Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC005066 Inspection date 04/11/2013 Inspector Philip Cass Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 12/02/2013 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 is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It provides short term, crisis placements. The home is owned by a private company.

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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

The objective of the service is to deliver a brief, high impact, intervention to address significant risk taking and offending behaviours. A positive outcome is achieved when crisis behaviours are stabilised so that a suitable long term placement can be identified. The home has been successful in achieving these objectives. A young person states that his time at the home has provided him with a ‘clean break’. Young people are able to look forward positively to future success.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is effective in reducing risk taking behaviours. As a result, young people are safe. They take part in a wide range of stimulating activity, focussed on outdoor pursuits. This means that young people are able to establish healthy routines that enable them to use their time constructively. Engagement in activities enables young people to experience success. Consequently, they grow in self-esteem and self- confidence.

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Overall effectiveness

The management of the home is good. Managers are committed to continual improvement and use quality assurance systems effectively to develop the home. It is recommended that the home improve the quality of sanctions records and ensure that the children’s guide includes key information about 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 the children’s guide includes a summary of what the home sets out to do for children (NMS 13.5)  ensure that where sanctions are used, children are encouraged to have their views recorded in the records kept by the home. (NMS 3.18)

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home supports young people to use their time in a positive way. Daily routines become less chaotic. Young people stop being in crisis. They learn the value of healthy patterns of sleep and activity. A young person commented that he goes to sleep at a reasonable time now because his established routine makes him tired. Age appropriate routines improve the emotional health and well-being of young people. The stabilisation of behaviours means that young people have a realistic prospect of longer term success in a residential provision.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The immediate safety of young people is a key objective of placements and the home achieves this aim. Young people are less exposed to negative influences. As a result, drug use is significantly reduced. Risk taking and offending behaviours are controlled and reducing. Where the actions of young people, such as running away following admission, mean that the home cannot work with young people, staff work effectively with placing authorities to enable a prompt move to alternative, safe accommodation.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are placed at the home with significant history of educational failure. Consequently, they are very resistant to formal education arrangements. The home adopts creative strategies to overcome negative attitudes to education. For example, a young person has experienced success because he has gained a recognised qualification in first aid. He valued the opportunity to undertake this award at the same time as the staff caring for him. This means that chaotic lifestyles, which present a barrier to educational success, are addressed. As young people begin to learn how to make constructive use of their day, they adopt a more positive attitude towards school. A young person stated that he wants to ‘get back into it’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people maintain good physical health at the home. They receive appropriate dental and eye care because they attend all routine appointments. The health of young people is promoted because they are discouraged from smoking and supported to make positive health choices. Young people develop improved fitness because they regularly take part in sporting activities organised by the home. Emotional well-being and self-confidence is promoted through involvement in outdoor pursuits such as camping.

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Quality of care

Each young person has a detailed care plan that clearly sets out identified need. The plan is updated each week so that it can be shared with placing authorities to inform decision making processes. This promotes effective transitions from the home. Care planning identifies a full range of needs including those that stem from the young person’s preferences, culture and background. The home is good at supporting young people to express their views in relation to religion. Consequently, the home addresses equality and diversity well. Key working systems are used well to ensure that the views of young people are central to decisions about future placements. Managers are effective in challenging placing authorities if there are delays in sharing information. This means that staff are provided with up to date information and can tailor care plans appropriately.

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Quality of care

The home has recently been redecorated and new furniture has been purchased. Young people report that they like their bedrooms. Even though they are only placed at the home for a short period of time, they are able to personalise their bedrooms. The home is reasonably decorated and maintained and provides a comfortable environment for young people to live.

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Quality of care

Staff interact with young people in a warm and affectionate manner. They make good use of humour to encourage young people. As a result, young people enjoy the company of staff. Staffing arrangements are flexible depending on the needs of individual young people placed. Staff with specialist skills or experience are seconded from other homes so that the objectives of the care plan are met. For example, when young people are placed at the home following concerns that they face significant risk of child sexual exploitation, staff have good previous experience of addressing these issues. Other young people, placed at the home due to escalating involvement in criminal and anti-social behaviour, are cared for by staff who are skilled in using outdoor pursuits as a means to build self-confidence and encourage positive decision making. The flexibility of staffing arrangements mean that young people are supported by staff who are sufficiently skilled and experienced to meet their needs.

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Quality of care

Home tutoring is provided where appropriate. This enables young people to improve literacy and numeracy skills. Staff are sensitive to the previous negative school experiences of young people and balance academic work with a wide range of challenging and stimulating activities. These include creative activities in the home. However the focus of most interventions is outdoor pursuits and adventurous activities such as camping, hill walking, mountain biking and climbing. Activities are designed to allow young people to experience success and overcome challenges. This supports them to grow in self-esteem. Improved self-esteem supports young people to make positive lifestyle choices when they move into longer term placements.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Safety is promoted by clear safeguarding procedures. Staff have a good understanding of these procedures and receive training in safeguarding. This means that they are able to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and know what to do if they suspect a child is being abused. The visitors’ record evidences safe chaperoning of unchecked adults in the home. The safety of young people is further promoted by robust recruitment processes that ensure all staff are carefully vetted before coming into contact with young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Behaviour management strategies are clear and effective. Staff communicate clearly with young people to ensure that expectations are clear. Effective communication is demonstrated by the fact that restraint has not been required for more than a year. Behaviour is promoted because all achievements are celebrated and young people are praised and rewarded when they demonstrate appropriate standards of behaviour. Sanctions are appropriate and very rarely used. This reflects the positive ethos of the home. However, sanction records are incomplete because they do not reflect the views of young people. This limits the ability of the home to monitor the effectiveness of sanctions.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people know how to raise a concern or make a complaint in the home. They are comfortable in challenging decisions that they do not agree with. Young people state that their views are listened to and respected. They are able to identify an adult they would talk to if they feel unsafe. Young people also know how to make a complaint to external agencies. This reduces the risk of abuse in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Some young people are admitted to the home with significant histories of placing themselves at risk by running away from their carers. Following admission to the home, the frequency with which young people go missing is minimised. Each young person has a missing from home risk assessment that is well understood by staff. This supports the determined efforts of the home to protect young people from harm. Improved relationships with the police also promote the safety of young people. The home engages well with local police and attends joint training that supports effective multi-agency working.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Current residents spend much of their time in the countryside taking part in adventurous activity. Staff understand the risks attached to these activities. They are appropriately qualified and experienced to keep young people safe. Risk assessments are comprehensive. They help staff to minimise potential harm. Fire safety systems are effective and appropriately monitored by the manager. Periodic testing of heating and electrical systems also ensures that the risks to young people and staff are minimised.

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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 manager of the home is qualified, experienced and competent. Although recently appointed to the role, she has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. Her application to be registered has been submitted promptly. One requirement was set at the previous inspection. This has been addressed. As a result, the home is a cleaner and more pleasant environment.

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Leadership and management

The home provides care to young people who present extremely challenging behaviours, all staff working at the home are experienced and well supported. Staff benefit from regular and effective supervision that supports them to deliver good quality care. All staff are appropriately qualified in residential care. In addition, they are well trained in safeguarding, first aid, restraint, administration of medication and equality and diversity. Staff receive additional guidance to meet the particular needs of young people placed at the home. This includes training in child sexual exploitation, bullying, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, self-harm, and drug awareness.

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Leadership and management

The home benefits from effective quality assurance systems. Areas of weakness are identified promptly and responded to quickly. Internal and external monitoring of the home has led to improvements in recording, activity provision, and the decoration of the home. The manager has promoted a clearer understanding of the purpose and objectives of the home. This improved clarity enables realistic and challenging developmental objectives to be set. Development planning has driven improvements in health and safety, multi-agency working and quality assurance.

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Leadership and management

The home’s aims and objectives are set out clearly in the recently updated Statement of Purpose. This means that families and social care professionals are provided with accurate information about the home. The children’s guide is informative and supports the young people through the admissions process. However, it does not contain some information which young people may find useful in relation to the aims and objectives of the home and the type of care provided.

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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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