Children's Home run by Appletree Treatment Centre Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Unique reference number SC386003 Inspection date 30/05/2013 Inspector Leonard Hird Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 23/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

This home is run by a private company and provides care and education for up to four young people. The home is registered to care for young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

p.3

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

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The quality of care provided within the home is good and helps young people to achieve good outcomes. The home is making a significant difference to the lives of the young people living there and is enabling them to be successful in various aspects of their lives. Young people enjoy positive and professional relationships with staff. Young people indicate that staff provide a safe place for them to live in, that they listen to them in both the good and bad times and provide support when necessary. The home provides a comfortable, safe and homely environment for young people to live in.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Staff are highly committed and show a high level of skill, understanding and knowledge in meeting young people’s individual needs on a daily basis. Staff have high aspirations for all young people and work strenuously to promote young people’s personal growth, and social and emotional development. Young people’s needs and views are central to the running of the home. Staff actively encourage young people to become involved in making choices about all aspects of their lives. Young people receive encouragement to participate in and enjoy a full range of social opportunities and experiences. Record keeping is generally of a good standard. Individual care plans are tailored to meet the individual needs of young people and take account of their characters and backgrounds. Staff work well with young people, their families, social workers, health professionals, and educationalists. This ensures that young people continue to get the support, guidance and advice they require.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The home's management team provide thoughtful leadership and is working hard to improve the quality of care and support young people receive. There is a strong emphasis on providing a good standard of professionalism and childcare practice.

p.3

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.4

Recommendations

 ensure information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future. Ensure children are actively encouraged to read their files, other than confidential or third-party information, and to correct errors and add personal statements (NMS 22.5)  ensure all children communicate their views on all aspects of their care and support and that these views are fully recorded; specifically following a key worker session. (NMS 1.3)

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

The outcomes for young people are good. Their care needs are well addressed, and they positively develop through their placement. In the main, young people engage well with teaching staff; independent reviewing officers and social care professionals which helps them to achieve their goals.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people eat healthily and follow active lifestyles. There is a wide range of activities on offer for them to take part in, including paintballing, going to the cinema, attending local gyms, and horse riding. The group participate well with their chosen activities, both within and outside the home, which helps them to keep healthy.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy positive and professional relationships with staff, and find staff available and approachable. Young people live in a very homely, comfortable and safe living environment, which means that they can relax and feel comfortable.

p.4

Quality of care

Young people are receiving good levels of care from a motivated staff team. Members of staff work closely with placing authorities, educationalists and health professionals to ensure young people receive good, well informed, levels of care and support. Care plans and risk assessments suitably identify the individual needs of young people. While, young people’s feedback is well incorporated into their review meetings; their views are not always recorded within their care plans. The Registered Manager, and where appropriate, members of staff attend reviews and provide insightful information regarding the progress of the young person; this was confirmed by independent reviewing officers and social care professionals.

p.4

Quality of care

There are good levels of communication between staff, young people, placing authorities and families. Independent reviewing officers and social care professionals spoke highly of the support levels young people receive while living at the home and said this was a major contributing factor to the good outcomes that young people are achieving. Young people are encouraged and supported to give their views and be involved in the overall running of the home. Young people spoke positively of the staff and the work they did with them. The staff team work hard to promote and sustain very positive and constructive relationships with young people who live at the home.

p.5

Quality of care

Healthy lifestyles are promoted. Members of staff receive appropriate training to support and promote the health and well-being of young people, including the safe handling of medication, first aid and food hygiene. Good working relationships have been developed with local health professionals, specialist health agencies and the company's school nurse. These close working relationships help to ensure the health of young people is well monitored and managed. There are clear policies and guidance in place relating to medication administration and these are followed in practice by the staff team. Medication is stored safely, and records are maintained of the administration of medication including prescribed and non-prescribed medication.

p.5

Quality of care

The home is a detached, spacious, well-furnished and decorated building and meets the needs of the young people. Young people can easily access a wide range of recreational opportunities within the local community and area. Young people are encouraged to eat well and to enjoy a healthy diet. They are involved in menu planning and food preparation. The food provided includes a range of healthy choices and examples of food from different cultures.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

There are good arrangements in place at the home to protect young people. Members of staff regularly undertake training to ensure that they know how to protect vulnerable young people from abuse. The staff team can readily access agreed policies and procedures for guidance on issues such as, child protection, young people going missing from the home, anti-bullying and physical intervention. Young people confirm there is very little bullying occurring and that they feel safe living at the home. They feel able to talk to any member of staff if they have any concerns. There are well established systems and protocols in place for dealing with young people who go missing from home but it is rare for this to occur. The home works very effectively with young people, families and partner agencies to promote the safety of young people.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

Members of staff are regularly trained in the appropriate use of behavioural management techniques. Young people and staff work effectively together to develop positive and professional relationships and accordingly there is very little use of physical intervention or sanctions. Any incident of poor behaviour is reviewed by members of staff in conjunction with the young person concerned and they are encouraged to be reflective of the consequences of their behaviour. This reflective practice is encouraging young people to take ownership for their behaviour and is helping them in the development of their social skills.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety is well-managed thereby ensuring young people and staff are safe. Regular recorded servicing of equipment and safety checks are taking place to ensure the home is safe. Young people and staff know what to do in the case of an emergency. Recruitment measures ensure only suitably qualified people are working at the home. The home provides a safe, warm and comfortable environment for young people to live in.

p.6

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

p.6

Leadership and management

The home is well led and managed by a very experienced and qualified manager. There is an easily understood, readily available and detailed Statement of Purpose that explains how the home is managed on a day-to-day basis. Young people have their own young person’s guide that details how the home is managed. The manager and an independent officer of the company regularly produce reports regarding the quality of care provided for young people and these are sent both to Ofsted and the home’s parent company. Social care professionals believe strongly that improving outcomes for young people is a clear priority for the home. The recently appointed head of care and the home's Registered Manager are working together to plan and implement improvements to the service thereby helping to further enhance the quality of care being offered.

p.6

Leadership and management

The Registered Manager is ensuring that members of staff receive regular and recorded professional supervision and appraisal. The staff team is well established, hard-working and dedicated to providing good quality levels of care for young people at the home. The numbers of staff on duty are currently meeting the needs of young people. Members of staff are suitably qualified and receive good levels of training to develop their individual skills and knowledge to enable them to work with young people. Young people are looked after by a competent and well-supported staff team.

p.6

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.

p.8

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.

p.8