Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Unique reference number SC066277 Inspection date 26/06/2013 Inspector Jennie Christopher Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 10/12/2012 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

The setting is owned and operated jointly by a Local Authority Children's Services Department and a National Health Service Foundation Trust. This service offers short breaks for up to nine children and young people who have learning disabilities that may include sensory and physical disabilities, complex health needs or challenging behaviour.

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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

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff, who seek to make stays enjoyable and rewarding. As a result, outcomes for young people using the service are good. Effective relationships between staff and parents, carers and external professionals ensure care planning is through and based on individual needs. This approach supports excellent consistency in care from home, school and the service.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say they enjoy staying at the service, particularly regarding the activities on offer. Positive relationships with staff support young people to feel safe and comfortable in their time away from home. Parents suggest the service is ‘flexible’ and a ‘home from home’. They also express that the service has ‘improved in the last couple of years’.

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Overall effectiveness

Improvements have been made to involve young people and their families in service development through excellent consultation via parent and young people’s meetings alongside observations of young people’s likes and dislikes. Parents are responding well to the formal consultation processes and there is also regular informal contact through telephone calls, home-books and email.

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Overall effectiveness

The management team are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. They seek to improve the service wherever possible to ensure positive experiences for all young people. Requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection have been acted on, leading to improved systems and practice. New requirements and recommendations include evidencing checks in staff recruitment, amending sanction and restraint records and giving greater thought to individual identity in care plans.

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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) ensure full and satisfactory information is available regarding all staff, with particular reference to a full employment history, with a written any explanation of any gaps. (Regulation 26(3)(d)) 31/07/2013

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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 young people receive individualised care which promotes their individual culture and identity (NMS 2.1)  ensure sanctions and restraints are recorded in a format which cannot be tampered with after the evident e.g. bound numbered records or electronic entries that are then ‘barred’. (Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraph 2.91 footnote 13)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people progress well in many aspects of their lives as a result of accessing the service. Individualised support enables young people to have improved confidence to spend time away from their families. Staff’s positive regard ensures young people have a good understanding of their abilities as they are encouraged to challenge themselves and try new experiences. As a result, they develop greater independence and skills for adulthood. Currently there is no formal monitoring of young people’s progress, but a process to record this in short breaks plans is being developed.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All aspects of young people’s health and wellbeing are met through comprehensive health care plans, produced in consultation with parents, internal and external health professionals. This ensures young people benefit from continuity and good quality care; they are able to form a good understanding of healthy lifestyles and what this means for them. Attendance at school is excellent and young people are progressing, and achieving in line with their peers. Close links with education staff ensures consistency in social learning and behaviour management.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported whenever possible to form and maintain friendships while using the service. Careful consideration when arranging bookings ensures young people are able to attend at the same time as friends and others they already know from school, while avoiding known difficult and strained relationships. Young people enjoy positive links with the local community through an increasingly excellent range of activities. Parents comment that their child is ‘taken out more now’ and that the ‘range of activities is great’. Thoughtful fore-planning ensures all young people have a good choice of weekly trips and visits to places further afield in the school holidays. Those who struggle in community settings enjoy a varied range of activities within the service, including art, messy play, music and the sensory room.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people who are approaching adulthood are increasingly supported to learn essential life skills in line with their abilities. Newly devised plans in conjunction with young people, their parents, and school and health professionals enable young people to learn skills in a staged and measurable way.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff that are focused on their individual needs. Placement plans are devised in consultation with young people, parents and other relevant professionals. They are very detailed in all areas, although not consistent when considering individual cultural needs. The plans include young people’s physical and emotional care, communication styles and how the young person needs and likes to be cared for from their arrival to the time they leave. The thorough approach to planning ensures young people benefit from consistent boundaries in a caring environment. Regular reviews ensure plans are updated in line with changing needs. Improved plans are in the process of being fully implemented to further evaluate the individual impact of using the service. Thoughtful planning for each stay ensures their visit is as productive and rewarding as possible.

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Quality of care

Consultation with young people has improved and is extremely effective. Staff’s wide-ranging communication skills ensure young people can make their views known throughout their visits and are able to make as many choices as possible during their stay. Young people are also involved in group meetings which have influenced the greater range of activities being available to them. The service is continuing to seek young people’s views in as many aspects of the service as is practicably possible.

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Quality of care

Staff are invested in young people’s progress and effectively support educational placements with robust communication between schools and the service. Communication through daily information sharing and regular school visits ensures there is a consistency of approach to care and behaviour management to lessen the stresses that transitions can cause for young people with complex needs.

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Quality of care

Regular contact with health professionals including in-house training in specialist procedures ensures staff have the most up to date medical information and skills to manage each young person’s health and medical requirements. Medication is stored appropriately and there is a robust monitoring system to ensure safety when receiving, administering and returning medication. In case of emergency, there are qualified nurses and several first aiders on site at all times. Robust procedures between the service and the local hospital further ensures prompt responses to young people’s health needs.

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Quality of care

The building is spacious and well resourced. There are several separate areas for privacy, play or group interaction. The service has a homely feel with safety and accessibility in mind. Young people are able to bring favourite items from home to personalise their rooms during their stay.

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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 are observed to feel safe while using the service and staff do all they can to keep them safe. There are no incidents of bullying; young people feel staff would stop it if it was a concern. Staff thoroughly understand young people’s individual needs and vulnerabilities, doing all they can to protect them from abuse and harm. Staff are confident in processes to follow should they have concerns about a young person’s safety or welfare. Young people do not go missing from care but staff know what to do should this happen. There are several physical protective measures in place to keep young people safe, including a high staff presence, the use of listening devices when appropriate, and locked external doors. Risk assessments ensure young people are able to take appropriate risk in line with their age-abilities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Highly individualised behaviour planning promotes and rewards positive and appropriate behaviour. Distraction is used as a diversion or calming tactic alongside other specific sanctions for young people as agreed with schools and parents. Due to these approaches and reinforcing positive behaviour, restraint is rarely required. However, the record for sanctions and restraint is not in an appropriately secure format.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected as far as possible from fire, accidents and other hazards as a result of thorough checks and procedures. Each young person has their own fire evacuation plan to ensure they exit the building with limited risk and stress.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The organisation’s recruitment policy is thorough and ensures young people are protected from harm by robust personnel checks for staff; however, gaps in employment have not been consistently explored.

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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 service meets the aims and objectives as set out in the Statement of Purpose. Staff understand the ethos of the service and focus on young people’s abilities. The young people’s guide provides clear information in an adaptable format in line with individual communication styles.

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Leadership and management

The management team effectively run the service and are consistently seeking to improve in all areas. The manager is aware of where improvements can be made and the comprehensive development plan is a fluid document that responds to parent’s ideas and new needs as they arise. The manager’s monthly monitoring reflects any new areas for development in the building or the service provided. The manager makes strides to seek the views of young people and their families to consider new ways of improving the service; the current system for consultation is excellent. Parents feel listened to and there is a proactive response to complaints and concerns. The service demonstrates strong multi-agency working to improve outcomes and provide good quality care for young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people enjoy being cared for by a consistent and enthusiastic staff team who are well trained. The comprehensive training package includes individualised health care training alongside mandatory training and needs-led training as identified in appraisals. New staff benefit from a thorough induction package which is tailored to the service and young people’s needs. Staff are positive about their roles and clearly care for the young people’s wellbeing. All staff benefit from regular reflective supervision, which is recorded and stored securely.

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Leadership and management

Records and files are mostly clear and up to date. There continues to be a review and update of all young people’s files to ensure the most current and appropriate information is available to all staff.

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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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