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Unique reference number SC036917 Inspection date 09/10/2013 Inspector Angus Mackay Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 27/02/2013 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

The home provides short and medium-term residential care for up to five young people with emotional and/or behavioural problems. The home also undertakes outreach work with young people, either to prevent the need for accommodation, or to support them and their carers once they have left the home. This service is provided by a local authority.

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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

This is a very well-run home with highly competent leadership and management. Managers have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home based on detailed and effective audits of its practice. The staff team is highly skilled, stable, diverse, enthusiastic, experienced and well qualified. Staff have great confidence in the internal and external management team receiving excellent training and support from them. Safeguarding training is wide ranging and effective, empowering staff to work confidently with complex risks, reducing them and safely caring for young people. One member of staff said, of the managers, ‘We have been together for so long because of the managers it all comes down from them nothing is too much trouble that is what has kept the team together so long. If they do not know something they will sort it out. We have a happy home.’

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Overall effectiveness

Staff value young people and embrace new and challenging ways of working with them. They work closely with the local authority ensuring that admissions are well controlled and in line with the Statement of Purpose. Young people talk enthusiastically about the staff team describing them as, ‘warm, friendly and fantastic.’ The home is good at constructing highly personalised care plans with the young people. Staff are good at aiding young people to explore their family, cultural and religious backgrounds. The manager and staff team are successful at forming warm, friendly relationships with the young people, helping them to settle and feel at home. As a result, young people make good progress in relation to their starting points across many aspects of their behaviour, education and development. One young person said, ‘They have shown me the right things to do and how to behave. Staff are nice and encouraging. They have helped me to learn so much by this

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Overall effectiveness

Some gaps in information held on young people were identified during the inspection.

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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 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 that you have a copy of the child's Personal Education Plan, where this has been produced as a separate document from the education module of the child's care plan. (Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraph 2.118)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Most young people make significant progress in many areas of their personal development whilst in the home and sometimes with outreach support once they have left. A social worker said of a young person who recently left the home, 'the young person is much better empowered, stimulated and equipped with the right frame of mind to make good decisions in her life. There was a lot of resilience built into her when she was in the home.' Young people maintain contact with the home on leaving and attend functions such as barbeques and parties for many years after leaving. Young people who have recently left are training to be mentors in the home. One young person said of this initiative, ‘I am coming back as a mentor in the home. The staff helped me so much so it would be good to help others. I found it helpful having people from outside the home coming in.’ Young people gain confidence and immense reinforcement of their self-worth through this. Residents in the home gain

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Outcomes for children and young people

an additional safe person to talk to who has empathy and understanding of their issues.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people involve themselves enthusiastically in a wide range of activities. They talk excitedly about the summer holiday which allowed them to do challenging activities in a safely controlled environment. This included abseiling, climbing, canoeing, riding quad bikes and dragon boat racing. During free time, they engage in a variety of activities and join local sports clubs and youth clubs. Young people bring friends on these activities and holidays. Young people improve relationships, sustain attachments, enhance social skills, develop new interests, gain in confidence and have a lot of fun through this.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people all attend school and make progress with attendance and educational outcomes. Where young people have arrived without a school to attend staff assist them in identifying a suitable school and gaining a place. Young people’s educational attainment is celebrated and the home has many pictures of current and past resident’s educational achievements on display. Young people successfully engage in education programmes and progress to work and further education schemes.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people maintain and develop links with their own communities and, where they wish, places of worship. All young people gain a clearer understanding of their own and other cultures through staff guidance and visits to places such as mosques and religious celebrations. One young person who has recently left said, ‘The other thing that, on thinking back, they really helped me with was multiculturalism. The stuff they did with us helped me to broaden my interests in other cultures. They made it fun to learn about other cultures and we would do things at times like Eid and Chinese New Year, for example. This is something which has stuck with me.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

All young people develop their self-help skills. Younger residents receive support in personal care and in keeping their rooms clean and tidy. All young people do their own laundry and share in cooking and shopping. Young people develop a sense of responsibility and emotional maturity through caring for pets within the home. All young people improve their social and emotional development through shared tasks such as preparing meals for the others.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people provide enthusiastic support to various fund raising and social events preparing cakes and assisting in hosting the events. Through this they raise money for charities but also improve their relationship with the local community. Social workers say they often attend events hosted by the young people which positively engages them with family, friends and the local community.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good progress in developing positive self-view and maintaining attachments, through relationships with staff and friends. They have friends visit the home and can arrange to have them join activities or even have overnight stays. One young person said , ‘Friends are encouraged and we can have them around; if we plan it they can stay over. We have to do it properly. Ask in advance then check with the staff on duty on that day. It helps you to learn about planning properly.’

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Quality of care

Young people have good relationships with the staff. They show warmth and affection to staff and engage positively in discussions with them. Staff are skilled communicators and listen attentively to young people, drawing them into conversations. One young person said of the staff, ‘They listen to me all the time and encourage me to say how I feel and how I think things could be improved.’ Social workers comment that young people’s first impressions of the home are of somewhere which is warm and friendly. One social worker commented that the warmth of the staff allowed the young people to identify with the home and commence settling in. One young person said that what they liked best about the home is, ‘the peace and quiet.’ The positive atmosphere and good staff interactions help young people to build relationships and feel at home.

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Quality of care

New admissions to the home are generally planned in advance but occasionally these are done on an emergency basis. This sometime leaves gaps in information about young people. Staff work closely with young people ensuring all aspects of their care can be met and that the views of young people are positively incorporated into care plans. The home is good at identifying and meeting all cultural, personal and religious needs of the young people. Young people enjoy opportunities to maintain family and community links, where appropriate. Young people’s views are constantly sought through questionnaires, keyworker sessions, six weekly individual meetings with the manager and in regular young people’s meetings. One young person said, ‘To be honest there is nothing about the home to improve so we always say things about food even though it is alright.’

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Quality of care

The young people know how to make a complaint both within the home and to external support agencies. They have free unsupervised access to a private help line and they all receive top up payments for mobile telephones. This ensures that young people can independently talk to people outside the home if they have any concerns about their care. Complaints are very rare and young people are happy with how they are resolved. One young person said, ‘I do know how to make complaints and did make one. It was probably just a misunderstanding but I talked to the manager who told me to make a formal complaint and she gave me the form. I filled out the form and my complaint was investigated. It was done very well and I was happy with the outcome. I was very happy with the way they dealt with the complaint.’

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Quality of care

Staff manage behaviour positively, using a social learning theory model to guide their interventions with young people. Staff reinforce positive behaviours and adopt a common approach to undesired behaviours. So for instance, when addressing poor behaviour in young people staff provide five positive comments for each negative comment. In addition staff compile positive comments, made to each young person, throughout the day which they discuss with the young person then include them in the young person’s file. Staff model positive and desired behaviours, to young people, reinforcing positive interactions and providing alternative approaches for the individual. Care plan targets and reward charts, for behaviour, are constantly reviewed and updated as progress is made. Young people learn positive ways to resolve conflict through this approach.

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Quality of care

Medication is safely stored and issued to young people. Staff maintain clear records on appointments and health targets for young people. All young people are registered with a general practitioner and all have parental agreements to receive homely remedies and first aid. Some young people do not have signed permission for medical treatment and there is no record of staff seeking this. Young people continue to receive good health care from the general practitioner. Staff positively encourage and support young people’s attendance at school. If young people arrive without a school to attend, staff work diligently to secure an appropriate place. Social workers commend their excellent work at supporting young people in education. One social worker commented, ‘The young person attends a school and gets a lot of encouragement from the home on this. They take the young person to school. The young person is sometimes reluctant but they persevere and

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Quality of care

get there, even if sometimes a few minutes late. They have good relationship with school and liaise with the teachers.’ Young people are influenced positively by staff enthusiasm and accept advice on which school will best meet their needs. One young person, who has recently, left praised the home for the assistance they gave her to get on a college course. Not all young people have personal education plans in place although they all have minutes from planning meetings about their educational needs. This ensures that the home can successfully meet their educational targets.

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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 say that they feel safe in the home. They trust the staff and are confident in talking to them about personal and confidential matters. Staff ensure that risk assessments are clear, regularly reviewed and updated. This ensures that young people enjoy safe care which protects them from identified and emerging risks. Young people identified areas where this had helped them to address serious issues such as going missing, self-harm and bullying.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff engage in comprehensive safeguarding training including a course specific to young people missing from care. Consequently staff have a clear understanding of the vulnerability of young people who go missing and measures to take to keep them safe. Most young people rarely go missing and where they do staff follow all appropriate measures to reduce these instances over time. Staff monitoring of absences has identified triggers to this, or underlying patterns, allowing them to intervene at an early stage, enhancing the safe care of young people. When young people persistently go missing the home ensures that strategy meetings are held to address the identified risks and reduce them. These positive interventions ensure that high risk behaviours are acted upon in a timely manner and young people’s safety improved. Staff are due to complete further training provided by police and the safeguarding team to enhance their knowledge and skills in this area.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff work closely with young people and social workers constructing clear care plans, 24 hour plans and detailed risk assessments. Staff use these to guide their interactions with young people and to maintain a consistent approach. Staff application of structured interventions is linked to a clear theoretical model which places a strong focus on recognising young people's positives. All staff are trained and skilled in the application of this social learning theory approach. Consequently there are very few restraints or serious incidents.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are experienced and well trained in safeguarding and child protection. Where staff have identified areas of concern or gaps in their knowledge the manager has provided advanced training courses. For example courses are planned, or have occurred, for mental health in first aid, women who sexually abuse, issues of faith and belief and safeguarding children missing from care. Courses have already been held this year covering children and adolescent mental health services consultation, working with young people who self-harm and child sexual abuse. Staff are clear about their role in keeping young people safe and confidently apply this in their work in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a safe environment, where staff apply effective vetting and monitoring of all visitors. Fire safety is exceptionally well organised; clear audits of all fire drills and training evidencing all staff and young people have practiced emergency evacuations. Staff are trained in the use of fire fighting equipment and there is comprehensive training of all staff in fire safety. Fire drills are very regular and one conducted during the inspection involved all young people, staff and visitors safely and speedily arriving at the assembly point. These measures enhance the safe care of young people and increase their awareness of how to stay safe.

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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 leadership and management of the home are good, with areas of excellence. The manager has successfully addressed the recommendation made at the last inspection. Staff now receive an e-mailed copy of supervision immediately and sign a written copy at their next supervision. Supervision includes updates on current legislation, a comprehensive review of case work and an exploration of developmental targets. All staff have annual appraisals where further training and areas for personal development are identified and actionned. Managers receive regular training in supervision and staff coaching, ensuring standards continue to improve. Staff feel supported by these initiatives one saying, ‘Supervision is regular. What is fantastic here is managers are always here for us. All senior staff make themselves available if we need them.’ This modified supervision is improving the skills set of the staff and enhancing their work with the young people.

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Leadership and management

The home receives excellent support from the local authority, providing staff with regular, high quality training. All staff are qualified to a minimum of an appropriate level 3 qualification, with many having more advanced qualifications. Recent training initiatives have included a ten day course in social learning theory, supporting the homes formalising of their positive behavioural programme with young people. Young people and staff benefit from the enhanced training in specific areas of interest or concern, such as children missing from care. The training programme ensures that staff have the appropriate knowledge, skills and emotional resilience to meet the needs of the young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people’s files are well organised with excellent audit sheets introducing each section. Young people, keyworkers or managers can see at a glance when appointments are planned, have been met, or where gaps exist. Entries are clear and provide an excellent picture of how the care plan is being implemented, monitored and reviewed. Young people contribute to their own care plans in a variety of ways including regular feedback forms and formal meetings with the manager. These initiatives ensure that records are meaningful, up to date and are influenced by the views of the young people about all aspects of their care.

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Leadership and management

Internal and external monitoring of the home is comprehensive with reports being supplied regularly to all relevant parties. Managers make good use of monitoring information, ensuring that most gaps in information themes or patterns in the home are identified and acted upon. Some gaps in information had not been followed up, in relation to education and medical consent forms. Managers involve the staff team in reviewing identified trends, patterns behaviours and effectiveness of interventions in team meetings, keyworker sessions and reviews. This ensures a greater consistency in work and better targeted interventions with young people. For example the effectiveness of sanctions is reviewed after they have been in place at least a week and young people’s views have been incorporated. This allows the whole team to agree future interventions which build on previous successes and failures, improving outcomes for young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people benefit from living in a safe well-maintained comfortable, environment. Staff ensure that the home is clean, tidy and that all repairs are speedily completed. The manger ensures that all health and safety checks are up to date and any required actions are dealt with immediately.

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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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