Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children‟s Services (2) Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC398482 Inspection date 30/08/2013 Inspector Andrew Hewston Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/03/2013 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 part of a large private children’s care organisation and is currently registered to accommodate three young people 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 staff team work well in ensuring that the young people achieve and develop while they are at the home. All young people move forwards in differing aspects of their lives, such as individual behaviour management or educational attainment. Some effective links are in place to support the health of young people while they are at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

All young people have detailed plans in place. These highlight differing challenging behaviours or concerning previous aspects of their care, however these are not always responded to effectively or consistently. Young people are listened to and good records of key worker meetings are in place to show that a wide range of areas of their lives are discussed. Young people give mixed views of the home; with some areas such as activities being positive while other areas, such as the building, receive some negative comments with relation to damage that has been completed by the young people. All young people are positive about members of the staff team that they get on with.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team support the safety of young people. However there are incidents of bullying behaviours, which are not responded to on a consistent basis to make young people feel safe at all times. Behaviour management records are fully completed and examined for trends and patterns; to examine why some behaviours may be being displayed. Safeguarding issues are responded to swiftly and appropriately.

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Overall effectiveness

The range of experience and qualifications of staff helps to make sure that the staff team offer young people differing aspects of support. The staff team are well supported by the management team. Young people can discuss positive aspects of all staff and are positive about their key workers. The management team are aware of difficulties within the home relating to the relationships between the young people, and are working consistently to improve aspects of the care provision.

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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 if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. (Regulation 30(1)) 30/09/2013

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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 understand, within their level of understanding, the purpose and content of their plan and the reasoning behind any decisions about their care (NMS 25.1)  ensure the children’s home only provides admission to children whose assessed needs they can reasonably expect to meet (NMS 11.2)  ensure the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated (NMS 10.3)  ensure staff in the home are trained to recognise and deal with any indications or incidents of bullying, to act proactively and intervene positively, engaging with those who bully as well as those who are bullied (NMS 3.12)  ensure the policy on managing behaviour, which includes supporting positive behaviour, de-escalation of conflicts, discipline, control and restraint, are understood by staff and apply at all times (NMS 3.3)  ensure the children’s home has a record of the recruitment and vetting checks

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Recommendations

which have been carried out on those working (including as volunteers) for the children’s home (NMS 16.3)  ensure staff are equipped with the skills required to meet the needs of the children and purpose of the setting, and training keeps them up-to-date with professional, legal and practice developments and reflects the policies, legal obligations and business needs of the home. (NMS 18.1)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are making progress in the home because of support and care from the staff team. As a result, they form and sustaining positive attachments with staff and make progress in developing emotional resilience. Young people are able to enjoy the company of positive male and female staff role models. Young people maintain appropriate contact with family members, friends and other people who are important to them, which maintain support networks for them outside the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people state that while they have been at the home they have 'been a bit more settled' than from the point of their admission. There has been a reduction in restraints and measures of control within the home since the last inspection. This shows an increase in the staff's awareness of responding to the needs of the young people linked with young people's ability to have more control over their behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s physical and emotional health is good. They receive support from health professionals and staff to understand the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. Young people benefit from having access to therapists and from attending routine health appointments to support their emotional well-being and maintain their general health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Education has a high profile in the home with young people making individual progress. For those young people with histories of poor educational engagement, the home works effectively with the organisation's school in sustaining and progressing their regular attendance and attainment. Young people are encouraged to participate in physical exercise to promote healthy living through attending the local amenities and community activities. Young people experience new activities or develop on those they have with staff that they have previously completed, such as golf and fishing.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people experience some developments in their independence skills, such as using the washing machine, keeping themselves clean and keeping their own spaces tidy. Staff state that they develop these areas as young people get closer to sixteen.

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Quality of care

Staff are motivated to provide an effective, committed service and are resilient in the face of some negative behaviours. Their success is demonstrated by the positive comments of young people and their progress in several areas. Young people state that they feel listened to by the majority of adults. All of the young people are able to discuss staff that they feel support them and care for them. These are primarily key workers that they have meetings with on a regular basis. Key working sessions show that a wide range of areas are discussed relating to both issues within the home and the young people's development. From key working meetings objectives are set to develop more positive outcomes for individuals. Some of these have been seen to be met such as increasing ability to attend education.

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Quality of care

Staff listen to young people when they are unhappy and respond swiftly to their concerns. Complaints are fully recorded, discussions are then held and letters of clarification sent to young people to state the response to these. Records are fully completed within the young people's files with a brief record within the home's log to allow for information to be retrieved from archiving if needed from those young people that have left. This allows for clarity of recording.

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Quality of care

The home accommodates young people with differing needs and backgrounds in line with its Statement of Purpose. Although an impact assessment is completed on young people prior to each admission, these have not been sufficiently robust to highlight the challenging mix of needs within the home. This has led to instances where not all young people's needs are able to be met within a group living situation at all times. Each young person has a placement plan. These are based on the information that is given by the placing authority on admission and give an awareness of the differing needs of the young people and how these are to be responded to. Not all of the young people or staff are fully aware of aspects of the placement plans.

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Quality of care

Young people have access to a range of health promotion information in the home. Staff work hard to support young people to access health services, such as general practitioners, dentist and opticians. Good links are in place to support young people's mental health needs, such as play therapy and speech and language therapists being involved with the home. Some feedback is given to the staff team relating to the differing assessed needs of the young people. The administration of medication is robust and staff have completed training to support the health of the young people.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported to achieve in their education. The staff team promote attendance and attainment, while recognising the difficulties that some young people experience in sustaining educational placements. Staff attend school meetings and celebration events with young people. As a result young people receive full support to achieve their educational potential. Staff encourage young people to engage in a range of leisure pursuits that are both enjoyable and challenging. Some young people have benefited from individual opportunities to go on holiday with staff members, while others have enjoyed new activities with more individualised staff support.

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Quality of care

The property itself is appropriately maintained in most areas, including all the serviceable items, for example, fire equipment. However, its presentation in parts is in need of updating. This is in the home's development plan. Personalisation of young people's own rooms is good and they are proud to discuss their areas. Communal areas do not all feel homely and inviting. Television reception is particularly poor within young people's rooms due to a dependence on small aerials. This does not enhance the expectation of young people to settle within their rooms in the evenings.

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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

Young people state that the staff help to make them feel safe within the home and that they 'sort things out when there are problems.' Due to the differing behaviours of the young people bullying occurs within the home. Although this is responded to by staff, the responses do not consistently support the vulnerabilities of young people at all times. Behaviour management records are completed well and show that there has been a reduction in the levels of restraint and additional measures of control since the last inspection. Young people are able to discuss how their behaviour has improved at the home. Some behaviours observed during the inspection were responded to differently by differing staff, with some challenging issues while others do not. While this may be due in part to the relationships young people have with each staff members, such differences do not ensure that behaviour management plans are being interpreted on a consistent basis. Information is in

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Safeguarding children and young people

place for if young people wish to contact external agencies if they had concerns about the way that they were being looked after.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Safeguarding incidents g are responded to swiftly and fully recorded. There is a clear chronology of actions following on from concerns. This shows all the appropriate parties being informed and the decision making process relating to investigations. Such actions show how the staff team respond effectively to specific issues.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Links are in place with the local police and although an appropriate policy is in place relating to young people that go missing, no such instance has occurred since the last inspection. Safe recruitment practices are completed within the organisation and all necessary checks are completed prior to staff starting work at the home. Some records kept at the home do not fully show the recruitment checks, although these have been checked by the manager.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety checks are completed on a regular basis to support all staff and young people with being safe within the home

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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

The home has a Registered Manager who has given stability to the management of the home, which has not been in place for approximately two years. The development plan demonstrates how the home is moving forwards and further improvements that the management team wish to make.

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Leadership and management

The home works in line with its Statement of Purpose in offering a specialist provision with a good range of supportive external professionals. A young people's guide gives a range of information to young people about the home and some of the basic rules and expectations for their behaviours. The manager and monthly visitor assess aspects of the home regularly. Reports are produced and forwarded to Ofsted as required. Records are up to date and provide an understanding of the young person’s journey through the home. Young people's files contain all information and documents needed.

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Leadership and management

The home does not currently have a full working staff team, although gaps in rotas are filled to ensure that there is sufficient staff in place. The home uses some agency staff and some staff from other homes. This creates some challenges in ensuring there are consistent practices in place. The management team meet regularly to promote such consistency. The staff team has a good range of experience and qualifications, and they meet of a monthly basis to discuss issues and to develop positive practice. All staff have received training relevant to specific needs of young people on the home's site. Some staff state that they wish to be supported with accessing a wider range of training courses. These would increase staff's ability to respond to practice developments.

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Leadership and management

Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. This was an area raised at the last inspection in need of improvement and has been fully responded to.

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Leadership and management

The manager has a good awareness of her role and links well with the differing professionals that work with the home and the organisation. The manager has not notified Ofsted of all the significant events at the home. This failure to report incidents examined at the inspection could have an effect on the safety of young people. The home is appropriately resourced.

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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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