Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Unique reference number SC439956 Inspection date 12/11/2013 Inspector Anne Bannister Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 19/10/2012 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

This privately run children's home is registered to accommodate and care for one young person. Young people accommodated at the home experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is one of eight homes owned by the company, but the first sited in England. It accepts emergency placements and can offer care to young people on a short, medium or long-term basis.

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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

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. They are confident to discuss any issues with staff, who are able to support them and help them resolve any concerns or worries. Young people indicate that the home provides a safe and comfortable place to live in. Young people's views are routinely taken into account and acted upon. Young people indicate that they know how to make a complaint if they are unhappy about any aspects of their care.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s individuality is respected and promoted to help them develop a positive self-image. Staff encourage young people to develop new skills and emotional resilience during their time at the home. One professional said that a young person had made, ‘phenomenal progress in a short space in time. This is because he feels valued and cared for.’

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Overall effectiveness

Managers and staff work well together to monitor and improve key elements of the service and are committed to providing high quality care. Arrangements for the supervision of staff provide effective support to enable them to develop detailed and individualised responses to the changing needs of young people. Managers use effective systems for consultation with staff, young people and all professionals who support them to ensure very individualised care.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team are effectively managed with a strong emphasis on providing young people with a high standard of care to ensure continuous improvement and development. Young people benefit from the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the manager and staff.

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Overall effectiveness

The operation of the home is routinely monitored to ensure shortfalls are identified and quickly addressed. However, shortfalls in meeting legislative requirements, which are currently not directly impacting on the outcomes for young people, are identified as a result of this inspection.

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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) notify the HMCI of any revision of the Statement of Purpose within 28 days (Regulation 5(b)) 09/12/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure staff receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal. In particular the home should ensure all staff receive an annual appraisal which feeds into both their personal development plan and the home's development plan (Regulation 27 (4)(a)) 09/12/2013

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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

 ensure that the home has a written development plan, reviewed annually (NMS 15.2)  ensure Regulation 34 reports identify trends and issues of concern so that all those involved in the running of the home can continually improve the quality of care they are providing. Specifically such reports need to be more evaluative in their content (Children's Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 5: Children's Homes 3.14)  ensure risk assessments of the whole children's home environment are recorded in writing and regularly reviewed (NMS 18.8)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are good . Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff who provide them with a nurturing, homely environment. As a result they feel cared for and understand that staff are there to help and support them. Young people benefit from clear assessment of and attention to their health care needs. This ensures positive promotion of their health and well-being.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s inclusion in community life is well promoted by their participation in enjoyable leisure activities that are supported by the home. This provides opportunities for young people to experience and develop new skills, as well as providing fun and good opportunities to them for socialisation with peers.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Where appropriate young people are supported to maintain and develop contact with family members and friends. As a result, young people enjoy constructive relationships with those that are most important to them and understand that they have a continuing role in their life. Staff sensitively support such contact and as a result are successfully promoting young people's personal identity and self-esteem.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are successfully developing their self-care skills and enjoy helping with some general household tasks consistent with their age and understanding. Such tasks include keeping their room tidy and helping set the table at meal times. This encourages a sense of pride in both themselves and their home and establishes an appropriate foundation from which they can develop their skills and ultimately prepare for independence.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from staff who are dedicated to understanding their individual needs and wishes. Experienced and qualified staff demonstrate consistently high expectations for young people to progress. They skilfully support young people to contribute to their individual placement plan. A social worker commented that since placement at the home the young person has had the confidence to attend and participate in his reviews. His placement has increased his self-esteem so that he is beginning to feel confident about voicing his wants and needs.

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Quality of care

Staff are committed to quickly establishing nurturing relationships with young people, who may be admitted at a time of crisis in their lives. A foster carer spoke positively about the sensitive manner in which the staff supported a young person to move on from his placement. They enabled him to feel positive about the changes that he was experiencing. Staff offer warmth and sincerity in their relationships with young people. They use sensitive and supportive professional relationships to encourage young people to regain self-esteem and self-confidence.

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Quality of care

Young people are assisted to develop socially acceptable responses to situations which challenge them and may previously have culminated in anti-social behaviour. Individual behaviour management plans confirm staff’s response to young people's challenging behaviour. Staff are trained in the company's preferred method of behaviour management. They use their skills and knowledge of the issues each young person brings to the placement to successfully de-escalate situations which have the potential for conflict. The use of positive praise and reward is effective. Sanctions other than reparation for damage to property are used rarely. Young people benefit from clear and consistent boundaries which promote positive behaviours.

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Quality of care

Staff are good at maintaining contact with the schools young people attend. This helps ensure any day-to-day difficulties are addressed quickly and facilitates young people’s continuing achievement. Staff also celebrate young people’s achievements and progress which helps promote their self-esteem and confidence.

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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

Staff are committed to keeping young people safe. They are aware of the procedures to implement in circumstances where young people's safety and welfare need attention or assessment. Staff are aware of, and act upon, their responsibilities to safeguard young people. They receive regular training to inform and refresh their knowledge so that they act promptly when there are any concerns about young people's welfare.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people confirm that they feel safe and protected in this home. Young people are confident about how to make a complaint and can easily identify someone to talk to should they have an issue or concern.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people interact positively with staff and good relationships exist. Behaviour management plans focus on how positive social behaviour will be encouraged and developed, for example, through rewards, distraction and praise. There has been no use of sanctions; which is appropriate given the assessed needs and understanding of young people accommodated at the time of the inspection. Physical intervention in managing behaviours has not been necessary. Staff are clear that it would only ever be used as a very last resort.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Individual risk assessments advise of the likelihood of young people going missing from home. Such incidents rarely occur as staff are aware of young people’s vulnerability and help them to understand the risks such behaviours may place them in.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people's safety within the home is maintained by sound health and safety checks and routines, including fire drills which are undertaken on a regular basis. Young people confirm they know what action to take in a fire or an emergency. Equipment within the home is serviced and checked at appropriate intervals. Heightened risks in the garden area have been identified and remedial action is planned to address them. Young people are being closely supervised when using this area until the work is complete. Annual risk assessments of the building have not been formally reviewed within the last twelve months. Effective recruitment procedures are in place and nobody commences work at the home until all checks required by legislation have taken place. Such checks and procedures protect young people from being cared for by people who may cause them harm.

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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 meets the aims and objectives set out in its Statement of Purpose. The Statement of Purpose clearly describes the skills, qualifications and experience members of staff have in looking after young people. However, Ofsted has not received a copy of the most recently revised document.

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Leadership and management

The home is effectively managed by a permanent manager and a staff team that are, with the exception of the most recent appointment, qualified and experienced in working with children and young people. The team work effectively, communicate well with each other and ensure a continuity of care for young people. The home is well resourced. Sufficient staff are employed to ensure the smooth running of the home which is maintained to a high standard.

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Leadership and management

The manager provides good leadership and guidance for staff to ensure the service continues to develop and improve. She has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. The manager further promotes development of the quality of care offered to young people in regular staff meetings, where staff review the progress made by young people. Supervision is regularly provided and advice and guidance is available as and when required. All staff are up-to-date on mandatory training requirements, including child protection, behaviour management and physical intervention techniques. However, currently the home is not implementing an annual appraisal for staff. Neither is there a formal development plan in place to confirm the priorities for continued improvement of the service over the next twelve months.

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Leadership and management

There are adequate systems in place to monitor the performance of the home. Monthly audits of the service are undertaken by the manager and by an independent person appointed by the company to monitor the quality of care. The content of the report made under Regulation 34 tends to be descriptive rather than evaluative of the service provided. As a result it does not identify trends and patterns or advise of proposed developments prior to the next report. The monitoring in place takes account of the views young people, placing authorities and families. However, their content does not adequately reflect breaches in Regulation and National Minimum Standards identified in this report.

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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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