Children's Home run by MGM Care Services Ltd in Telford and Wrekin

Unique reference number SC438427 Inspection date 14/11/2013 Inspector Julian Parker Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 25/10/2012 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

Sunningdale Cottage is a small private children's home looking after up to 2 young people aged from 10 to 17 years, who may have learning disabilities or emotional and/or 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

The home provides a good service for young people. They have made good progress in relation to their starting points across all aspects of their welfare and development since admission.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff demonstrate a very good understanding of each young person’s needs and interests. Care planning is highly personalised to meet needs and interests of young people enabling them to benefit from good levels of support promoting education, health and recreation. Staff work effectively in partnership, in a considered and coordinated way, with families, social workers and all other agencies involved in young people’s lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are kept safe because staff are carefully recruited and demonstrate a good understanding of safe working practice. Potentially unsafe situations and behaviour are well managed by staff by the application of clear boundaries and expectations.

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Overall effectiveness

Leadership and management arrangements have improved. The manager is effective in maintaining good standards and driving improvement. Minor shortfalls in some areas of recording and full knowledge of some standards are identified; however, these do not adversely impact on the care of young people.

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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) produce a guide to the children’s home, known as the children's guide, which shall include the address and telephone number of the HMCI. (Regulation 4 (3)( c)) 16/12/2013

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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

 prepare a development plan that clearly identifies any planned changes in the operation or resources of the service or confirms the continuation of the home's current operation and resources (NMS 15.2)  ensure that bank staff keep statutory training up to date. ( NMS 18.1 )

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good progress in developing a positive self-view with the help they receive from the home. Because of careful matching of placements they are able to make and sustain meaningful attachments with peers and staff. This helps them become are emotionally resilient. Life story work and the production of personal photo albums improves young people’s knowledge and understanding of their background.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people understand the importance of healthy lifestyles and take responsibility for their own health. They take pride in their personal grooming and appearance and recognise the importance of healthy eating.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people look forward to activities including weekly swimming sessions and bike rides as part of the routine for keeping fit and healthy. From a combination of school based learning and staff advice young people develop an understanding of the health risks of behaviours such as smoking, drug or alcohol use and sexual health risks. This helps them understand why staff restrict their exposure to situations where they may be at risk.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Some young people who find it difficult to communicate verbally are, with encouragement and staff support, able to actively participate in day-to-day and more complex decisions about their lives, such as planning activities, making contact decisions and making progress in education. Their independence is maximised and promoted by engaging fully with the home’s routines, which regularly include self- help skills such as cooking and keeping their personal areas tidy.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make exceptional progress because of the emphasis placed on regular school attendance. Educational progress is very good, taking into account both their attainment and progress from their starting points at the time of placement. Progress is acknowledged by achievement certificates and glowing school reports.

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Outcomes for children and young people

With consistent staff supervision and encouragement, young people are actively and positively involved in activities in the community, usually as part of their educational programme or work experience. While recognising the inhibiting aspect of some young people’s disability, their participation with structured activity is very good. They have access to a full range of stimulating and appropriate opportunities, ranging from open-air museum visits to practicing on a golf range. Young people enjoy their own games room, having decorated it to make it comfortable. They look after the home’s chickens, an activity that has taught them the importance of consistent caring.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are confident, as appropriate to their age and understanding, about their readiness for independence and adult life. They engage positively with independence programmes and specialist workers enhancing their understanding and skills for eventual semi-independence.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from knowing that staff are consistently concerned with their welfare. Although some young people cannot express this verbally, personal interactions between staff and young people confirm the warmth of these interpersonal relationships.

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Quality of care

Staff use individualised positive behaviour strategies to support young people in developing skills in managing conflict, often born of frustration and by maintaining positive relationships, irrespective of the communication barriers that they may experience.

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Quality of care

Young people’s views and wishes have significantly influenced the running of the home and the delivery of care. Young people are able to identify what their aspirations for the home are, for example the acquisition of the chickens, developing their games room, identifying what type of holiday they would like and how they want to decorate their rooms. Weekly menus and recreational activity plans include individual and communal time. Communication of this type usually takes place informally through everyday living, or by structured meetings with the manager or key worker. Young people are helped to understand how decisions are made particularly if it is not possible to act upon their wishes. Young people are invited to talk to other independent professionals, teachers, family members or advocates about any aspects of being looked after.

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Quality of care

By following the home’s policies that promote physical and emotional well-being the medical and health needs of young people are effectively met. Staff address the particular needs of individuals sensitively; for example, by encouraging personal hygiene, providing a balanced diet and encouraging healthy eating. Health plans include reference to other health professionals; for example, dentists and opticians. Young people are well supported and prepared for their appointments. By receiving regular training, staff are equipped to deal with minor accidents or ailments, and safely administer medication within the home. Significant progress has been made by helping young people become less dependent upon controlled medication to manage their behaviour.

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Quality of care

Young people have access to information in varying formats, indicating how they can make their voices heard and share any concerns they may have. The home has taken account of and acted upon young people’s views. There have been no complaints or concerns from either young people or their advocates. However, the young person’s guide to the home omits key information about how they may contact Ofsted.

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Quality of care

Individual placement plans are tailored to each young person’s needs and focus upon clear measurable outcomes. The young people’s views, enlisted through key worker sessions, add to this plan and statutory reviews. Although young people are encouraged to be involved in the development of these plans, the overriding priority is for the promotion of safety in all aspects of day-to-day care. Improved recording and continuous assessment evaluates the steady progress young people make. A comprehensive report is constructed from this information to inform statutory reviews.

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Quality of care

Young people consistently access full-time mainstream education that meets their assessed special needs. Attendance is excellent. Education plans are recorded and known to the home. This positive level of communication supports each young person’s academic achievement. By engaging fully with their school and college, young people regularly receive achievement awards and certificates for acceptable work and positive behaviour. Daily communication books and closely established links between the education placements and staff from the home ensure that behaviour management is consistent and agencies work well together.

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Quality of care

The home focuses upon the individualised global needs of young people including those related to their culture, religion, sexuality and background and these important factors are components of care planning. Through a combination of recording, practice and experience, staff learn each young person’s individual capacity for growth, needs and their specific ways of communicating. The home enhances young people’s quality of life by including them fully in the day-to-day decision-making about all aspects of their placement; while promoting inclusive, tolerant, socially acceptable behaviour in the local and wider community. Young people engage in routines and activities designed to assist their normal development, socialisation and citizenship.

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Quality of care

Young people live in an urban location that is particularly convenient for accessing all of the town’s amenities. Set in a detached house, the placement is domestic in style, homely in character, well maintained and decorated in suitable colours and styles taking into account young people’s views. The building is well suited to its current purpose being furnished throughout to a good standard and being of sufficient size to provide young people with adequate space for privacy, relaxation and play. The garden at the rear of the property is adequate in size, fully enclosed and used for leisure and growing plants in the summer and keeping the home’s pet chickens.

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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 and convey by their interaction with their staff team that they feel safe living in the home. They indicate through compliant behaviour their appreciation of the individual attention they receive from the one to one staffing level.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff know about the requirements of the Local Safeguarding Children Board’s procedures, including how to recognise potential signs of abuse and the ways in which young people can put themselves, or others, at risk. All staff receive on-going training to enhance their awareness and competence. The home promotes the safety of young people by using statutory reporting systems to notify relevant authorities about significant events, such as attempted unauthorised absence.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe and because of this, do not deliberately go missing from the home. The provider adheres to the established protocols with the local police and the placing authority. Staff consistently demonstrate concern about child welfare and safety by knowing what action to take should young people absent themselves and how to positively respond upon their return.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Because of the staffing ratio, high levels of vigilance and demeanour of the young people bullying or intolerant behaviour is not a behavioural concern within the home. Staff are ever alert to concerns that may emerge in other social settings such as school or during recreational visits. Young people receive information and support through key work sessions about how to report any such concerns.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff manage behaviour effectively by actively encouraging and rewarding good, sociable behaviour and by adjusting levels of individual supervision to respond to changing needs. The majority of the time young people receive one-to-one staffing to maintain their safety and supervision. Young people benefit from staff support learning the behavioural expectations of the home and how to conduct themselves in the wider community. The current staffing levels reflect the minimal need for the use of any sanctions or physical intervention. This approach recognises each young person’s level of understanding and ability.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive on-going and proportionate training in behaviour management, incorporating the minimal and safe use of physical restraint and de-escalation techniques: particularly those interventions applicable to young people with learning difficulties. Training is refreshed annually with any recorded incidents being evaluated by the home's manager to ensure that practice remains appropriate, consistent and safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The provider actively promotes health and safety in the home. The physical safety of the home receives an on-going review of any potential dangers. Recorded generic and specific risk assessments evaluate all aspects of daily living. These include the risk from fire hazards, from the behaviour of young people and from recreation or outdoor activities. Suitable public and employee liability insurance is in place. Fire alarm tests, fire safety equipment checks and fire drills are monitored. Young people are actively involved in the process by practicing regular fire drills, confirming they know the procedures to follow.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel secure and benefit from knowing all of the staff that look after them. The small stable team of experienced and mostly qualified staff work effectively and confidently with the resident young people. Improved recruitment processes ensure only suitable adults with previous experience of working with young people receive employment. The provider’s recruitment policy and practices been amended to ensure and confirm that the required audit trail of personnel checks for new recruits is in place.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All visitors receive oversight while in the home. They are required to provide evidence of their identity, including signing a record confirming the purpose of the visit. These robust and practical systems help protect young people from contact with unauthorised individuals.

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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

Young people live in a home that follows policies and procedures based on statutory regulations and promoting good practice. The home shows visible signs of improvement in its presentation and measurable practice developments since its last inspection. Recommendations from the previous inspection have been acted on.

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Leadership and management

The home is well organised, with staff receiving regular support and guidance from the qualified Registered Manager. The majority of the staff team are qualified with others engaged in the required NVQ level 3 induction and training courses. Staff have access to all statutory training courses to ensure safe practice.

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager continuously monitors staff practice and the home’s operation through established systems and being regularly on duty, thereby ensuring that the condition of the home and quality of care is consistently sound. Quality assurance systems which involve consultation with external stakeholders, such as placing authorities, along with regular feedback from young people, staff and children’s advocates inform the operation of the home. The manager takes action to tackle weaknesses and make improvements. There is evidence of the impact of these improvements. For example, the home has improved the leisure opportunities for young people by the development of the garage into a furnished and decorated games room. The home has also acquired some bantam chickens, which are kept in the garden as pets. Young people have responded very positively, knowing that their requests are listened to and implemented.

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Leadership and management

The manager’s development plan requires further attention to confirm the continuity and ambitions for the home over the next twelve months.

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Leadership and management

Placing authority social workers comment positively about working as partners with this home to progress young people’s placement plans. Social workers' recorded comments said that reports provided by the home always kept them well informed about behaviour and progress and that they would recommend this children’s home to other social workers.

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Leadership and management

The home’s Statement of Purpose elaborates upon the operation, function and staffing numbers for the home. The young person’s guide, produced in differing formats caters for young people who are fully literate and those preferring the use of symbols. Some additional information is required in this guide to inform young people about contacting the current regulator although this information is readily available on the homes notice board.

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Leadership and management

Full time staff's practice improves by having accessible company policies, procedures and guidance, enhanced by personal development and training opportunities. As a result of their timetabling, the statutory training of some bank staff is not completely up to date. The manager is clear that these staff cannot be used until such time as this shortfall is addressed. The confidence and competence of staff is a significant strength of the home providing a positive impact in the relationship between staff and young people. This enables staff to form accurate assessments of young people’s behaviour and progress. Dependable staffing using consistent in-house procedures enhances young people’s placement stability.

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Leadership and management

The manager monitors the young people’s progress and outcomes in order to demonstrate the difference the home has made. For example, there have been improvements in the young people’s verbal communication, their engagement with independence programmes, the reduction in the use of medication and their full compliance with legal orders.

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Leadership and management

The home has a good relationship with the local community and its neighbours.

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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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