supported to make the house into their home and play a significant role in the decision making process around décor and furnishings. However, although repairs and maintenance issues have been identified within the home, they are not addressed within suitably timescales. For example, stair carpets are worn and stained and the laundry room ceiling is cracked and has damp patches. Consequently, the appearance of some areas of the home is compromised by the delay in addressing these issues.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are suitably trained in the area of child protection in order that they are able to respond to suspicions or allegations of abuse. Appropriate policies are in place to ensure the correct procedures are undertaken without delay should a concern arise. Likewise, individual electronic risk assessments highlight specific risk factors for young people and the measures to be taken to minimise risk. This process ensures that all staff are consistently updated with any new information or change in strategy.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff focus on de-escalation and re-direction techniques in order to defuse situations between young people. This has proven successful as there has been no use of physical intervention in the home. Similarly, staff promote a zero tolerance approach to bullying and are vigilant in monitoring episodes of bullying in the home. The topic of bullying is regularly addressed in keyworker sessions and young people’s meetings. Consequently, young people feel confident to raise matters while also having the opportunity to learn about the impact of bullying on themselves and others in a safe and caring environment.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a home where their safety and well-being is suitably supported. Detailed individual missing from home plans are in place and this ensures the correct procedures and strategies are implemented without delay. Likewise, external agencies work with staff and young people to ensure a consistent approach is maintained should a young person go missing from home. Therefore, risk management processes enable young people to begin to understand issues regarding personal safety and make informed decisions about their actions and behaviours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home employs a robust recruitment procedure that ensures young people are looked after by staff that are appropriately checked in order to work in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff promote young people’s on-going protection by undertaking regular fire drills and service tests making sure that all faults are efficiently addressed. Clear evidence highlights good monitoring of all systems within the home including the appropriate storage, administration and recording of medication. Likewise, staff have received appropriate training to ensure visitors’ identity is suitably verified in order to protect the young people.

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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

Young people live in a home that is suitably managed in their best interests. The home meets the aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose, and young people, social workers and families are clear about the service and support the home provides.

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Leadership and management

Internal and external monitoring systems have improved and provide the home with a clear approach to the overall monitoring of care. Detailed information highlights areas for development and the manager’s action plan details the methods used to enhance the service. The manager makes good use of reflective practice, the views of external services and families are regularly sought and inform the continued development of the home.

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Leadership and management

The home employs a strong committed staff team who are suitably qualified at NVQ level three. The training of staff at this level ensures that they are suitably qualified in the care and management of young people. Staff receive suitable support from the manager. Supervision takes place regularly and serves to identify training needs and personal development targets.

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Leadership and management

The manager and staff demonstrate commitment to delivering good child care practice tailored to the individual and personal needs of the young people they look after. The effectiveness of this approach is measurable in the good progress young people make from their initial starting point.

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Leadership and management

The manager is aware of the procedure for notifying Ofsted of any serious incidents involving young people and has been consistent in the reporting of all incidents occurring in the home. This practice ensures that information is shared with the regulatory agency in order that the actions and outcomes for young people can be suitable assessed.

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Leadership and management

The home has made good progress in addressing the previous recommendation made at the last inspection. Specifically, young people’s attendance at school has significantly improved. The home shows the capacity to improve.

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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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