Children's Home run by Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC378187 Inspection date 05/12/2013 Inspector David Morgan Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 20/12/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for two young people of either gender with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and is adjacent to the organisation's other home.

p.3

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

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

At the last full inspection the service was judged to be adequate and at the latest interim inspection in December 2012 good progress was being made. One recommendation was made to improve the policy for self-medication, which has been addressed to improve the independence of young people. Since then a wide range of other improvements have also been made and the service is judged to be good overall.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

It is commendable that the manager achieves on-going improvements and that the resources are provided to ensure she is well supported. The manager is aware that sustaining such improvements has been a challenge in the past and consolidation at a good level is now underway. Of particular benefit to young people is the high level of staff continuity and the strong relationships that ensue. Young people are extremely positive about the home, as are external professionals. Staff are also effective in reducing substantially the risk-taking behaviours demonstrated by new young people. High standards of safety and safeguarding are applied and the team is up-to-date with professional developments. The progress that young people make is evident.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

This inspection makes two recommendations. Firstly, to ensure that the progress of both the service and young people is more accurately planned and implemented, and, secondly, to ensure that consultation exercises about the quality of the service are effective.

p.3

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.4

Recommendations

 implement effective procedures for monitoring the activities of the home. This is with regard to the consultation exercises with external stakeholders being used as designed to identify areas for improvement (NMS 21.1)  ensure each child's placement plan is monitored by a key worker who ensures that the requirements of the plan are implemented in the day-to-day care of that child. This is with regard to those requirements being measurable, attainable and addressed in a timely way. (NMS 25.2)

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are good. New young people are often of an age where they are already semi-independent and their degree of cooperation is low. They frequently have firmly established social and community ties, many of which they maintain. Nevertheless, within short periods of time they achieve lasting trust in their carers, which is often in sharp contrast to their previous experiences. As a result of this, young people confidently make successful and safe transitions to the adult scenarios they choose. External professionals note that young people are quickly able to demonstrate higher levels of engagement than previously. One remarked that her young person was altogether happier than in previous placements. A young person said, ‘It’s alright here; it’s because of the staff that I’ve settled in.’

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are engaged in formal educational or training opportunities. However, because of the late stage at which many of them arrive at the home modest but realistic targets are set. Against the low levels of existing attainment they make clear progress, for example, with their involvement with professional organisations; with accepting their need to attain at least basic academic skills, and in taking responsibility for achieving these. They are also able to concentrate for substantially longer periods. At the same time, they are involved in fewer anti-social activities and become more socially integrated. This provides them with many long-term skills.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Health related issues, such as taking drugs and smoking are minimal. Young people understand how to look after their own health. They are actively engaged in planning their own care, as is evident in the high number of records they countersign.

p.4

Quality of care

There is a high level of continuity amongst staff and they have established a strong reputation amongst other professionals. The team provides a good quality of service to young people as a result of effective networking and communication. Similarly there is an excellent system for routinely obtaining the views of young people and other people about staff. Improvements are made accordingly. As a result, there are very few complaints and many positive comments.

p.4

Quality of care

Staff members proactively establish good working relationships with the families and friends of young people. Young people appreciate this awareness of their personal circumstances and gradually increase their cooperation accordingly. One professional said, ‘They are doing as much as anyone could.’ The views of young people themselves are obtained in a variety of ways. Formal opportunities exist for them during the recruitment of new staff and in residents meetings. Also, the small size of the home means that their individual needs and views have a direct bearing on daily activities.

p.5

Quality of care

Placement plans are very thorough and are kept up to date. These clearly identify each young person’s individual needs. However, the targets are not as specific or as measurable as necessary for maximum consistency of practice on a day-to-day basis. The success of the care provided is due in part to the careful consideration of new referrals. The additional complexities arising from the adjacent children’s home are fully considered so that admissions are as well-matched as possible.

p.5

Quality of care

Children benefit from a well-presented, modern property which allows easy access to local amenities and transport routes. Their own bedrooms are personalised and all areas are clean and tidy. Steps are underway to improve the front of the property so there is more car parking space.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

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

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

High standards of safety and safeguarding are maintained. As a result, young people are rarely subject to physical interventions and the incidence of them going missing falls substantially after their admissions. Staff work particularly hard to ensure that young people go missing as little as possible. This means they are more engaged with the positive opportunities provided by staff. Improvements have been made to the way that young people’s progress is monitored. This is highlighted particularly well through risk assessments and associated graphs. This means that staff can identify the causes of young people’s negative behaviours and plan activities so that previous difficulties are avoided. One young person said, ‘I’ve got better – I don’t react as much or damage things as often. It’s because of the staff.’

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from behaviour management techniques that are adapted to their individual needs in consultation with other professionals, such as the police. Young people appreciate this considered approach and know that staff respect them and are concerned for their welfare. This feeling is compounded by the knowledge that young people are actively engaged in the thorough recruitment processes applied to new staff. They also appreciate the improved attention to reparation in which the consequences applied to negative behaviour are linked more fairly to the misdemeanour. Improvements have also been made to the training and on-going support of staff by changing the behaviour management trainer. As a result there is a thorough understanding of behaviour and how to avoid escalations.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe in their home. High levels of safety are in place, for example, regarding fire safety measures. Fire drills ensure that staff and young people understand how to react to a range of emergencies and that they are not complacent. Their safety is also assured by close attention to safeguarding procedures, including whistleblowing.

p.6

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

p.6

Leadership and management

Although the organisation is small there is substantial investment in external specialists, for example, to supervise the manager; to oversee staffing issues, and to undertake monitoring visits. As a result, the manager is up-to-date with developments in the sector and integrates them into the service, as indicated in this report. Equally, the manager and staff benefit from on-going training and the manager has recently completing a leadership and management course. Improvements have also been made in line with an appropriate development plan and monitoring systems, for example, with regard to more accurate record keeping. Since the last inspection, the medicine administration policy has been fully reviewed. The attention to self-administration has been improved so that young people’s independence in this area is increased.

p.6

Leadership and management

Consultation occurs regularly with stakeholders in other professions and also with young people and their parents, where appropriate. The outcomes are carefully recorded and identify the positive work completed with young people. However, the discussions are primarily about childcare issues and are not always used to obtain information about the quality of the service more generally. This means that the development of the service is less advanced than possible.

p.6

Leadership and management

The staff team is well managed between the two homes; staff are assigned according to the fluctuating needs of the young people. Further flexibility is facilitated by the use of bank staff and no agency staff are used. As a result, young people feel very positive about the staff team. The staff team is well motivated and members consider that the organisation is extremely supportive. Their supervision meetings are managed well, thoroughly recorded, and ensure that staff perform within the service’s policies and procedures. Improvements have been made to ensure that under-performance is addressed quickly and fairly.

p.6

Leadership and management

Since opening, the service has not benefitted from sustained improvement: overall inspection judgements have risen and fallen in a cyclical manner. This inspection identifies that improvements have been substantial in a variety of areas since the last inspection so that young people now benefit from a good level of provision.

p.6

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.

p.8

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.

p.8