Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC039248 Inspection date 10/12/2013 Inspector Louise Redfern Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 20/02/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is registered to provide a service for six young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and is run by a local authority.

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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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

The home provides an adequate quality of care for young people. Individualised plans reflect young people’s diverse needs. These are successfully addressed, resulting in young people speaking positively about the home and being well prepared to move on from the home into independent living.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people express that they are happy and safe living at the home and that staff listen to their views. Safeguarding responsibilities are understood by staff and their actions keep young people safe. Parents feel that their children are well looked after and are safe at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager has a good understanding of young people's needs and the positive impact of staff intervention on young people's lives. The home meets the objectives of its Statement of Purpose but some shortfalls are identified, particularly in relation to recording and monitoring of medication by the staff team, recording and review of measures of control, fire doors being fit for purpose and all young people being engaged in education.

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Overall effectiveness

Requirements and recommendations are made to assist the provider to further drive forward improvement for the safety and benefit of young people. The provider took immediate steps to address some of the shortfalls identified at this inspection which demonstrates a capacity to quickly respond to concerns.

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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 the registered person provides a copy of the Statement of Purpose to the HMCI (Regulation 4 (2)) 10/01/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control in a children’s home, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose of which shall include the effectiveness and any consequence of the use of the measure and confirmation that the person authorised by the registered provider to make the record has spoken to the child concerned (Regulation 17B (f)(h)) 10/01/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the registered person makes suitable arrangements for the recording, handling, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of any medicines received into the children’s home (Regulation (21)(1)) 01/01/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the registered person complies with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in respect of ensuring fire doors are in good repair. (Regulation 32)(1A)(a)) 01/01/2014

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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 children are supported to attend school, college or alternative provision regularly (NMS 8.3)  ensure that a written or electronic record is kept by the home detailing the time and date and length of each supervision held for each staff member, including casual workers and the record is signed by the supervisor and the member of staff at the end of the supervision. (NMS 19.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported to gain an understanding of their lives. Young people are encouraged to talk about their experiences and plan for their futures. This helps them understand and be prepared for the challenges they face in their lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive consistent support and care from the staff team. As a result, they are forming and sustaining positive attachments with staff and make progress in developing emotional resilience. One parent commented, ‘The staff are really getting to know my son, I feel they are trying to get to know him and work with him. If he can’t be at home this is the next best thing.’ Young people actively participate in day- to-day decision making about their care, through daily discussions, individual work with staff and young people’s meetings.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are provided with the emotional and practical support they need to maintain contact with their family, friends and other people who are important to them. All contact is risk assessed and staff work closely with families and professionals. This ensures contact is well planned, safe and a positive experience for young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s physical and emotional health is good. They receive support from relevant health professionals and staff to understand the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. They benefit from attending routine health appointments to maintain their general health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Since the last inspection young people placed at the home achieved excellent outcomes in education. For example, one young person moved on from the home to take up a university course. However, currently young people are not engaged in education or post-16 employment or training. Despite staff’s actions to prepare young people for education daily, they continue to refuse to attend their placements or do not have an identified placement. This is significantly impacting on the educational outcomes for young people placed at the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop basic life skills such as keeping their bedrooms tidy or doing their own laundry as well as developing specific skills to prepare them for adulthood, such as cooking and budgeting. This means that they are better prepared when they move on to independent living.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy good relationships with each other and staff. Staff are consistently concerned with young people’s welfare. One young person commented, ‘It’s good here. The staff are all nice, it’s a relaxing environment. I know about my risk assessments and I see my paperwork, I have to sign loads of things.’ Young people interact positively with one another and report that there is no bullying in the home.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to make a complaint; they are provided with information about how to do this upon admission to the home and information is available around the home. There are good records of complaints made and their outcomes.

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Quality of care

Individual placement plans are sufficiently detailed and include individual needs relating to young people’s personal identity. Detailed care planning and proactive relationships with partner agencies contribute to the quality of care received by young people.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to enjoy healthy lifestyles planning balanced menus and occasionally engaging in positive activities such as going to the gym. However, most young people develop friendships in the local community and prefer to spend time with their friends.

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Quality of care

Young people have access to a range of health promotion information in the home and access support from other agencies, such sexual health professionals and drug and alcohol project workers. They benefit from attending all regular health appointments. However, shortfalls are identified in the monitoring and recording of medication administered in the home although this has not directly impacted on young people. However, there is significant potential for harm if this is not addressed by the manager.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a home that is clean and adequately maintained. Communal areas continue to be well used and are respected by young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people's safety and welfare is prioritised by staff who are suitably trained. This helps staff to understand young people’s vulnerabilities and protect them. Young people report that they feel safe in the home and that staff encourage them to be safe in the community. Parents and professionals are of the opinion that young people are safely cared for at the home. One parent commented, ‘I feel happy that my child is kept safe here, the staff explain the risk assessments so we all can understand it.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Some young people continue go missing from the home, despite on-going work by the staff team to try to reduce these episodes. There are clear safeguarding procedures in place. As a result, staff are clear how to respond to such incidents and work proactively to support young people in returning quickly and safely. The manager ensures strategy meetings take place to identify and manage associated risks.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are encouraged to behave positively. When they do engage in negative behaviour, measures of control are imposed. However, young people’s views are rarely recorded. This means they do not have the opportunity to reflect on their own behaviour. Also, the manager does not routinely comment on the effectiveness of the imposed measures of control in order to evaluate if the consequence remains appropriate. Staff are all trained in behaviour management and physical restraint techniques and consistently apply these in practice. As a result, physical restraint is rarely used.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected from unsuitable adults who may cause them harm in the home. This is because robust recruitment procedures and checks on visitors are rigorously followed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety checks, including the maintenance of gas and electric appliances reduce risk to young people’s safety. Regular fire checks ensure that young people can be safely evacuated in the event of a fire. However, two fire doors in the home are not fit for purpose and, in the event of a fire would offer limited protection, significantly impacting on the safety of young people and staff in the building.

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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

A manager is in post and a completed application to register has been received by Ofsted. The process to register the manager is currently at an advanced stage. The staff team say they are well supported by the management team in the home.

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Leadership and management

The staff team benefit from a comprehensive training package and are either appropriately qualified or enrolled on the necessary course and working towards achieving a qualification. Staff attend regular team meetings and say these are supportive and productive to the development of the home. Staff report that they receive supervision regularly. However, records are not available for all staff working in the home.

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Leadership and management

The home meets the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose, which is regularly reviewed. However, the updated Statement has not yet been received by the HMCI. Parents and professionals speak positively of the home. An independent reviewing officer noted, ‘The staff team build effective relationships with young people. I also have a good working relationship with the home manager.’

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Leadership and management

The young person’s guide accurately represents the specific service of the home. However, there is a minor shortfall in the young people’s guide because it does not detail the Children’s Rights Director. There is no current impact on the young people, as the guide currently holds the details of the local Children’s Rights Agency.

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Leadership and management

The manager has implemented a development plan and regularly monitors the quality of care in the home. Young people, placing authorities and parents do have the opportunity to contribute to this monitoring, which helps drive the improvement in the quality of care.

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Leadership and management

Records held at the home are stored securely and contribute to the experiences young people have at the home. The manager notifies the appropriate authorities and takes the appropriate action in relation to significant events. At the last inspection no requirements or recommendations were raised.

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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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