Children's Home run by Care Today Parallel Parents in Leeds

Unique reference number SC403890 Inspection date 13/06/2013 Inspector Michael McCleave Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/12/2012 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 children's home is one of a number that is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional or 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 young people are very well supported by staff to achieve and to improve their life styles at this home. They progress positively and learn how to improve their self worth and to feel confident about themselves. Most of the young people have achieved significant outcomes since their move to this children's home.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff aim high for the young people at this home. Young people achieve good outcomes as individuals with strong support and encouragement from a dedicated staff team. Individual case records are appropriately maintained indicating clearly the reason why each young person is living at the home. However, these records do not always evidence if young people have seen their records.

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Overall effectiveness

The young people lead an active life at the home and are able to enjoy a range of activities.

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Overall effectiveness

A strong feature at the home is the good school attendance record or engagement in an education package by the young people. Their educational achievements are positive compared to their starting point when initially admitted to the home. Staff have developed good links with schools. This is good practice and enables staff to intervene promptly to support young people as required. This promotes the opportunities for young people to maintain their school place if problems are evident.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff provide young people with high standards of care. They consistently challenge barriers to the potential of the young people to achieve. Their well-being is at the forefront of the care at this home.

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Overall effectiveness

Safeguarding is taken seriously and young people feel safe living at this home. The young people are cared for by staff whom have a clear understanding of their responsibilities. The risk assessments in place for each young person enable staff to provide individual care to keep them safe. Behaviour management is based on the trust and respect established with the young people. Staff are trained to de-escalate any tense situations through dialogue and maintaining a calm atmosphere at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager provides the staff with strong leadership and direction. The young people clearly benefit from the care of the staff team. There is a passion for achievement among staff. Staff are well supported by the manager. This is a home that is well managed and achieves positive outcomes for the young people.

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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 system to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping is effective and take action when needed. (NMS 22.1)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people achieve positive outcomes in a wide range of social and emotional aspects of their lives. They work with staff to bring about significant changes in their behaviour and risk taking activities. For example some young people have ceased taking drugs and this has improved their health. One young person said, 'thanks to staff I have given up on drugs.' They have improved their self-confidence and image by taking better care of themselves through much improved personal hygiene and respect for themselves. Other young people have reduced markedly the risks to their safety by not going missing from the home. The home has achieved a significant reduction in the incidents of young people going missing. For example, a social worker described how a young person prior to moving into the home was regularly missing but this is now no longer an issue, 'this is a big achievement compared to his previous record.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

The educational achievements of young people are impressive when compared to their record before coming to this home. All the young people are engaged in education based on their individual needs. This improves their life chances when they leave the care system and enter the world of work.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Some young people have learned new skills through the support and encouragement of staff as they prepare for independence. They regularly work with staff on domestic activities such as shopping for food and they know how to budget limited on finances and have the confidence to shop on their own.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Since coming to the home young people are actively involved in community activities such as going swimming, attending the local gym to keep fit.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Contact with families is an outcome achieved by some young people who have previously had no communication with their families due to a breakdown in relationships. Through strong support from staff and intensive work with young people meaningful contact has been re-established. This has promoted a better relationship between them and has increased the likelihood of the young person being accepted back into the family setting.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Staff aim high for the young people. They actively encourage and support them to enjoy life at the home and to do well in all aspects of their lives. As pointed out by the manager, 'we only employ staff who have a passion for working with young people.' All staff act as positive advocates for the young people and they ensure that any barriers to their progress is challenged. Staff work to ensure that young people learn how to behave acceptably in the home and out in the community. This promotes their social skills.

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Quality of care

Staff are enthusiastic in supporting the children to value their education. They are active in engaging with teachers to prevent exclusions and this is demonstrated when staff go up to the school to support a young person. This positive approach working in partnership with the school has enabled the some young people to maintain their place, and to continue to benefit from the education provided. The strong links established has reduced the likelihood of misunderstandings between the staff and school. This ensures that the young people are given the best possible chances to achieve educationally.

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Quality of care

There is a warm friendly atmosphere at the home and young people are actively encouraged to treat each other and staff with respect. Staff are proud of the way they interact with the young people. As pointed out by some staff, 'we base our success with difficult young people because of our trusting relationships we have developed with them.' Staff use innovative methods to encourage young people to learn how to behave in social settings. For example, they will organise trips out to restaurants, activities in public places where the young people will be challenged and shown how to behave as required. These are valuable learning experiences.

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Quality of care

Young people are overall happy with their lives at the home. They enjoy feeling safe and are well cared for. They said, 'this is the best children's home I have lived in the staff are great' and 'this is like one big happy family I love it here.' They make a positive contribution to life at the home. For example, the recent décor of the lounge was chosen by young people. This gives them an ownership and responsibility of decisions.

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Quality of care

Staff work individually with young people in line with their care plans. These are of a high quality that indicate clearly the work to be undertaken. The monthly reviews record the progress of the young people.

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Quality of care

Strong professional links have been established with partner services to ensure young people receive support and resources to support them. For example, the young people are regularly seen by the looked after nurse who is responsible for ensuring that all health care needs are met. The nurse provides individual work with young people to reduce smoking, improve their personal hygiene, increase an awareness of sexual health, improve diets. The nurse stated that, 'I have an excellent working relationship with all the staff at this home' and 'I am delighted at the changes for the better, in the health of the young people.' A social worker pointed out, 'they have the best interests of the young people at the forefront of their work.'

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Quality of care

The home is a comfortably furnished throughout providing the young people with a safe place to live. They enjoy single bedrooms that are decorated to meet their preferences. There are two lounges where the young can relax and socialise. All bathrooms are appropriately equipped to meet their needs.

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Quality of care

The comfortable surroundings combined with the excellent care provided by staff enable the young people to develop to their potential.

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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

The home provides the young people with a safe environment. The safeguarding procedures and protocols in place with the police provide young people with system that keeps them safe. Safeguarding is a central feature at this home. All staff are clear about their responsibilities to keep young people safe. They are well trained and know the actions to take where any concerns or allegations of child abuse are evident. The incidents of young people going missing from the home have been reducing since the last inspection due to the work of staff with the young people. Any safeguarding issues are raised at staff meetings for training purposes and to learn from such incidents. This reflects the importance attached by the home to ensuring the safety of the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Although trained in behaviour management staff only use this method as a last resort to keep young people safe from harm. The staff have a clear understanding of each individual young person and of the risks they pose to themselves and others. Case records identify safeguarding concerns that relate to young people. Each young person has a risk assessment that informs staff of the strategies to take when they put themselves at risk of harm. The home has established good liaison links with the community police support officer who is a regular visitor to the home. Staff access the police for advice and guidance on safeguarding or offending issues relating to the young people. There has been a reduction of the incidences of young people being involved in offending activities due to the positive input of staff supporting and encouraging them to learn how to behave in the community.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The safety of young people is enhanced by the robust staff recruitment procedures.

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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 registered manager provides strong leadership with a commitment for continuing improvement in the home's operations and in the lives of the young people. For example, staff work intensively with young people to reduce their risk taking behaviour. This has resulted in a marked reduction of young people using drugs and going missing from the home. This compares significantly from their staring points when they initially moved into the home. The manager is clear about the strengths and areas for development at the home. For example, the manager is reviewing the way outcomes are monitored. He has designed a system for tracking the progress of young people. This is intended to provide valuable intelligence information to assist managers monitoring progress of young people.

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Leadership and management

The home operates in line with the aims and objectives identified in the statement of purpose. The children's guide provides the young people with important information about the home. This is a colourful document that makes extensive use of child- friendly language. The manager ensures that the home operates to the statement of purpose. This promotes the well being of the young people and provides staff and local authorities with a clear indication of the resources, style of care practices and ethos of the unit.

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Leadership and management

Staff at the home demonstrate a professional commitment to their work with the young people. They receive appropriate supervision to ensure that they are supported and their performance is monitored by managers. Training and the development of staff is given a high priority. This ensures they are kept up-to-date with professional practice information. The low staff turnover is a reflection of the stability of the staff team and this provides the young people with a consistent level of care. As pointed out by staff, 'we are a close knit team and we trust each other to work consistently for the young people.'

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Leadership and management

Records are regularly monitored for quality by the management team. Monthly external inspection of the home takes place in line with regulations. These measures ensure that appropriate standards are maintained. However, some records do not have the signatures of young people to confirm that they agree with the information about them. This compromises the validity of the information.

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Leadership and management

The impact value for young people living at this home is clearly identified by the way they have shown an improvement in their behaviour, safety awareness and relationships when compared to their previous lifestyles; for example, in risk taking behaviours, drugs misuse, offending, school attendance and contact with their families. The success of the unit is based on the trust developed between young people and staff. This is appropriately summed up by the manager, 'if young people are not talking to you then we cannot function as a viable unit.'

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Leadership and management

There is a commitment at this home to making a difference to the lives of the 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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