Children's Home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Oldham

Unique reference number SC356817 Inspection date 13/11/2013 Inspector Monica Hargreaves Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/03/2013 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 privately operated and registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have learning disabilities.

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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 make excellent progress in all areas because they are cared for very well by staff who have a good understanding of their specific needs. Care plans and risk assessments are very thorough and promote consistency of care. This supports young people to achieve very positive outcomes. Young people grow in self-esteem as they settle into the home. They achieve in education because their level of attendance at school is excellent. They enjoy good health and they develop social skills and learn how to be more independent in preparation for later life.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff understand young people's vulnerabilities. They have a good knowledge of safeguarding issues and safe care practices and they make sure that young people are cared for safely. Young people report that they feel safe and they are happy and relaxed with staff. This helps them to feel settled in their home.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is well managed and there are robust arrangements for monitoring the quality of care and the progress of young people. Prompt action is taken to address any issue that is identified as a result of inspections and management monitoring in order to continue to improve the service that is given to young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Two requirements and three recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection. These relate to Regulation 33 and 34 quality assurance monitoring reports, an aspect of staffing, pathway plans for 'eligible' young people and the Statement of Purpose.

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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) ensure that a copy of all reports done under Regulation 33 is supplied to Ofsted (Regulation 33 (5)(a)) 31/12/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the system that is in place for monitoring the quality of care in the home provides for consultation with children, their parents and placing authorities (Regulation 34 (3)) 31/12/2013

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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 all 'eligible' young people have a pathway plan (NMS 12.2 and Volume 5, statutory guidance paragraph 2.135)  ensure that the Statement of Purpose is reviewed and kept up to date (NMS 13 and Volume 5, statutory guidance paragraph 2.15)  ensure that there is continuity of staffing. (NMS 17.8)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit greatly from long-term settled placements and they make excellent progress over time in the home. Their confidence grows in response to the way they are cared for and as a result their personal and social skills improve. This in turn supports their progress and helps them to achieve excellent outcomes. Professionals make positive comments about the way young people develop in the home. For example, one said '(name’s) capacity to express himself has improved which has helped him to develop in many ways'. Another reported '(name) is really settled here and calls it home'.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people go to school very regularly, achieving more than 95% attendance overall. This excellent level of engagement with education maximises their opportunity to achieve and as a result young people are able to reach their personal goals.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy very good health. They have a good daily routine, a nutritious diet and they exercise. This promotes a healthy lifestyle. Young people learn about how to maintain their healthy lifestyle through discussions with staff and taking part in the routines of the home, for example choosing menus and cooking. Young people also attend routine and specialist health appointments; which means that their health is monitored. Young people do not smoke or use alcohol or substances, which has a positive impact on their health. Robust medication systems protect young people and ensure that they have medicines when they need them in order to support their good health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy taking part in a range of activities. For example, they attend youth groups and after school clubs where they are able to make and sustain friendships. This supports their social and emotional development. They are also involved in other organised activities such as dance classes and swimming sessions. These promote exercise and support their physical development.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit emotionally from maintaining positive contact with their families. This supports their sense of identity and contributes to their understanding of their background and history.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop practical and social skills at a pace that is appropriate to their individual needs and abilities. This helps them to prepare for adult life. Not all 'eligible' young people have a pathway plan and consequently there are not yet any clear arrangements in place to confirm the support that will be available to them when they leave care. Some young people have recently moved on into adult services in a planned way. This has helped to smooth the transition and given them the best opportunity to settle in their new environment. Young people who have left the home have kept in touch with staff, letting them know how they are doing.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people thrive in the home because of the way they are cared for. Staff demonstrate a sound knowledge of young people's needs. They develop positive relationships with young people and value them as individuals. Consequently, young people learn to trust staff and they blossom. One social worker said, ‘staff have worked extremely hard with (name), helping him to work through issues which has really helped (name) to move on'. Young people themselves report that they like living in the home that they get on with staff and can talk to them.

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Quality of care

The manager and staff develop very detailed individual care plans for young people that are drawn from the local authority's plans. These address all aspects of young people's care and welfare needs, including those that arise specifically from their culture and religion. Plans are monitored closely in order to ensure that they reflect young people's progress and remain relevant to their emerging needs. Young people are supported to understand and contribute to their plans and reviews so that they are involved in all the decisions that are made about their care. Professionals report that staff are very successful in supporting young people to learn to behave in socially acceptable ways. Staff help young people to understand how to manage frustrations and conflict in their own lives. As a result, young people's behaviour improves over time and generally they behave well towards one another and staff.

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Quality of care

Staff have established very effective links with other agencies, such as nurses from the learning disability team, social workers, child and adolescent psychology services and education staff. This partnership working ensures that young people experience consistency and have access to all the services they need to support their progress.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from living in a safe and very well maintained home. They are encouraged to personalise their rooms to reflect their interests and to learn how to keep them clean and tidy. This helps them to take a pride in their environment and contributes to the development of their independence skills. Staff make sure that all repairs are attended to promptly so that the home is maintained to a high standard. The home is suitably located in a residential area and relationships with neighbours are positive. This helps young people to feel accepted and safe in their community.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are extremely effective arrangements in place for ensuring the safety of young people. Professionals are very confident that young people are cared for safely, making comments such as 'young people are very, very safe'. Young people themselves say that they are safe and they were observed to be happy and relaxed with staff. They understand how to complain and are supported by staff to make their views known. This helps to give them confidence that they are listened to.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are trained in safeguarding and safe care. Robust procedures guide staff practice in these areas. Staff have a very good knowledge of individual young people's vulnerabilities and they are sensitive to young people's right to privacy. This contributes to young people's sense of safety and security in the home. Staff put in place very clear and detailed risk assessments for young people. These record how potential risk is minimised in order to protect young people, while allowing them to learn and grow as individuals. All risk assessments are regularly reviewed which ensures that they remain relevant to young people's needs and continue to protect them.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people do not engage in risk taking behaviour. Staff ensure that young people are appropriately supervised and therefore, although they are able to leave the home, they do not do so without the knowledge of staff. Consequently, they do not go missing. Young people are not involved in any anti-social behaviour. This contributes to their safety in the home and community. Young people, staff and professionals confirm that there is no bullying. Young people generally get on well with one another. Appropriate monitoring enables staff to address any issues that may arise between young people in order to lessen the likelihood of bullying developing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are trained to respond positively to challenging behaviour and this is managed appropriately. Physical intervention is only ever used as a last resort and at the lowest level needed to keep young people and staff safe. There have been only three incidents that have led to any type of physical restraint in the eight months since the last inspection. Staff have supported young people to reflect on these incidents in order to help them to learn from them. Professionals report that the way staff work with young people has been very effective in helping young people to manage their own behaviour more appropriately. One social worker said '(name) is much calmer and as a result is more predictable. This has helped his overall development'.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff recruitment practices ensure that all new staff are thoroughly vetted. This protects young people from unsuitable individuals gaining access to the home. The home itself is kept safe. This is achieved through a robust system of health and safety risk assessments and checks on the environment and on equipment. Young people take part in regular evacuation drills. This helps them to learn how to leave the building safely if there is an emergency.

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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 home is managed effectively. The manager is appropriately qualified in care and is completing a management qualification. She is very experienced in working with young people in a residential setting and provides good leadership to staff. She keeps up to date with changes in legislation and ensures that this information is shared with staff to maintain their knowledge.

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Leadership and management

There are sufficient staff working in the home to ensure that young people are well cared for and kept safe. There is a small permanent team working in the home. Staff from other homes in the organisation also work in this home, but their pattern of work is not always regular, leading to a number of different staff working at the home at different times. This does not provide sufficient continuity for young people, although over time, young people do get to know all the staff who work with them. The manager confirmed that recruitment within the organisation is on going to ensure that vacancies are filled.

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Leadership and management

Staff report that they have regular supervision and feel well supported in their work with young people. They confirm that they have a good induction to the home and that training opportunities in the organisation are also good. This enables them to develop and maintain their knowledge and skills.

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Leadership and management

The manager regularly monitors the quality of care and the progress young people make. As required by the Regulations, she provides reports to Ofsted of this monitoring. However, the reports do not evidence the consultation that has taken place with young people, their families and professionals, nor how this is used to improve practice in the home. A manager who is independent of the home visits every month and also undertakes checks on care and the progress of young people. The visitor prepares a report of their findings. These reports have not all been received by Ofsted as required by the regulations. These shortfalls have not had any adverse effect on the welfare of young people as there is evidence that checks are being made.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose contains generally clear information about how the home works and how young people are cared for, although it is not up to date in relation to staffing details. Young people are given a guide to the service that is written in a format that is appropriate to their needs and understanding.

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Leadership and management

There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection. However, the home has a good track record of responding promptly to issues that have been identified during inspections or through management monitoring. This demonstrates a commitment to improving the service that is given to young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people's records are well managed. They are kept up to date and stored safely to protect their right to confidentiality. Young people are helped to read and understand the information that is held about them and to add their comments. Records contribute to their understanding of their history and their time in the placement and ensure that their views are reflected.

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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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