Children's Home, Residential special school run by Ruskin Mill Trust Limited in Sheffield

Unique reference number SC423753 Inspection date 30/04/2013 Inspector Robert Curr Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Date of last inspection 19/12/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is operated by a charitable trust. It is registered to accommodate up to three young people. The home provides respite care and accommodates 39 and 52 week placements for young people with learning disabilities and 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

The home provides personalised care and makes great effort to include the young people in their care planning and to reflect upon their own actions. The views of placing authorities and other stakeholders are frequently sought to contribute towards the placement plan. The staff team provide a good quality of care and make every effort to engage the young people in discussions about their needs with great success.

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Overall effectiveness

Overall, the young people have made good progress in their educational achievement and building relationships. Young people participate in a healthy lifestyle and do not involve themselves in risk taking behaviours. Feedback from outside agencies on the young people's placement is extremely positive and parents consider the staff team have succeeded in getting their children to engage in meaningful activities. Young people manage their negative behaviour better as a response to a staff team that is non-judgemental and shows a consistent concern for the welfare of the young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Leadership and safeguarding are good at the home and a realistic approach has been taken to managing the risks presented by the young people. Collective efforts by the home, internal health professionals and the placing authority have improved the welfare and safety of young people. The home is well presented and provides a homely and spacious environment for the young people to live in.

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Overall effectiveness

This inspection identifies an area for improvement around health care planning.

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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 that all health care needs are promoted so that staff are clear about their responsibilities. (NMS 6.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have made good progress since the beginning of their placement to form and sustain relationships with staff and adults that are close to them. Some young people, in the past, have struggled to maintain age-appropriate friendships but have now gained confidence in peer group situations. Social workers who have known the young people for some time recognise the positive steps forward they have taken. Young people are benefiting from the stability and consistency provided by the staff. One young person in particular has developed the ability to engage with staff to discuss and reflect on his own actions.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have very good attendance and attainment at school in relation to their starting point at the time of placement. Young people benefit from the high level of support in place for their education. One young person said ‘I love the school here, because they let me do the things I like doing’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from regular contact with family members and people that are important to them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are being prepared by the staff team for independence and to make a successful transition into adult life.

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Quality of care

Staff develop strong and constructive personal relationships with the young people in their care so that they are able to enforce clear boundaries while sustaining positive relationships with the young people. The daily routine of the home provides the opportunity to promote all aspects of the young people’s welfare and development. Staff engage positively with young people and create the everyday opportunities for young people to develop good relationships with adults and peers. Parents and professionals that are involved with the service comment, ‘Staff are exceptional; they always go above and beyond their duties’, ‘they care so much’, ‘they make young people feel so important’. This aids in making young people feel valued. Young people enjoy living at the home and say they have a good relationship with the whole of the staff team. This means the young people engage positively with staff and are able to discuss and reflect on many aspects of their care.

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Quality of care

There are excellent opportunities in place to ensure that the views and wishes of young people accommodated in the home are taken into account in relation to decisions about daily life at the home. Young people are consistently and centrally involved in the planning and review of their care. The manager regularly seeks the views of young people’s parents and social workers to include in the placement plan for young people. The views are used to support continual improvement in the quality of care provided and to ensure a collective approach in the care of young people at the home.

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Quality of care

All support staff ensure that each placement plan is personalised to each individual young person. The placement plans are extensive and clearly focus on realistic outcomes for the young people. Young people are continuously involved in the development of their placement plans to ensure their views are included. This means they are also aware of the measures in place by the staff to promote their emotional health and general well-being and have ample opportunities to comment.

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Quality of care

The staff team make every effort to enable young people to attend school. This results in 100% attendance which is a vast improvement compared to young people having histories of poor attendance and exclusion. Support staff maintain daily contact with the education setting and actively work with school in order to overcome any problems preventing the young people from participating in a curriculum suitable to their needs. The home provides excellent facilities and space for the young people to complete homework to ensure there are no barriers in place for the completion of education. Parents state that ‘the staff continually encourage my child to undertake homework if there is any'. This supports young people in reaching their full potential.

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Quality of care

Staff promote a healthy lifestyle at the home and actively discourage the young people’s participation in unhealthy practices. One young person is delighted that he is successfully losing weight in line with his health care plan. Health practitioners and therapists from within the organisation visit the home on a regular basis providing young people with advice and guidance. They also deliver health promotion advice to support staff, which they are able to use in their care of young people. However, one aspect of a young person’s health care plan does not fully reflect what action staff need to take to make improvements.

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Quality of care

The staff team offers an extensive range of leisure and social activities for the young people to enjoy, which are tailored to reflect personal needs and interests. These activities aid them to achieve good health and give them a sense of achievement. Young people shared their pride and enthusiasm at presenting some artwork that they have recently completed and have on display in the living areas of the home.

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Quality of care

The arrangements for storing and recording medication at the home are effective. The procedures for accurately administrating medication are rigid and these practices ensure young people receive their prescribed medication safely.

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Quality of care

Staff meet the young people’s needs as detailed in their placement plans while allowing young people to exercise choice and independence. The staff team deliver personalised care to promote the identity of the young people. Ample space is provided for young people to have privacy and freedom within the home while maintaining a safe environment. The house is well kept and benefits from on-going improvements. Young people say that they are involved in the choosing of the décor for their bedrooms and the style of furniture.

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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

Young people say they feel safe at the home and bullying is not currently an issue. Young people know the complaints procedure and feel there are staff to whom they can talk. Parents say that they are well aware of how to make a complaint, but would happily contact the head of care if they had any concerns. Young people have good access to information helplines if they wish to call outside agencies for advice and support.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safeguarded because of the staffs’ clear understanding of the home's safeguarding policy and procedures. Staff are able to demonstrate the action they will take should they have any concerns regarding a young person's safety. Staff are extremely aware of young people's vulnerabilities and risks when in the home and plan effectively to ensure young people remain safe. Staff work very well with social worker's and families to manage young people's personal safety. Staff carefully and effectively balance the need to protect young people by enabling them to take reasonable risks as part of their on-going development. Young people are confident to talk to staff about anything that they may be concerned about. This is because of their increasing maturity and confidence in themselves and the staff.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Being missing from care is not an issue. There are no incidents of young people going missing from the home. Young people say that the staff help them to understand the risks and dangers involved in going missing from home or running away. One young person said ‘my key worker tells me how to get help if I need it.’ This further promotes the safety and well-being of the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are consistent and share the same philosophy in their expectations of the young people. Positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded with praise while negative behaviour carries a reasonable and fair consequence. This helps to support and promote positive behaviour. The use of restrictive physical intervention is never used. Where there have been incidents of challenging behaviour, follow-up sessions are carried out in order for staff to further promote positive behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A sufficient number of skilled staff are on duty to manage any risk presented by the young people. All staff have undergone rigorous recruitment and the staff files checked show staff have been vetted in line with requirements. The home is a safe environment to live in, where comprehensive environmental checks and risk assessments are in place. Great care is taken by the manager to create a safe environment which does not unnecessarily prevent young people from taking part in household activities. Health and safety notices are kept to a minimum to create a homely environment for 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

The home has a Statement of Purpose that sets out the aims and objectives. The home meets the aims and objectives of this document. This means young people, their families, social workers and placing authorities are clear on the type of care and support young people can expect to receive.

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Leadership and management

The home is led and managed by a committed Registered Manager and head of care. The management team demonstrate a strong commitment to delivering tailored care and support to young people's individual needs. The effectiveness of this approach is evident in the good progress young people continue to make across all areas of their development.

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Leadership and management

The manager has a clear and realistic understanding of the strengths and areas for further development. The home demonstrates a capacity for sustained improvement based upon performance over the last year and continued development of good outcomes for young people. There are no requirements or recommendations to meet from the previous inspection. Monitoring of the home covers the required elements. The manager and the independent person for the organisation monitor the home on a monthly basis and report on any areas for development. Young people actively contribute to the quality of their care during independent visits.

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Leadership and management

The managers within the home consult with social workers and family members as part of their monitoring. This provides a wider view on how the home is perceived.

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Leadership and management

Records and documentation are well maintained and stored securely. They contain up-to-date written information which provides a comprehensive picture of young people's progress, development and needs. Clear systems are in place to ensure all appropriate persons are notified of any significant events. This ensures transparency and keeps young people safe.

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Leadership and management

Young people are cared for by a highly competent and committed staff team. Staff have a wide range of skills and experiences which effectively meet the needs of young people. Staff and parents, without exception, are very complimentary about the head of care and say that they feel well supported. Regular opportunities are in place to meet as a team. Staff feel it is important that young people are able to contribute to their discussions. Consequently, young people are asked to put forward their views and to raise any issues. The feedback provided to young people promotes transparency and means young people continue to have a say in how the home is managed and organised.

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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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