Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Somerset

Unique reference number SC457327 Inspection date 16/07/2013 Inspector Pippa Greed 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

The home is operated by a private national service provider and is registered to care for up to three young people of either gender, who may 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 good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people experience very good standards of care, support and guidance so that they make significant progress from starting points. Care planning and review are of a comprehensive standard and promote young people’s individual needs.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from living in a homely and nurturing environment. They are looked after by a manager and staff team who provide safe and structured care. The home cares for young people with complex behavioural needs. Individual care plans and targets ensure barriers to development are successfully overcome. As a result, the number of significant incidents has reduced. Young people achieve positive outcomes such as improved and regular engagement in education.

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Overall effectiveness

There is a clear focus on improving young people’s life chances through education and activities. Their attendance and attainment in education is good and they access a variety of social and leisure opportunities both within the home and the local community.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff respond professionally and appropriately to ensure young people's needs are met, their views sought and their individuality maintained. Young people say they are happy in their environment and that the staff care for them well. They can all identify someone with whom they can share their concerns or worries. Staff offer young people choices in many aspects of their daily life. Placing authorities speak positively of the management and care that is provided at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

This inspection has identified some areas for improvement. These relate to enhancing the care placement plan in order to enable young people to participate and access this fully, plus developing a system to support young people to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time in the home.

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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 information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files. This relates to the placement plan (NMS 22.5)  develop a system to support and encourage the child to reflect on and understand their history, and to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time in the placement. Staff to record and help children make a record of significant life events. (NMS 22.6)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from highly individualised support which helps them grow in confidence and emotional resilience. The home provides the young people with a stable, secure and nurturing environment. Staff respect young people’s individual identity which has positive impact on their confidence and self-esteem. Staff encourage and support the young people to make sense of their circumstances. Staff promote awareness and understanding of difference and diversity through group and individual work. Comments from social workers include: ‘X has been supported throughout his time here to grow both emotionally and physically. He has seen this as a home rather than a residential placement. He has been well supported to develop independence skills and is well supported in his transition plan’; ‘Excellent placement. My child has made significant progress in all areas since being placed at the home. He is treated as an individual by all of the staff team including the

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Outcomes for children and young people

manager at the home. This has meant that the care plan has been tailored to what he needs to help him progress into independence. It has also meant that as the plan has changed, the staff care of him has changed to reflect this. Staff also are able to recognise when he should be allowed to make his own choices to promote his independence and take some responsibility for himself.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit as both their emotional and physical health needs are considered and promoted. Individual health plans outlines health needs and therapeutic input for young people is provided by the organisation’s therapy team. Young people access a range of health professionals and specialist services. Young people are supported to make informed decisions about their health, particularly around smoking cessation, sexual health and healthy eating. Staff fully recognise the value of education and provide effective support for young people’s individual education needs. Staff work together to ensure a bespoke education provision is set up. For example, a young person has been supported to access education at home with positive outcomes. The home has arranged long-term placement at a school identified as suitable in meeting the young person’s specific needs. This means young people are supported to overcome barriers in learning and

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy activities both in the home and out in the community. They have individual activity planners and these demonstrate how staff promote opportunities for them to maintain friendships and develop personal interests such as gardening. Key work sessions and consultation forms show that young people recently suggested ideas for growing vegetables, design for garden improvement along with interior décor ideas for the lounge. This means young people’s views are highly valued. A range of purposeful and enjoyable activities are available for the young people to try which encourages them to develop new skills and interests. Some activities are based in the local community such as football, visiting friends, country walks, going to the beach and local events. However, not all young people have been provided with resources to document their interests, keepsakes and memorabilia.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team are successful and committed to working with young people who display challenging behaviour. From the reduction in the number of significant incidents, it is evident that young people have made very good progress in managing their own behaviour, increasing their range of social skills and making safer choices. As a result young people have better self-esteem and are more confident.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home works in partnership with families and significant others and this helps young people maintain positive and frequent contact. A parent confirmed they feel well supported by the staff team. Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family, friends and other people who are important to them; these contacts are managed sensitively.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are actively encouraged to develop skills of daily living within the home that will help them later on with their transition into adulthood. Young people have confirmed that the home has supported them to prepare for living more independently. A social worker commented recently in relation to a young person who has since left: ‘The staff (at the home) are always welcoming and friendly. They are keen to provide young person with a home that is nurturing and caring while being mindful of their age and stage of development. Staff work well to support the local authority’s care plan for the young person and have been very proactive in helping them move towards the next step of moving to (an independent living property) in the near future.’

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding . Young people receive high standards of care, clear boundaries and support from a committed staff team. They learn to grow with the attachments they have made from consistent relationships with all staff but particularly their keyworkers. The key- working system in place enables young people to work through very difficult issues. Staff are very supportive towards young people when they are placed at the home and help them through the initial stages of their placement. Young people have confirmed this and said, ‘I’ve enjoyed going out on activities, (staff) supported me well, they listen to me and have a laugh,’ and, ‘I’m happy and have enjoyed living here.’

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Quality of care

Young people achieve as a result of the supportive environment provided; they feel able to raise concerns with staff and are confident that their concern will be given due consideration. Staff work individually with young people and help them to understand why it may not be possible to act upon their wishes on every occasion. Through the culture of open discussion and shared opinions, young people explore their thoughts and identify any prejudices that they may hold. Staff encourage young people to embrace diversity by sharing their differing personal perspectives and by showing their tolerance and acceptance of differing views. One example of this is through use of a display board covering interesting and thought-provoking news relating to the current month, including cultural celebrations. This in turn prompts discussion and ideas for outings. Young people have enjoyed contributing to the house newsletter in the form of quiz questions.

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Quality of care

Staff have high aspirations for each young person, irrespective of the challenges that they present. Care practices are tailored to meet individual needs while also taking into account the needs of the group. Staff work flexibly and respond promptly to young people's presenting needs. Achievements are praised and celebrated. Mistakes are accepted and discussed with young people in meetings with their keyworker, which helps them learn from errors of judgement.

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Quality of care

Young people’s care plans clearly identify their individual needs. Excellent monitoring of these plans enables staff to evaluate young people’s progress and to ensure that care plans are up to date. A particular strength is the weekly analysis report which provides systematic and clear overview of young people’s daily and weekly activities. However, young people have commented that they do not read their care placement plan as it is too long.

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Quality of care

Young people are healthy, and supported to access medical professionals such as doctors, dentists and opticians as appropriate. Staff are competency trained in the practice of safe administration of medicine. Healthy lifestyles are encouraged by the staff who guide young people in choosing healthy meals and by encouraging them to take part in physical exercise and activities.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from living in a home which is homely and well maintained. Young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms. The home provides several communal spaces to allow young people to engage in indoor activities that include the use of pool table, board games and reading. Young people state that they enjoy sports, music and computer gaming along with developing cookery skills. The home has been proactive in establishing and maintaining good working relationships with external agencies such as the local police and other professionals that can support young people’s varying needs. As a result, incidents of young people going missing from the home have been effectively managed, with a reduction in episodes.

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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 has good systems in place to ensure that young people's welfare is protected and promoted. Young people say they feel safe and secure within the home and bullying is not an issue. Young people have fun with other young people and staff team.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff set clear, consistent boundaries which sufficiently help young people to understand the consequences of their behaviour. A review of behaviour, sanctions and rewards is routinely discussed within handover and team meetings. Any ineffective sanctions are reviewed and replaced with alternative, more appropriate measures. As a result, young people reflect and learn from their behaviour and make safer choices.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All visitors to the home are monitored. They are required to provide evidence of their identity and to sign a visitors’ book. These systems protect young people as unauthorised individuals are not able to gain access to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The environment is physically safe, appropriately secure and takes into account the needs and characteristics of the young people cared for. All young people have their own individual room, which promotes their right to privacy and personal space. Staff manage health and safety well. Detailed risk assessments and fire safety checks are undertaken and promote safety and well-being. Policies, procedures and training inform staff about their roles and responsibilities. As a result they provide safe care for young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive regular safeguarding training. Concerns about the welfare of young people are managed appropriately and supporting agencies are well informed. The staff team also attend specialist training, for example on eating disorders, drug and alcohol misuse, and anti-bullying training, to meet the individual needs of the young people in placement.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The manager effectively monitors use of restraint and level of incidences and take steps to reduce its use where possible. Staff use de-escalation techniques to resolve most situations successfully; physical restraint is only used as a last resort.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A missing from home protocol has been established. Staff follow procedures and safeguard the welfare of young people when they are missing from home. Young people are encouraged to speak to staff on their return to establish how further occurrences can be prevented.

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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 is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who has the support and respect of the staff team. Staff keep up to date with new information and legislation as changes are shared with the team through regular meetings. The staff team are enthusiastic about their work. Staff talk positively about the support they receive and confirm that supervision, appraisal and team meetings are carried out on a regular basis. Through these, staff reflect on their practice and their relationships with young people.

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Leadership and management

Staff undertake induction, mandatory and service-specific training, which provides them with the skills, knowledge and competencies required to meet young people diverse needs. Staff have access to good quality training that enhances their individual skills, and keeps them up to date with professional and legal developments.

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Leadership and management

The home has a detailed Statement of Purpose that is used across the organisation nationally. The manager has reviewed this document to accurately outline the specific services offered in the home. The Statement of Purpose is made available to young people, parents and social workers. The young person’s guide is detailed and age-appropriate.

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Leadership and management

Shift vacancies are covered by the core team and manager to ensure continuity of care is provided. Staff are also available from the organisation's other homes, if required, for example due to sickness, which ensures continuity and consistency for the young people. Their commitment to supporting young people to stay safe and achieve excellent outcomes is evident.

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Leadership and management

Monthly visits to the home are conducted to monitor the quality of care. Reports show emerging efforts are made to seek the views of young people, parents and professionals. Additional monitoring by the manager is also completed each month and twice-yearly reports forwarded to Ofsted. These provide informative overview of how the home has operated, what progress each young person has made in terms of outcomes along with action plan set for future developments of the home. This means the home is managed well and the manager has identified goals for improvements.

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Leadership and management

The home's office is well organised and information is kept up to date. Placing social workers speak positively of the home and acknowledge the progress made by young people. A social worker said, ‘Staff promote positive outcomes for the young person and offer opportunities to think about and bring about changes to his lifestyle chances that are proactive, challenging and respectful.’

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Leadership and management

Recommendations made at the previous inspection have been met. This demonstrates a proactive approach towards implementing good practice.

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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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