Children's Home run by Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd in St Helens

Unique reference number SC063284 Inspection date 06/11/2013 Inspector Maria McGranaghan Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 14/05/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is provided by an independent company and provides care for five young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress .

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Progress

The purpose of this visit is to assess the progress made since the last inspection and how any progress has improved the quality of care and potential outcomes for young people.

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Progress

At the last inspection on 14 May 2013 the service was judged as good. At the time the registered manager was asked to take account of four recommendations made to further improve practice within the home.

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Progress

The service is judged as making satisfactory progress. Young people now make a valuable contribution to the review of their care arrangements. For example, young people clearly record in their own words how the home is helping them to reach their personal goals and aspirations. Consequently, young people take a greater interest in the development of their placement plan and are keen to participate in reviewing their personal progress.

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Progress

Young people’s bedrooms are significantly improved. Young people are active participants in creating a bedroom that reflects their personality and interests. Likewise, young people have played a central role in deciding the colour scheme for the newly decorated living room, entrance hall and dining area. Consequently, young people now take a pride in their home and this has also resulted in a significant decrease in damage occurring in the home.

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Progress

On the whole behaviour management strategies are improved. The manager has developed strategies alongside individual risk assessments for the appropriate management of young people who were found to smoke in the home. Young people are clear on the specified sanction and as a result, incidents of young people smoking in the home have decreased.

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Progress

At the time of the inspection there were no young people with a plan of independence in order to suitably assess the moving on and leaving care arrangements. However, the manager has developed a system in order to review the quality of pathway plans and independent training arrangements for young people in the future. Reviewing the quality of arrangements will ensure that young people are provided with opportunities to contribute to the development of their independence plan, including setting realistic goals and targets.

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Progress

Young people benefit from structured routines enabling them to understand the plans for each day. They participate in a range of planned and unplanned activities such as, fishing, youth club, gym and ice skating and have made friends in the local community. Young people are happy and settled in the home.

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Progress

Young people benefit from educational placements that meet their individual needs. Consequently, young people‘s views about education are developed with young people being positive about their education. As a result, both attendance and attainment are significantly improved.

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Progress

Despite these strengths there is an area for improvement. Information provided by the home in relation to schedule 5 notifications is not always clear. For example, some records do not give a clear picture of the actions taken by staff once an event has taken place. Consequently, some notifications lack clarity and are open to misinterpretation. As a result one recommendation is made at this inspection. The home shows the capacity to improve.

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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 written record includes details of the actions taken, and the outcome of any investigation following a notifiable event (NMS 24.2)

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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