Children's Home run by North East Lincolnshire Council in North East Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC367802 Inspection date 21/05/2013 Inspector Rebecca Sharp Type of inspection Full Provision subtype

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Date of last inspection 04/12/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

This local authority home offers a service for children and young people aged between five and 17 years with learning disabilities or learning and physical disabilities. The home can accommodate one young person full time and offer short breaks and shared care arrangements for a number of children and young people. Depending on the level of need, either one young person may receive a service or no more than two young people at any one time.

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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 outcomes achieved by young people are good overall, and in some aspects, exceptional. These are achieved through consistent care, supported by external experts. Young people attend school and have made astounding progress both academically and socially from their starting points. Young people have good relationships with the staff team who are very much aware of their individual characteristics and needs. They like the adults that work with them and develop positive attachments as a result.

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Overall effectiveness

The quality of care in the home is excellent, and staff work extremely hard to provide highly personalised care for individuals. Young people have clear and intricate plans designed to meet their specific needs. These plans are viewed as a live document and are reviewed and updated regularly due to the changes in behaviours displayed by young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are kept safe through thorough risk assessments and safe working practices. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed as young people take on additional learning and behaviours change. Physical intervention is used to keep young people safe, and behaviours are improved through rewards and encouragement.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people display happiness and pleasure about the care that they are offered. Staff are committed to ensuring the views of the young people are central to how the home operates and what experiences the young people are able to achieve. It is very much a ‘needs-led’ service and the home is well equipped to meet the individual needs of the young people. Young people are involved in some aspects of decision making, such as their choice of bedroom decoration, toys, and what activities they wish to take part in.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager has thorough systems in place to monitor progress, and is fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The development plans in place provide evidence of the manager’s motivation and desire for improvement. There are very good systems being developed, using the skills of the staff team, to identify trends and issues of concern. Staff feel well supported, supervised and skilled. The staff team is dedicated, enthusiastic and caring, and young people benefit from this; their social skills and behaviours significantly improve over time.

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Overall effectiveness

Shortfalls found during this inspection are in the practice of staff’s recording and reporting of incidents and sanctions, and in the monitoring of these issues by management. There is no impact on the welfare of young people as a result of these issues.

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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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline, a written record is made which includes the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and confirmation that the person making the record has spoken to the person using the measure. (Regulation 17B (3)(f) (h)) 17/06/2013

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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 the manager regularly monitors, in line with regulations, all records kept by the home. Immediate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring (NMS 21.2)  ensure entries in records are legible, clearly expressed, non-stigmatising and distinguish as far as possible between fact, opinion and third party information. (NMS 22.4)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have made significant progress in developing a positive self-view, the development of their emotional resilience and in learning to take increasing care of themselves. This is demonstrated in a variety of ways: through a reduction in significant incidents requiring restraint; managing their own behaviours; and taking more responsibility for aspects of their own personal care. This has been supported by a highly motivated and outcomes-focused staff team. A member of staff said: ‘A big part of developing independence is for young people to be able to manage their own behaviour. Individuals have made a big improvement in their ability to better regulate their own emotions.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have been supported in developing all aspects of their lives. They make and form attachments with the staff, and develop sound relationships with the adults that care for them. Positive behaviour is promoted and encouraged using extremely individualised strategies in partnership with education. Young people's physical health is supported by the staff team's determination and commitment to the young people in their care in conjunction with external health agencies. Communication skills are also progressed both within the home and school through careful planning and implementation.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team are well trained in caring for young people with complex health needs. Staff know the young people very well and can pick up on each individual’s non-verbal communications if they are not feeling well or are unhappy. The home has a good relationship with local health agencies that ensures a timely response for the young people if there is a health concern, or for the successful management of long-term disorders.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop a greater awareness and understanding of their background through contact arrangements which have significantly improved with the support of staff. Consequently, young people and parents are enjoying constructive, fruitful visits at the home. In addition to working closely with parents, staff also work well with other agencies such as schools and community health services. This supports young people's learning and their health, and consequently young people become less anxious, learn new skills and take better care of themselves.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people of school age are in education, and attendance is high. There is highly effective communication between care staff and education staff regarding behaviour management and strategies put in place to support individuals. All adults work very well together to ensure the young people achieve positive outcomes both socially and educationally. Consequently young people enjoy their learning and they make progress. Young people are encouraged to develop independence skills in all areas such as self-care, communication and life skills. Individual programmes are drawn up as part of the young person's daily routine. For those of an appropriate age and level of development, this includes domestic chores such as cleaning and preparing meals. All young people are supported by staff in becoming more independent and have made significant progress in this area. In addition, independence packages and pathway

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Outcomes for children and young people

plans are in development much sooner than required, to ensure a smooth, successful and intricately planned transition process.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people clearly enjoy the company of the staff team and express this in a variety of ways, such as laughing and smiling and enjoying jokes. One member of staff stated: 'We have lots of fun together and enjoy a really good relationship with each other.’ Staff use highly individualised behaviour strategies to support young people in developing their behaviour patterns, and young people have made significant progress in managing their behaviours because of these approaches. As a result, young people increase their social awareness and skills, become less anxious and develop new patterns of behaviour.

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Quality of care

Staff are persistent in their desire to help young people to behave in appropriate ways and to put clear limits in place. They adhere to the agreed strategies to ensure the consistency of approach which is essential to help young people make changes. Consequently, young people gradually learn boundaries to behaviour and develop their own coping mechanisms. The staff team works very well together. This is a real strength of the home, as there have been a number of new staff, who have settled in to their work very quickly. They use team meetings, handovers, and good documentation to ensure they deliver consistent care. Therefore young people receive consistent high quality care and consistent messages.

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Quality of care

Young people have extremely complex care needs. These needs are central in the practice of staff, and regular discussions take place around proactive behaviour management strategies for individuals. This forms the basis for the highly individualised care plans. These work alongside the behaviour management plans and strategies which enables a holistic approach to meeting the individual’s needs. Staff review the plans and revise targets as young people make progress; for example, a young person may learn to take themselves to their room for ‘time away’ when they are feeling agitated or angry. Staff use a range of communication systems with young people; they are very skilled at interpreting non-verbal signals and sounds to ensure that a young person is happy and comfortable.

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Quality of care

The education of the young people is a priority and a strength. Young people have made significant progress both in attainment and in developing socially and behaviourally. There is excellent communication between the school and the home, and education staff are consulted around behaviour management and collectively develop strategies in order to ensure the young people achieve in all areas. The home provides a healthy environment for young people. Fresh fruit is always available for young people to enjoy. Some young people have made excellent progress in learning to like eating food that is nutritious and healthy and contribute to menu planning with their likes and dislikes. All are encouraged to develop a healthy lifestyle through attending health appointments, eating well and taking exercise. All young people are registered with the local General Practitioner, dentist and optician. In addition, other professionals are involved with young people, and

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Quality of care

staff fully support appointments to meet young people's psychological and medical needs. Medication is very well managed and monitored.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to enjoy an active lifestyle including playing on the equipment in the garden such as the swings, riding bikes in the grounds, and going for walks. Young people also attend some after-school clubs and discos, swimming sessions, go for picnics in local parks, and enjoy visits to theme parks, thereby promoting positive and purposeful experiences. However, the same support is given when individuals would prefer to relax in the home, watching television or listening to music. Young people exercise choice around how they would like to spend their recreational time. Staff are prepared to research and identify appropriate local facilities, challenging barriers in order to ensure young people's full participation and to enable them to enjoy and achieve to their maximum potential. Risk management is a strength and staff are keen to allow individual young people to take appropriate

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Quality of care

risks to aid both enjoyment and development.

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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’s safety is paramount in this home due to each individual’s complex care needs. Risk management is a particular strength and there are clear risk assessments in place for individual activities and scenarios to ensure safe working practices for the staff team which are reviewed regularly. Collectively, the safeguarding practices employed by the staff at the home ensure that young people have a strong sense of safety and can express themselves freely without fear of harm.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are comprehensive individual risk assessments for each young person which are updated as targets and plans are revised. Staffing levels are frequently high for most activities and situations, to ensure that young people are kept safe from harm. There have been no incidents of young people going missing or coming to harm. Staff provide consistent boundaries, and these are continually reinforced. Sometimes staff use physical restraint to stop a young person from hurting themselves or others or to gently guide them away from a situation. Consequently young people's behaviours have made significant improvements, given their starting points. Sanctions are used to reinforce positive behaviour; however, these mainly comprise ‘time away’ from an activity or situation to divert negative behaviour and allow a positive transition to an alternative and avoid escalation of behaviours. All staff are trained in child protection procedures and safeguarding vulnerable young

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Safeguarding children and young people

people and are very much aware of how to report any concerns around possible abuse. Staff are also aware of the company's whistle-blowing policy, and one member of staff stated that they were assured they could identify any form of abuse and would report it with confidence. Parents and other agencies are aware of the home's complaints procedures, although there have been no complaints made. The complaints procedures are also stated in the children's brochure for the home. Although not every young person can verbalise a worry or complaint, staff are extremely capable of picking up on non-verbal inferences from young people which may be that of upset or dissatisfaction, and will act appropriately in order to meet that young person’s needs.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A number of new staff have been recruited in recent months. The recruitment and selection process is very thorough, and comprehensive checks are made to ensure that young people are always cared for by appropriately vetted and experienced staff. This ensures that all staff are suitable to work with young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The environment is very well maintained and kept safe through a system of internal safety checks and risk assessments. In addition, services such as electricity, electrical appliances and fire-fighting equipment are regularly checked by the appropriate professional companies. There is an emergency escape plan which is practiced regularly so that staff and young people know what to do in an emergency. Visitors to the home have their identification checked and they are signed in and out.

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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 is well managed by a highly skilled and qualified management team that is committed to the care of vulnerable young people and is very much aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. The home has made improvements since the last inspection and the previous recommendation has been acted upon satisfactorily.

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Leadership and management

Staff are now encouraged to discuss significant incidents as a team in staff meetings. Although this is good practice and recorded in the minutes of these meetings, this could be several weeks after an event has taken place. Immediate debriefs are not routinely recorded in the incident log relating to the specific event, which makes effective evaluation potentially difficult for staff and management. These omissions have been highlighted through the home’s internal monitoring systems; however, the completion of these tasks is not monitored effectively. There are further issues in the consistency and quality of recording consequences and their effectiveness. Consequently, a requirement and two recommendations have been made around the monitoring and quality of recording. However, the impact on the welfare of young people is minimal as information in the body of the records shows positive behaviour management practice.

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Leadership and management

The manager has an in-depth development plan in place which identifies further improvements planned specifically for the service. This is in line with current residents and the focus on their successful transition into adult services.

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Leadership and management

There is a thorough training plan in place for staff and staff feel skilled in their roles as a result. For example, staff have undertaken training in Makaton to develop their ability to communicate effectively with young people. Staff say they feel supervision is meaningful and regular, and they take part in monthly team meetings to discuss the progress of young people, and consider alternative behaviour management strategies. This ensures the team works consistently in applying these strategies in their daily practice.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose is clear and accessible. The aims and objectives set out in this comprehensive document are embedded in the ethos of the home. Staff are very clear about their roles, and are proactive in working with other agencies to help progress a young person's development. Examples include consultation with a clinical psychologist to discuss behaviour patterns and triggers, in order to better understand an individual’s needs.

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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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