Children's Home run by Keys Stepping Stones Limited in Tameside

Unique reference number SC005567 Inspection date 30/05/2013 Inspector Valerie Shephard Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 28/02/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This is a private children's home that is part of a large national organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behaviour 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

Children enjoy living in the home and say they feel well cared for and safe. Staff provide high quality care which results in good outcomes. Children enjoy positive and supportive relationships with staff which enhances their development and ability to forge attachments.

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Overall effectiveness

Children benefit from a healthy environment with the provision of well-balanced and nutritious food. They are encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities which promote their well-being and create opportunities for socialisation. The home provides a comfortable and cheerful living environment with plenty of space for individual and group interests.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff ensure children are able to sustain contact with their families and people of significance to them. Support for children assists them to maintain significant relationships which enhance their sense of identity.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager is currently on a secondment opportunity within the organisation and temporary arrangements are in place during this period. Effective management by the acting manager ensures that the home continues to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children. Clear plans are in place to resolve the management situation by the end of June 2013.

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Overall effectiveness

The acting manager has effectively addressed the one recommendation made at the previous inspection. This pertained to effective planning in relation to the purchasing and preparation of food in 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 where a child goes missing, staff arrange a meeting with the responsible authority to consider what action should be taken to prevent the child going missing in the future. Demonstrate that following their return from going missing, children have the opportunity to speak to a person independent of the home (NMS 5.9)  ensure the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated with particular regard to completing the current programme of re-decoration and refurbishment. (NMS 10.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children enjoy good outcomes as a result of the provision of effective and consistent care. Relationships between children and staff are highly positive which assists with the development of attachments and consequently improvements in behaviour. Once children settle in the home they feel able to display affection to staff which is warmly reciprocated.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are in full-time education and benefit from excellent attendance. For some children, this significantly differs from the position at the time of their admission. Children’s educational achievements are appropriate to their age and level of ability and comparable to their peers.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are physically healthy and staff make sure appointments with community health services are met. The provision of in-house therapy ensures to meet children’s emotional and mental health needs in accordance with their placement plans. A small minority of children continue to smoke despite efforts from staff to encourage them to desist. However, there is evidence that this behaviour is reducing over time with support from the looked after children’s nurse.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children have access to nourishing homemade meals and are able to make sensible choices about the food they eat. The provision of fresh fruit and vegetables enables children to reach their ‘five–a-day’ target, and in some cases exceed this. Children benefit from the availability of a range of activities. These provide ample opportunities for exercise, acquisition of new skills and the chance to socialise with other children. Popular pastimes include swimming, skateboarding, fishing and sea cadets. Children are also encouraged to become involved in events outside the home, for example street dance or the children’s forum. One young person represents the home at the forum and contributes to the production of ‘The Voice’ newsletter. Opportunities to become involved in external events assist children to socialise and gain confidence in their abilities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Plans are in place for all children to maintain contact with their families or significant people from their past. This enables children to sustain relationships and encourages emotional resilience and the development of a positive self-view. The provision of emotional support from staff, both before and after contact, helps to ensure children benefit from their meetings. Staff facilitate and support children’s contact with their family and friends and make parents feel welcome when they contact the home. One parent said, ‘I speak to my child on the telephone every week and I can ring the staff at any time to talk about my child.’ Some children have developed friendships within the community and staff actively encourage them to invite their friends to the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

There are no children currently on independence plans within the home. However, all are encouraged to acquire some skills depending on their age and stage of development. Children learn about personal hygiene and are encouraged to develop a pride in their appearance. They learn how to cook snacks and simple meals, sort out their laundry and keep their bedrooms tidy. Children gain confidence from learning self-care skills which serve to increase their self-esteem and support future independence.

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Quality of care

The home provides a therapeutic environment. Staff work alongside the therapy team to ensure their care complements the therapeutic process. This ensures that children’s emotional and behavioural needs are at the forefront of the running of the home and delivery of care. The provision of regular consultation with the therapists empowers staff to implement positive behavioural management techniques for the benefit of children. As a result, staff gain confidence in using strategies which encourage children to desist undesirable behaviour and increase positive behaviour.

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Quality of care

Children are ready and prepared for school and benefit from regular attendance. Where children have been out of school prior to admission, staff use positive and supportive methods to encourage their re-introduction to education. Some children attend the organisation’s own school whereas others are educated in the locality. Staff maintain effective links with teaching staff to ensure there is a successful handover each day. This ensures a prompt exchange of valuable information about the child between the home and school. Staff are creative in their use of measures to incorporate learning into the home setting on a daily basis. An example of this is their innovative use of the ‘word of the week’. Staff choose a word and engage children in learning about its meaning and usage. This helps children to enjoy learning and contributes to their reading and writing skills.

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Quality of care

Staff effectively meet children’s health needs through established links with community health services. There is evidence that children gain healthy weight and grow as they settle in the home. Staff promote a healthy lifestyle with the provision of a varied diet and access to a range of physical activities. Children are encouraged and assisted where necessary, to make positive choices about the food they eat. Overall, staff are successful in motivating children to eat fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet. Where this has been a challenge, staff use incentives to encourage children to increase their daily intake. Children thoroughly enjoy sport and physical activities and all are involved with some exercise on at least a twice weekly basis. Engagement in these activities increases opportunities for socialisation and the development of friendships.

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Quality of care

Staff provide good quality care to children in accordance with their individual and personalised care plans. They address specific needs relating to ethnicity or culture such as dietary or personal care needs. An example of this relates to the provision, where appropriate, of specific hair and skin products to meet children’s cultural needs. This serves to promote children’s culture and heritage and assists them to understand and be proud of their backgrounds.

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Quality of care

Staff ensure the home is clean and tidy so that it provides a pleasant and comfortable living environment for children.

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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

Children report that they feel safe in the home and there is no bullying. Questionnaires completed by children demonstrate that they feel safe and know who they would talk to if they felt unsafe. Children are familiar with the complaints procedure and know how to complain if they are not satisfied.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A small minority of children go missing from home. Staff adhere to the protocols in relation to children going missing and are effective in securing their safe return to the home. Typically this behaviour decreases once children settle and engage with their therapy. However, there has been delay in arranging a meeting with the placing authority where a child has frequently gone missing. Consequently this has hindered opportunities to consider what actions to take to prevent the child going missing in the future. In addition there is no provision for someone independent of the home to conduct interviews with children following their return.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home demonstrates effective behaviour management strategies. Each child has a behaviour management plan regularly reviewed and amended to reflect changing needs. The use of incentives motivates children to alter their behaviour and break cycles of inappropriate behavioural patterns. An example of this is in relation to children going missing from home. The implementation of incentives encourages children to work positively towards their chosen targets and choose to refrain from this behaviour. Other incentives include the provision of rewards, usually a small toy, on an ad hoc basis when children display positive behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A programme of training equips staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide a safe home for children. All staff complete core training in areas such as safeguarding, food and hygiene, first aid, health and safety and administration of medication. Training in physical restraint ensures staff are competent to carry out this procedure when children are putting themselves or others at risk. Staff are aware of the protocols to follow in relation to any child protection concerns. These measures help to support a safe living environment for children.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has recently appointed new staff and takes a robust approach to recruitment ensuring that necessary checks and vetting is undertaken. These measures help to protect children from harm from adults who may pose a risk to them.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home continues to provide a safe and secure placement for children. The implementation of a range of health and safety checks reduces the possibility of risks to children’s well-being.

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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 assistant manager is currently running the home during the temporary absence of the Registered Manager. If the Registered Manager does not return by the end of June 2013, plans are in place to recruit to the post. Effective support for the acting manager has ensured the smooth and efficient running of the home during this interim period.

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Leadership and management

The manager successfully undertakes monthly monitoring of the running of the home to evaluate patterns and trends. He addresses issues raised by the independent visitor through their reports under Regulation 33. Consultation with children, parents and social workers provides valuable feedback to inform service delivery and the development of the home. The home’s development plan is subject to regular review and clearly sets out aims and objectives for the future.

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Leadership and management

A large majority of the staff within the home have a recognised child care diploma or are working towards this. Probationers complete the appropriate induction programme which equips them with the basic skills necessary for their role. All staff complete core and refresher training at regular intervals, consequently their knowledge and skills are subject to regular update to reflect. The provision of regular consultation sessions with the therapeutic team ensures staff are able to provide care which complements the therapeutic process.

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Leadership and management

Staff say they feel valued by the manager who is approachable and supportive. They benefit from frequent supervision which enables them to fulfil their roles and provide good quality care to children. One member of staff said, ‘I receive good constructive feedback if I do something wrong. I feel able to make mistakes and learn from these. I feel confident in my role and equipped with the skills to do my job.’ The home provides a comfortable environment with prompt attention to any damage caused. Children have been able to personalise their bedrooms with their own choice of colour schemes for décor, bedding and curtains. This serves to give them a sense of ownership and a feeling of belonging in the home. The home has been subject to a programme of redecoration and refurbishment. However some areas still need attention to ensure the home continues to offer a pleasant living environment for children.

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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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