Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Southampton

Unique reference number SC407783 Inspection date 18/07/2013 Inspector David Coulter Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 10/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is run by a national private organisation and provides accommodation for an associated residential special school. The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people aged nine to seventeen years who have emotional and 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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

The home was judged to be adequate at its last full inspection in January 2013. Since that time it has benefited from a period of stability. A new manager has been appointed and the requirements and recommendations arising from the inspection have been appropriately addressed. The home has made significant progress since the last inspection and three areas; outcomes for children and young people, quality of care and safeguarding, are now judged as being good. However, the home is still operating without a Registered Manager. While it is accepted an application is currently being completed, the new manager has been in post for six months.

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Overall effectiveness

Although the home offers group living, each young person is treated as an individual with their own specific physical, social, educational, cultural and emotional needs. Staff work alongside young people to both identify and achieve a number of short, medium and long-term development goals. Staff promote the concept of respect and have established a set of behavioural boundaries that are consistently applied. Staff ensure each young person is aware of what is and is not acceptable behaviour.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff have aspirations for the young people in their care and there is an expectation they will grow and develop during their placements and be well prepared for either returning home or moving on to independent or semi-independent living. By taking advantage of the social, educational and recreational opportunities open to them, young people are making significant progress in many aspects of their lives including their education. An established rewards system provides an effective mechanism for young people to monitor their progress and reap the rewards of their efforts. Staff reinforce positive outcomes and success is recognised and celebrated. It is evident that their success is having a positive impact on their self-confidence. Young people spoke in positive terms about their lives within the home, all said they felt safe and special mention was made of the help and encouragement they received from staff.

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Overall effectiveness

There are three recommendations arising from the inspection that are aimed at further improving the quality of the provision and ensuring that young people have well-developed transition plans for moving on.

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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 a completed application is made by the homes manager to seek registered status. (Regulation 8 (1)) 14/08/2013

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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 the window restrictors are reinstalled in the top floor bedroom (NMS 10.3)  redecorate the en-suite shower area in the top floor bedroom (NMS 10.3)  liaise with placing authorities to ensure each young person has an appropriate transition plan. (NMS 12.4)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are good. All the current residents are settled and are responding positively to the care and support they are receiving. Young people spoke in positive terms about the encouragement they receive from staff. Although all young people are members of a residential group, each is treated as a unique individual and receives care that is tailored to meet their specific needs. By working alongside young people, staff are able to establish meaningful and trusting relationships. There is an expectation that by accessing the many educational and recreational opportunities the home offers, young people will grow and develop during their placements. Participation levels are good. Such opportunities not only allow young people to increase their knowledge and skills but provide opportunities for them to extend their social horizons and form relationships with others outside of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All young people work toward a number of short, medium and long term achievable goals related to their education, health and behaviour. A rewards system provides an effective system for young people to monitor their progress and reap the benefits of their achievements.

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Outcomes for children and young people

On admission young people are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles by eating wisely and taking regular exercise. Food is produced fresh on the premises and young people contribute to the development of menu plans. Young people are provided regular opportunities by staff to develop their culinary skills by preparing meals. Although the home has its own transport, young people are encouraged to walk and access the home’s bicycles. This allied to regular participation in recreational and sporting activities such as climbing, gymnastics and visits to the gym helps young people maintain their levels of fitness. The health of each young person is carefully monitored and specialist help is sought to address specific areas of concern such as mental health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Robust working practices ensure young people's medication is appropriately stored and dispensed. Staff, under the guidance of medical practitioners, have been extremely successful in weaning young people off long term drug regimes. As the majority of young people are preparing to move on to independent or supported living placements, staff provide advice and guidance on health related issues that allows them to accept responsibility for monitoring their own health. Staff are successful in helping individuals who arrive with established smoking, drinking or drug habits to change their behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are provided with a set of behavioural boundaries and expectations based on the concept of mutual respect and for example, young people are brought to task for the use of inappropriate behaviours and language. Young people are helped to make links between their behaviours and possible consequences. Although young people do not always comply with behavioural boundaries, they feel that the system is generally fair and that staff are consistent in their approach. Young people have responded positively to the home’s approach and there is clear evidence that incidents of anti-social and inappropriate behaviour have decreased significantly since the last inspection.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's education and training is given a high priority within the home and there is an expectation that all young people will consistently access their educational placements. With the exception of one individual, attendance levels are exceptionally good. The one young person whose attendance has been poor received some home tuition and has achieved the qualifications required to embark on a college course at the start of the new academic year. Four of the five residents have now successfully completed their schooling and are either moving on or returning to college. Many of the current residents have educational histories that are characterised by difficulties and periods of disruption. It is to their credit that they have progressed to the point that they have managed to complete their GCSE courses. The achievements of young people in all aspects of their social and educational developments are

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Outcomes for children and young people

recognised and celebrated and this contributes significantly to an increase in their self-confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The majority of young people are due to reside in the home for a further year during which time they will be provided opportunities to acquire a range of practical life skills, such as budgeting, to better prepare them for moving on. In order to ensure that independent training programmes meet the specific needs of each young person, clear transition plans need to be developed with placing authorities at the earliest opportunity. Young people are helped to maintain regular contact with families and friends during their placements and this allows them to access support networks when they leave care.

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Quality of care

The home provides good quality accommodation within a nurturing domestic environment. The home’s location provides young people access to major bus routes, shops, parks and recreational facilities. Individual lockable rooms provide each young person with their own personal space. En-suite bathrooms provide additional privacy. Young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms by choosing the décor and introducing their own posters and pictures. Although the home was observed to be structurally sound and in good decorative order, two maintenance tasks were identified. Communal areas are appropriately furnished and welcoming. Young people indicated they were satisfied with their rooms.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to feel part of a small residential community in which they have a stake and can influence the decision-making process. The views of young people are regularly sought about their lives within the home; formally through young people’s meetings and informally through individual discussions with staff. Staff reported that individual discussions are often the best forum for determining young people’s true feelings. Issues raised by young people about life within the home are taken seriously and discussed within staff meetings. The interactions between staff and young people were observed to be spontaneous and warm.

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Quality of care

Staff respect young people’s privacy and were observed to knock on their doors and wait to be invited into their rooms. Confidential information relating to each young person is stored in an appropriately secure setting.

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Quality of care

Young people said they were aware of the home’s complaints system and would have no difficulty in conveying worries or concerns to any of the staff. No complaints have been made since the last inspection. The current resident group is diverse and even though individuals might not share much in common, they normally peacefully co-exist. As and when disagreements arise, they are effectively resolved through discussion.

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Quality of care

The home’s comprehensive care planning system provides an extremely effective mechanism for both identifying and addressing the care needs of each individual. Cultural and religious needs are identified on admission and arrangements made to ensure they can be met. Individual risk assessments are used to identify any areas of potential concern associated with a young person's behaviour. Although a number of young people still present with challenging behaviour, staff have become increasingly adept at deploying a range of diversionary techniques to diffuse volatile situations. Each young person has a preferred strategy plan that details what level of support they need to maintain positive behaviour. Physical restraints are now uncommon and are only ever used if a young person is putting themselves or others at risk.

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Quality of care

The home operates a successful key-worker system that ensures each young person has a dedicated member of staff to closely monitor their progress and advocate on their behalf. Effective communication between staff on different shifts means they remain conversant with changing circumstances and developments relating to the care needs of each young person. Staff liaise appropriately with other professionals in education and health to secure access to appropriate services.

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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 operates with a team of staff that have been appropriately recruited via a comprehensive recruitment process that ascertains their suitability to work with vulnerable young people. All staff have to complete a detailed induction process that includes familiarisation with the home’s policies, procedures and working practices relating to safeguarding. All staff are made aware of their individual responsibilities in regard to reporting any concerns about a young person’s well-being. Staff receive regular training on safeguarding issues.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are clearly aware of the vulnerabilities of the young people in their care and work alongside them to raise their awareness of risk and develop effective strategies to keep themselves safe in the community. Risk assessments relating to the behaviour of young people are updated in response to significant incidents and changing circumstances. Staff are not risk averse and young people are encouraged to undertake activities in the local community. However, to ensure their safety, their movements are monitored in order to determine where they are going and with whom they are associating. Young people are encouraged to use mobile phones to maintain contact with staff when they are out and about. Young people realise it is in their best interests to keep staff informed if their plans change when they are out and about. Staff have been successful in helping young people modify their behaviours and there have been no incidents of young people reported missing since

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people said they feel safe living in the home. Although a number of young people indicated that living in a group setting can be difficult and that the behaviours of others can be annoying, none mentioned bullying as a problem. Staff are clearly aware of the propensity of some individuals to take advantage of the more vulnerable members of the group and closely monitor the social dynamics within the group and intervene if they believe an individual is being teased or exploited. Individual key-worker sessions and group meetings are successfully used to discuss relationships. Significant incidents relating to the protection of young people are reported to the appropriate authorities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

While staff reinforce positive behaviour through the rewards system, sanctions are also used to highlight negative and inappropriate behaviours. Sanctions normally consist of a withdrawal of a privilege. The number of incidents relating to young people's behaviour has continued to decrease. Physical interventions are now extremely rare. Young people felt that staff were fair in the way their behaviour was being managed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The health and safety of young people and staff is taken seriously. Regular health and safety checks ensure the home’s environment remains safe. Full fire evacuations are carried out during the day and at night. All off- site activities are risk assessed and staff who drive are appropriately insured in vehicles that are regularly serviced.

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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

Although the home is currently operating without a Registered Manager it is being successfully managed by a new manager, who has many years of experience as a deputy manager. The manager is in the process of completing her application for registration and a submission is imminent. The manager is extremely child focused and has introduced a number of monitoring initiatives to ensure each young person receives good quality care that is tailored to their specific needs. She has, since her appointment, reviewed many of the home’s working practices and sought the views of young people and staff on proposed improvements. Young people have responded extremely positively to the stability that now exists and all appear settled and enjoying life within the home.

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Leadership and management

Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities and have access to a comprehensive range of policies and procedures. Staffing levels are good and are adjusted in line with changing needs and circumstances. The home can call upon a number of bank staff to cover shortfalls. The home no longer uses agency staff. Staff are deployed at times to ensure maximum support is available for young people. Staff are often deployed on a one-to-one basis so that young people can pursue their particular interests. For example, on the night of the inspection one member of staff was accompanying one individual to his weekly climbing session.

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Leadership and management

The manager is cultivating a culture of training and professional development within the staff team, a number of whom have been recently appointed. All new staff are enrolled on the new Diploma. There is an expectation that staff will regularly access training opportunities to equip them to meet the changing and often increasingly complex needs of the young people being referred to the home. Staff have recently received training on a number of topics including autism, managing aggression, the administration of medication and behaviour management. All but one of the current team are first aid qualified. Training is delivered in a number of formats and settings.

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Leadership and management

The home's Statement of Purpose is appropriately reviewed to ensure it accurately reflects the nature of the care being offered. Although the home aims to offer long term placements, the circumstances surrounding each young person are closely examined to ensure the home remains the most suitable place for them. Requirements and recommendations arising from the last inspection have been, or are being appropriately addressed. The manager has now received her Disclosure and Barring Service certificate and is in the process of finalising her application for registration.

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Leadership and management

The home is subject to monthly monitoring visits and any shortfalls identified are addressed. Staff supervision is now taking place and a monthly audit ensures any lapses are identified. All staff have had an annual appraisal that has allowed them to discuss their professional development and identify areas of further training. Young people confirmed they are now regularly consulted, mostly on an individual basis, about all aspects of life within the home. Evidence indicates that the home is appropriately resourced and is operating in the best interests of the young people currently accommodated.

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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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