Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Coventry

Unique reference number SC064117 Inspection date 25/07/2013 Inspector Andrew Hewston Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 12/12/2012 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 home is operated by a private provider. It provides care and accommodation for up to seven children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

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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 experience a positive, welcoming environment where they can make good progress in relation to their plans. Young people receive good individualised support tailored to their needs. Young people benefit from a caring staff team who advocate strongly on their behalf to ensure they receive the support they need. Young people are listened to and feel safe. Relationships between staff and young people are positive, warm and supportive.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are enabled to safely reflect on their histories, and where they want to be in the future. Social workers are positive with relation to the work of the home. Young people are consulted regularly about matters that are important to them and experience a non-judgemental approach by staff. Positive comments are also given about the team's ability to actively support contact arrangements and to helpfully work with parents where necessary.

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Overall effectiveness

There is effective management of the home and a committed drive for continuous development and improvement. Staff feel that they are well supported to do their jobs and that their training needs are consistently identified and met. Consequently, young people benefit from living in a home that is consistently managed and organised to enable each individual to make progress.

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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

17B (2001) ensure that the use of any measure of control, discipline or restraint in a children’s home has a clear written record within the home. (Reg 17B (3)) 30/08/2013

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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 home assists the child to put forward their views, wishes and feelings in each review process, and helps to ensure that these are fully taken into account (NMS 25.4)  ensure all of the areas of the home provide a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated (NMS 10.3)  ensure children’s health is promoted in accordance with their placement plan and staff are clear about what responsibilities and decisions are delegated to them and where consent for medical treatment needs to be obtained (NMS 6.5)  ensure children receive personalised care that promotes all aspects of their individual identity and are each treated as an individual rather than a member of a group. (NMS 2.1)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop good relationships with both the staff team and their peer group. They are well supported in developing an awareness of themselves and their histories through life story work and on-going key work sessions. Theses allow discussions to be held with young people to examine how they have moved forwards at the home and future objectives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop an increased awareness of how to keep healthy. Staff support young people's ability to be independent in their personal hygiene. There is also an emphasis on exercise and activities to promote engagement in facilities external to the home. Young people benefit from opportunities to develop practical knowledge and life skills during their stay at the home. This supports the development of their independence and helps them to become more self-reliant. Some young people have made significant improvements in their educational ability, as the staff team fully support their school attendance. All the young people experience some progress in their educational placements. This is due to the high level of importance that the staff place on school and the ability of young people to continually learn and develop while they are at the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's challenging behaviours have been seen to decrease while they are at the home. Staff provide consistent boundaries and responses to differing young people's behaviours. This has helped young people to be more aware of acceptable expected behaviours. The strong links between the home and young people's schools further support a consistent approach to behaviour. Parents state that their child's behaviour 'has really come on while they have been at the home.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to make a positive contribution to the home, which results in a sense of involvement and belonging. Contributions include involvement in a range of domestic routines, agreeing general house rules, looking after the home's chickens and helping to grow vegetables for the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy a stimulating range of activities both within the home and the wider community. Involvement in physical and social activities outside of the home is strongly encouraged to promote young people's social interactions and the development of personal interests.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy visits from family and friends at the home. Contact arrangements are organised from the point of admission and promoted by staff to ensure that young people continue with relationships within their families.

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Quality of care

Positive and effective relationships are continually observed within the home, as staff present as appropriate and caring role models to the young people. Staff work extremely hard to build warm and trusting relationships with young people and provide them with a caring environment. This is because young people are fully involved in discussions about their care and planning for their future. Their views are actively sought and staff help them understand why it may not be possible to fully meet their wishes. Regular opportunities are provided to young people to contribute ideas and suggestions in relation to the running of the home, through themed and general key work sessions.

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Quality of care

Staff ensure young people are fully aware of the ways they can raise any issues or concerns about their care. These include talking to staff, managers, independent visitors or outside agencies. When complaints have been received these are responded to swiftly and fully recorded to promote the ability of young people to make a difference within the home. Placement plans are sufficiently in-depth and give a good level of guidance relating to the day-to-day care of young people. Great care is taken to ensure individual needs are identified and addressed in both daily living and planned arrangements for the future. Plans include a good range of the facets of young people's personalities, their likes and dislikes. Plans are based on information from the placing authority and reviews which are completed on a regular basis. Although young people are regularly consulted, a specific format for recording young people's views specifically for

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Quality of care

reviews is not in place. Planning relating to areas of equality and diversity within placement plans requires some development as records are either blank or overly generalised. This is despite some highly personalised work being completed, such as attendance at church and responding to specific diets. The theme of increasing staffs’ response to areas of equality and diversity is an area being developed at the home. Some interesting discussions have taken place and are planned within the staff team to increase awareness.

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Quality of care

Strong links with local health professionals effectively support individual young people and the work of the home. Specialist referrals are sought to meet young people's physical, emotional and psychological needs where appropriate. Staff are confident in discussing a range of well-being topics with young people and supporting them to access local support services. Health planning links well to the placement planning to further support young people's health needs. Some consent forms have not been completed by social workers and this may affect the ability of young people to be fully supported by staff. Some complex medication is administered and young people’s medical needs are responded to effectively with robust auditing tools in place. This supports the on-going health of young people.

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Quality of care

Young people are provided with a healthy and varied diet and are able to prepare their own snacks and drinks at reasonable times. Great care is taken to consult with individuals about their food preferences and dietary needs. A positive development at the home has been the expectation of staff to eat meals with the young people, with staff stating that this gives mealtimes a 'greater feeling of more expected family life.'

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from staff that take an on-going interest in their education. Daily logs are passed between the home and school to promote a consistent level of care and highlight issues to be responded to. Staff also attend school parent evenings to gain a greater awareness of the young people's development and how to support this.

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Quality of care

The house is homely and comfortable. Bedrooms are well personalised, with support from key workers and kept clean and tidy. The home is generally well maintained, although there are some areas that although planned for, require improvements such as photo displays and some new carpeting.

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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 enjoy living in an environment where they feel safe and looked after. Regular discussions are held with young people to increase their awareness of their own safety, such as bullying and harm. These are completed both within key worker sessions and larger key work meetings.

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Safeguarding children and young people

No young people have gone missing from the home since the last full inspection. Appropriate protocols and procedures are in place should such an event occur. Good links with the local Police ensure that all parties are consistent in their response to young people going missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Good behaviour management structures are in place with young people being very aware of the rewards structure and how it works for them. Young people are able to discuss their reward charts and, in one instance, show off their painted and polished nails. Incidents requiring sanctions or restraint are fully recorded, although requires some development in referencing within the structure, to ensure that there is an ease of access to individual instances of behaviour management. All staff are trained in physical interventions, although this is only used when other interventions have been attempted to de-escalate behaviours. There has been minimal use of physical intervention since the last inspection. Sanctions used are proportionate and positive measures young people receive are also recorded. The management team examines trends and patterns relating to behaviour management to develop appropriate responses to young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

No safeguarding concerns have been raised at the home since the last inspection. Clear guidance is in place for staff, relating to how to respond if such concerns arose and staff receive regular updates in this area. The manager ensures that the right staff are employed to work in the home and with young people. This is because effective recruitment, selection and vetting processes are carried out for all new team members before they start work in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

An effective system of policies, procedures and risk assessments support the maintenance of a safe environment for young people, staff and visitors. Regular fire drills take place, and young people and staff know what to do in an emergency. Regular checks are undertaken of fire safety equipment and the home’s environment. Staff have regular access to health and safety training that includes fire safety, food and manual handling.

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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 home has an effective and knowledgeable leadership team. A new Registered Manager has been in place since the last inspection. They have developed some key systems within the home and a plan is in place to make further improvements around the home and within paperwork systems. Effective systems monitor the home's performance and care of young people. Matters arising are actively addressed and shared across the team to ensure positive action is taken to maintain and improve high quality care practices. External monitoring systems are robust and regular reports are sent to Ofsted relating to the home. The staff team have responded to areas requiring improvement at the last inspection. Recordings of measures of control are swiftly completed and the placement plans include information relating to reviews that have been completed.

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Leadership and management

The home’s Statement of Purpose includes all expected areas to inform families and placing authorities of the role of the home. A simplified young people's guide gives basic information to young people, including what to do if they wish to make a complaint.

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Leadership and management

Staff are sufficient in number, experience and qualifications to support the work of the home. The team has a mix of male and female staff with a wide range of skills, knowledge and life experiences. There is a strong focus on ensuring young people experience consistent standards of care and this is supported through regular team and supervision meetings. Staff state that managers listen to what is said about how the service can be improved. They also appreciate the ability of the senior team to 'roll up their sleeves and work on the shop floor.' Staff report they receive good management support on a day-to-day basis and their performance is appraised annually to guide them in their residential roles. A rolling programme of mandatory and refresher training is provided together with opportunities to access more specialist areas of learning relating to the specific areas of care of the young people. These practices and arrangements ensure young people receive the care they need

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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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