Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Unique reference number SC067757 Inspection date 16/08/2013 Inspector Bridget Goddard Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 30/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children’s home is privately owned, providing care and accommodation for up to four young people with 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

This home has recently been through some challenging times, which have highlighted significant shortfalls in staffing at certain times and in behaviour management. Not all staff are able to consistently set reasonable boundaries. However, most young people do achieve improved outcomes and some thrive, but some young people are unable to minimise their involvement in criminal behaviour. Most young people strongly benefit from some excellent resources that are offered to all young people including psychotherapeutic support and creative use of art therapy.

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Overall effectiveness

The house is well-maintained and is in a convenient and accessible location. There has been some conflict with neighbours. Relationships with other agencies are generally good and local authorities see communication as a strength of the home. Staff have regular supervision and are well led by a very hands-on manager. Four recommendations have been made to further improve practice. These relate to, supporting educational achievement, smoking cessation, training and the recording of fire drills.

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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 that at all times there are a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working at the children's home, so that the health and welfare of children accommodated there is safeguarded and promoted (Regulation 25 (1) (a) (b)) 07/10/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that the behaviour management policy is reviewed and revised with specific reference to ensuring that all staff are clear about the means whereby appropriate behaviour is promoted in the home. (Regulation 17B (1)(a)(b) and (2)(b)) 07/10/2013

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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 that new staff promptly receive good quality training on behaviour management in line with the home's behaviour management policy (NMS 18.1)  ensure that children are encouraged to participate in a range of positive activities that contribute to their physical health. This is particularly in relation to cessation of smoking (NMS 6.3)  ensure that children have a range of educational resources to support their learning and have opportunities beyond the school day to engage in activities which promote learning (NMS 8.2)  ensure that staff preparation and training on health and safety issues covers involving children in fire drills and accurate recording of this. (NMS 10.7)

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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

Young people's progress is variable in this home. Recently, some young people have been moved on to other placements as their progress in this home was insufficient in some key areas. However, other young people make good progress, especially those young people who form positive attachments with staff.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Generally, young people are supported to be as healthy as possible, and this is particularly the case in relation to their emotional well-being. Young people benefit from both general and specific contact with the home's psychotherapist who makes weekly visits. This helps young people develop some emotional resilience and a stronger sense of self. The home ensures that young people receive basic medical checks such as visits to the dentists. Some young people obviously benefit from this in that they obtain necessary treatment, while others still struggle with appropriate dental hygiene. Young people are generally healthy, but some demonstrate little awareness of the health risks involved in some behaviours such as smoking and substance misuse.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Some young people have had poor school attendance previously, and while some still have fluctuating attendance, others have had significant improvements in attendance. Regular school or college attendance gives young people the best opportunity to achieve educationally and develop skills, and some young people have sat examinations. However, others have not developed such skills.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people clearly enjoy the weekly activity sessions in the home provided by a specialist worker. This relaxed and positive initiative enables all young people to create a finished article, helping them pride and confidence in their skills.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to contribute to daily life in the home through a daily incentive system which rewards appropriate behaviour and actions. This is essentially a sound system, which some young people buy into more than others. Young people also positively contribute to life at the home, through regular young people's meetings at which they express their views, particularly on the daily routine. Some young people have had very negative relationships with the local community, but recently there are encouraging indications of more appropriate and routine relationships emerging.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to maintain relationships with friends and family, who may help support them in later life. The home assists young people in developing necessary practical and life skills, and some young people respond well to this. They develop appropriate hygiene habits, and learn how to cook, clean and shop. This means that they are being soundly prepared for adult life.

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Quality of care

Relationships between staff and young people are usually positive and relaxed. Young people say that, 'it feels like a normal home.' Local authority colleagues refer to young people receiving 'nurturing' relationships. However, external colleagues also comment on insufficient levels of control, on occasion, by some members of staff; this does not promote appropriate behaviour. In addition, there have been a number of incidents where the Police have been called to the home. A minority of these incidents have involved restoring calm to the home or the local community. On some of these occasions, insufficient numbers of staff have contributed to the escalation of incidents.

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Quality of care

Young people are confident in expressing their views and their opinions particularly in influencing menu choices and individual and group activities offered. At holiday time in particular, staff seek out trips based on young people's preferences such as visits to theme parks or dungeons. Young people are knowledgeable about how to complain and do so where necessary. There is a sound organisational process for responding to complaints. Young people who have been at the home for some time have detailed placement plans, which are regularly updated and reflect how they are cared for. Newer young people have all necessary key documents, but the detail of their care is still being developed. Some are already receiving appropriate input in relation to health risks such as substance misuse, but others are not being sufficiently guided to minimise risky habits such as smoking.

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Quality of care

Staff have been proactive in helping young people to get college places which will help them gain important skills. They have been successful in encouraging some young people to regularly attend school, but this does not always happen in a timely and sustained fashion. Staff have been positively involved with some young people's educational achievement but not all. However, generally the home has effective relationships with other disciplines. For example, bespoke psychotherapeutic support is available to young people on a regular basis, and an art therapist offers imaginative, creative activities. These excellent resources help to promote the development of young people's practical and emotional skills.

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Quality of care

The home is well-designed and well-maintained. It is in a convenient and accessible location, but recently the mix of residents has caused significant issues both for young people and for the community. There are encouraging signs that the situation is improving and the manager is very aware and responsive to the issues involved.

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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 current group of young people is relatively new, and they demonstrate that they feel safe with each other and staff by their relaxed behaviour. Some young people are appropriately protective of who they see as the more vulnerable members of the group, and on group activities relationships are generally positive. However, there have been recent episodes of significant bullying behaviour which were appropriately dealt with by staff. The manager is being appropriately protective by screening possible future admissions to limit the possibility of this happening again.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has strong relationship with the local police, and has effective responses and individualised processes for young people missing from the home. Numbers of missing episodes are significant, but the majority do not involve staying away overnight but represent staying out later than agreed, or going out without permission. Young people generally return of their own accord having been in the local area.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home's approach to behaviour management is based on a sound system of financial rewards for good behaviour. Staff assess this on a daily basis, and can supplement it with appropriate sanctions if necessary. The home has good access to psychotherapeutically based support for further behaviour management advice, but staff vary in their confidence in setting firm boundaries for behaviour. This means that young people may not receive consistent responses, and appropriate boundaries may not be set early enough. The home has good, low levels of physical restraint, and this is only used when absolutely necessary and for the shortest time possible. Allegations of harm are well-dealt with and promptly referred to appropriate bodies. The manager has worked very well with local police, and been proactive in seeking to minimise a safeguarding risk. The home’s environment is generally safe, and subject to appropriate checks including regular fire drills. However, recording of fire

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Safeguarding children and young people

drills does not detail young people's involvement or response. This does not promote their optimum safety.

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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

Staff and young people all describe the manager of this home in very positive terms. Other agencies note that the home has had some challenging times recently, but still describe the manager as, 'excellent' saying that she, 'couldn't have done more.’ The home has had a significant number of complaints from neighbours. The manager eventually minimised these by arranging to be called out herself when these happened, and there have been none recently since there was a change of young people in the home. The manager is particularly effective at managing behaviour, and staff describe her as, 'direct and nurturing but firm and boundaried.' The manager has been anxious to achieve improvements to the challenging times in the home, while at the same time securing appropriate placements. She has now achieved this well.

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Leadership and management

However, there remain issues about staffing numbers, staff competence and appropriate staff training in relation to behaviour management. Again, the manager has effectively addressed those issues within her remit around staff competence, although the full impact of this has yet to be felt. Ensuring adequate staff numbers at certain times is still an outstanding issue, as is the timeliness of staff training in behaviour management. This training is usually completed when there are sufficient numbers to do it, and this can mean that staff wait several months after starting to receive this training. This does not adequately prepare them for behavioural challenge.

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Leadership and management

The manager regularly monitors all records in relation to young people, and monitors practice through supervision and by doing regular shifts. She has a detailed development plan in place, and reviews historical practice through her comprehensive Regulation 34 report. Sound questionnaire based consultation systems are in place, and the manager picks up views from young people, and other agencies, from her strong presence at the centre of the home. Generally staff training is appropriate and young people's records are sound and clearly signposted. Local authority colleagues are very positive about the home's communication. The weekly update on their young people is a good mix of analysis and detail. Supervision is regular and useful, offering valuable, dedicated opportunities to monitor and support.

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Leadership and management

The house is well-kept. Regulation 33 monitoring visits are sound and notifications are thoroughly completed and appropriately shared. The manager clearly demonstrates that this home has a good capacity for continuing improvement.

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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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