Children's Home run by My Choice Children’s Homes Limited in West Sussex

Unique reference number SC390785 Inspection date 22/05/2013 Inspector Kevin Whatley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 07/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is owned by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation to three young people of either sex who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The organisation also provides on-site education through its independent school which is DfE registered.

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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

Young people receive personalised care which in general enables them to make adequate progress in their lives; in some cases individual progress is good. Most young people share positive and meaningful relationships with staff. In some instances young people are reluctant to fully engage with staff which results in less positive outcomes. Some care practices, such as challenging inappropriate behaviours and promoting healthy lifestyles, are inconsistent.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people have their risk taking behaviours comprehensively assessed and reviewed. Strategies are developed in response to the particular challenging behaviours and mainly relate to reducing offending behaviour. However the impact of such intervention is limited with some young people increasing such behaviour.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people receive an adequate level of educational input, however their engagement in such programmes of learning is mixed. Staff generally receive a good standard of induction and training, although restraint training is not provided early enough for new staff.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people expressed a variety of views regarding living at the home. This ranged from being positive about relationships they share with staff to uncertainty about the other young people they were living with.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager is suitably experienced and displays appropriate aspirations to improve the home further. An inspection of the home’s education provision was conducted at the same time as this inspection; a separate report for that inspection is available on the Ofsted website.

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Overall effectiveness

One requirement and four recommendations are made as a result of this inspection. These relate to the need for staff not to be collusive in the purchasing of cigarettes for young people under the age of 16 and for staff to be more consistent in addressing and challenging bullying type behaviours. There is also a need to review the current timescales for new staff to receive restraint training and to review the effectiveness of strategies aimed at reducing offending behaviour. Lastly there is a need to review the manner in which care and education staff work together to ensure young people achieve their educational goals.

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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

(2001) The registered person shall promote and protect the physical, emotional and mental health of the young people accommodated; in particular ensure that staff do not participate, knowingly or otherwise in the purchasing of cigarettes for young people. (Regulation 20 (1)) 25/07/2013

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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 staff working in the home understand their role in helping to prevent and counter bullying by an adult or young person living or working in the home (NMS 3.11)  ensure staff are trained in the use of physical restraint techniques, in particular that new staff receive such training as soon as possible (NMS 3.15)  ensure young people are helped by staff to achieve their educational or training goals. This includes providing support, facilities and opportunities as needed; in particular ensure cohesive working between care and education staff (NMS 8.4)  ensure the home meets the emotional and behavioural needs of young people; in particular ensure that strategies to reduce levels of offending behaviour are effective. (NMS 3.7)

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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

Outcomes for young people are adequate overall and in some instances good. For example some young people have developed positive relationships with individual members of staff. In doing so they have been helped to reduce their risky behaviours such as running away from care. One social worker noted that since being at the home the young person in question had made 'good progress' from a very poor starting point several months earlier. However for other young people progress is limited with strategies put in place to support them being ineffective. This is most apparent in not reducing offending type behaviours and attitudes.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people expressed a number of mixed views about living at the setting. These included the comment, 'I get on great with [a staff member] and they really try and help me and look after me.' Another noted that, 'My keyworker is excellent and I listen to them.' Some young people were less positive stating that it was 'ok' living at the home but that 'sometimes we [the young people] don't get on' and 'it's difficult being here when I want to be at home'.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The approach toward supporting the educational needs of young people is adequate. The home provides on-site education to each young person in placement, although their engagement in such provision is varied. Where appropriate some young people receive education outside of the home if this better meets their needs and abilities. Where this occurs good liaison is maintained between the home and schools and colleges. During the inspection attendance levels at both types of educational setting was low. Care staff offer support when required to the on-site provision. When young people refuse to attend education they are encouraged to do so. However, when they continue to refuse there is a lack of clarity and cohesion about what young people should be doing as an alternative. While there remains such a lack of cohesion between care and education staff young people will not prosper in their learning.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people do not receive consistent support to lead healthy lifestyles. In general their health care needs are met, however on occasions their health is jeopardised due to staff allowing young people aged 16 and under to purchase cigarettes.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from being well supported to keep in contact with their families and friends. Contact arrangements with parents and carers are established at the point of admission and known by staff. The home maintains regular liaison with all parties and keeps them informed of the progress of young people. This ensures young people keep in touch with their cultural heritage and people that are important to them.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is adequate . Young people receive an adequate quality of care overall, but staff are inconsistent in providing some aspects of care. Staff are mindful of the individual needs of young people. A number of staff were seen to use the strength of their relationships with young people, and their skills, to calm them down at times of stress or anxiety and to enforce appropriate boundaries. However other staff were less successful or confident in similar situations, with young people ignoring their requests to behave well. Staff are fully aware of the pressures of living together and encourage young people to consider others.

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Quality of care

Young people’s views are promoted and they say they are 'listened to'. Communication between staff and young people was open, with the current group clearly able to voice their opinions vociferously. Regular key work sessions and weekly house meetings allow further opportunities for young people to voice their views. There was evidence of young people influencing decisions, such as planning menus and activities.

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Quality of care

Care planning is a strength of the home. Comprehensive programmes of care fully assess and plan how staff should meet the individual needs of young people; some staff do not follow such plans in regard the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Care plans match the overall aims of the placement and are reviewed regularly to address changing needs or circumstances. Young people are involved in contributing to the development and review of their own plans and participate in their reviews. Social workers confirm that the home provide regular updates on the progress of young people and a 'good standard' of reports for statutory reviews.

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Quality of care

Young people generally have their health care needs met, although the promotion of healthy lifestyles is inconsistent. Health care plans provide a good overview of need and how these are to be met by staff. All young people are registered with local doctors, opticians and dentists and are assisted to attend appointments as and when required. Regular visits are made to the home by the Looked After Children's nurse which helps to build up relationships with young people alongside providing them with health care advice and guidance. All of the current group of young people smoke cigarettes. They are not permitted to smoke in the house and staff are encouraged to assist them to consider the associated health risks. However it was apparent that some staff regularly transport young people to the local shops where they then proceed to purchase cigarettes. Although staff themselves were not purchasing these, it was clear they knew young people were. All young people in the

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to take part in positive and enriching activities. Regular trips include visits to bowling and swimming centres with young people benefitting from one-to-one time with staff. The home are planning holidays in the near future with all young people and a large number of staff expected to go.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a home that offers them a very good standard of accommodation. A good amount of space is available throughout the home with a small school room situated to the side of the property. Young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms and do so with posters and pictures. The majority of the home is well maintained. Some recent damage had been caused to a table in the lounge and cupboard doors in the kitchen, but these were all due to be repaired shortly.

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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

The home is adequate at keeping young people safe, however behaviour management strategies are not always successful or consistently applied. Young people generally say they feel 'safe', although some noted that the behaviour of the current group of young people can at times make them feel less so.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Suitable policies and procedures are in place in relation to safeguarding. Staff receive training in child protection on a regular basis and display a suitable understanding of key protocols and practices. No child protection concerns have arisen since the last inspection. A suitable recruitment procedure ensures only staff who have been appropriately checked work with young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Comprehensive plans are in place which highlight the challenging behaviours of young people. These include the risks they may pose to themselves or others including running away, violence and offending behaviour. Such plans guide staff and provide individualised reduction strategies. These have resulted in some young people making good progress, such as significantly reducing the occasions they run away from care. One social worker stated that the young person in question had 'completely changed their behaviour' since being at the home. However for other young people, who were admitted with histories of offending behaviour, such strategies have been less effective in reducing episodes of anti-social behaviour and violence in the home and in the local community. For some young people the severity of such behaviour is escalating.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The approach toward addressing the way in which young people treat each other is inconsistent. Some incidents of bullying type behaviour have recently occurred. For the most part these consist of young people using subtle forms of pressure to get other young people to complete menial tasks for them. This has been addressed with the young people concerned, with staff mindful of potential issues within the group of young people. However staff actions to intervene in such matters were observed to be inconsistent and at times ineffective.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A suitable approach is in place to address physical intervention, although the timescales for providing new staff with relevant training is not appropriate. The culture of the home ensures that restraint is only used as a last result. The organisation have adopted a model of restraint which places de-escalation as a guiding principle of practice. No restraints have been recorded since the last inspection. While such minimal use is commendable new staff had to wait between two and four months before they received restraint training. Such delays increase the potential risk of unbalanced staff shifts, limiting staff responses at times of crisis and increasing the likelihood of poor practice. Young people are provided with individualised incentive schemes which reduce the need to implement punitive sanctions. Each scheme encourages appropriate behaviour, attitude and engagement in each young person’s placement. For example

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Safeguarding children and young people

attending education and working to reduce levels of swearing in the home. A monetary reward is then provided based on progress and effort. Unfortunately some young people do not fully achieve their incentives as they refuse to attend education.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety is taken seriously thus ensuring the safety of young people and staff alike. Regular checks and tests are completed, including fire drills and fire alarm checks. Routine servicing ensures all areas of the home are maintained appropriately.

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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 leadership and management of the home is adequate. The Registered Manager is experienced and displays a clear understanding of the individual and group living needs of the young people. It is clear the home is experiencing a period of transition: Three new members of staff have been employed in the last six months and the admission of some new young people has proved challenging in terms of group dynamics. The Registered manager was extremely disappointed to find that staff had been allowing young people to purchase cigarettes and of the other shortfalls in staff practice. Some new staff recently had their period of probation extended due to not meeting expected standards of practice.

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Leadership and management

No requirements or recommendations were made at the last inspection. The home is suitably monitored, both from within and externally. The Registered Manager completes regular reviews of the quality of care. External monitoring visits take place as required and enable an objective review of the care provided and the general conduct of the home. The home ensures that records are maintained accurately. All information relating to the progress and development of young people is kept up to date with regular reports made available to placing authorities.

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Leadership and management

A good number of staff are deployed during the day and night to meet the needs of young people. Staff receive appropriate levels of relevant training, apart from essential restraint training not being provided in good time. Staff say they feel well supported and guided to carry out their tasks, stating that morale is 'good'. Shortfalls identified in this inspection indicate inconsistencies in staff practice and the inexperience of some staff working with particularly challenging young people.

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Leadership and management

Placing authorities generally commented positively about the home and the manner in which it is run. They stated that communication was 'very good' and the home displayed a 'commitment to stick with young people'.

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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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