Children's Home run by Bay View Child Care Limited in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC416318 Inspection date 28/11/2013 Inspector Anne Bannister Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 16/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is registered to accommodate four young people with emotional and behavioural problems. It is operated by a private organisation. The home offers emergency, medium and long-term placements for young people.

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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 outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

Staff work with young people in a way that maximises their individual potential. Young people's care plans are highly individualised and these provide staff with a personalised account of how young people's needs will be met. Young people benefit from exceptionally warm and supportive relationships with the manager and staff team. This offers them a sense of security and belonging and enables them to make progress in all aspects of their development.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff frequently ‘go the extra mile' to ensure that young people are not disadvantaged because of their looked after status. Young people are safe and afforded a wide range of opportunities to develop personal, social and independence skills and to spend time pursuing activities that reflect individual interests.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff work in partnership with other agencies to ensure young people have access to the services they need. Significant progress is made in re-engaging young people in formal education programmes that they were not enjoying prior to admission. Young people's health needs are well met and specialist support is provided to meet young people's assessed needs.

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Overall effectiveness

The management team provide strong leadership and work hard to improve the quality of care and support young people receive. There is a strong emphasis on providing a very high standard of professionalism and childcare practice. Record keeping is of a very high standard. It clearly evidences the progress young people are making and sets them achievable targets which promote their self confidence and self-esteem. The management of this home is committed to continual improvement and undertakes effective monitoring that contributes to the development of this service. There are no shortfalls identified from this inspection.

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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 make significant progress and achieve excellent outcomes while living in this children's home. Strong relationships with staff enable young people to feel safe and secure in their placement. Effective key worker sessions, and access to additional services, support young people in being able to understand their backgrounds and find the confidence to talk about some of the difficulties they have experienced.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's health needs are effectively identified and services are provided to meet them. They are encouraged and supported to attend routine appointments with dentists, doctors and opticians, and where appropriate encouraged to take some responsibility for managing their own health needs. Young people’s health is closely monitored and record-keeping is good, enabling staff to inform medical professionals of health progress. Specialist health workers are involved where appropriate to promote good physical and emotional health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have unfaltering attendance at school or college. They are making exceptional achievements in their education taking into account both their attainment and their progress from their starting point at the time of their placement. The staff work in a determined manner to ensure that on admission appropriate placements are sourced quickly. As a result, young people are given clear expectations about the importance of education in presenting them with positive life choices in the future.

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Outcomes for children and young people

As a result of access to a wide range of experiences, young people make exceptional progress in developing their skills and confidence. They fully participate in a number of diverse activities of their own choosing, both within the home and the wider community.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people confirm that they are helped to keep in touch with people that are important to them and that they can have friends and family come to visit them. This is supported by staff who promote contact and facilitate visits very well. This is done safely and sensitively.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are well prepared for a successful transition to independence. They contribute to their own detailed independence plans and gain a wide range of skills through the routine running of the home. They are currently participating in a scheme being piloted by the National Care Advisory Service (NCAS) which is aiming to improve and maximise opportunities for young people by supporting them in training and education as they make the transition into independence and adulthood. Their attainments in all these areas are always celebrated, improving both their self-esteem and self-confidence.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people live in a nurturing and exceedingly caring environment. Relationships between young people and staff are genuinely warm and friendly. Staff have consistently high aspirations for all young people in the home and have an excellent understanding of their individual needs. This enables staff to provide the right support to ensure young people's individual needs are well met and they achieve positive outcomes in their lives.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy excellent relationships with staff and generally get on with each other. Staff are ambitious for young people and demonstrate warmth and pride when talking about young people's achievements. In turn, young people speak highly of this home and the support and guidance from the staff team. Social workers express good levels of satisfaction about the quality of care provided.

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Quality of care

Young people are cared for by staff who give their individual needs the highest priority. Care planning and staff's day-to-day practice recognise young people as individuals. Young people's needs are well documented in very detailed and well- personalised care plans. The manager regularly monitors and reviews these to ensure young people are making good progress.

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Quality of care

There is very effective communication between staff, young people and their parents, social workers and other professionals. The overall atmosphere and provision of care is rated as 'excellent' by many professionals working with young people. Several professionals describe very positively the progress the young people have achieved since going to live at the home. For example, one professional said that 'Staff promote sound multi-agency, holistic care that is well thought through and implemented. The emotional well- being of each child is paramount in everything they do'.

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Quality of care

Healthy lifestyles are promoted. All staff receive suitable training to support health and well-being and this maintains the high quality of care being provided. There are good collaborative links with many different health professionals and agencies. This allows very productive guidance and support to be provided when young people are most in need.

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Quality of care

The importance of young people gaining a good education to enhance their future life opportunities is constantly promoted. Continuous learning and development opportunities are presented. Young people are generally very enthusiastic about their education and have aspirations for their future. They are all engaged in very individually planned education programmes which fully promote their educational attainment. This is a tremendous achievement considering their starting point on admission. Each young person has a very detailed record of achievement which is recognised and celebrated by staff. Young people's views about the quality of care provided and the way that the home is run are routinely sought. Young people confirm that their views are sought and acted upon. Staff provide opportunities for daily discussions and frequent one-to-one key worker sessions. Quality assurance monitoring includes opportunities for young

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Quality of care

people to comment upon the quality of care at the home. Young people say that they are confident to complain and understand how to do so because staff talk about what to do in young people's meetings.

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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

Young people live in a safe environment where they are protected from harm, for example, all care staff are trained in safeguarding. This means they are able to recognise child protection issues and take decisive action to protect young people and make sure they get the support they need. Young people’s individual care plans clearly identify any risks they may face and outline strategies to ensure their welfare is protected. Staff ensure plans for young people’s safety are consistently put into practice and fully address young people’s needs.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Individual risk assessments advise of the likelihood of young people going missing from home. Young people rarely go missing from the home. If and when they do, the staff make all appropriate checks and contact agencies, such as the police, in line with agreed protocols. They are proactive in their attempts to maintain contact with young people who are absent. Staff effectively balance the need for protection with enabling young people to take reasonable risks as part of their growth and development.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Strategies are in place to encourage each young person to take responsibility for their behaviour. They are revised and amended if they are failing to promote positive changes in young people's behaviours. Staff are clear that physical intervention is very much a last resort and effectively use the positive relationships built up with young people to diffuse difficult situations. All staff receive regular and refresher training in positive handling techniques.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are skilled in using a range of de-escalation techniques which helps reduce the need for physical intervention. When young people are struggling, staff offer them support which helps them take control of their behaviours. Young people are encouraged to reflect on any negative behaviour and to take responsibility for the consequences of them. This approach results in sanctions rarely being imposed as young people are encouraged to resolve and manage their behaviour in a way that promotes positive relationships with their families, other young people and the wider community.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home provides young people with a safe place to live. Young people's safety is at the centre of the home’s practice. The home is kept free from potential hazards. Gas and electrical appliance checks are completed within the recommended timescales ensuring young people's physical safety is promoted. Fire fighting equipment is regularly serviced and fire drills are held frequently to make sure young people and staff know how to safely evacuate the building in the event of a fire.

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Safeguarding children and young people

High staffing ratios ensure young people receive the supervision and support they need to feel protected. Staff recruitment and vetting procedures are followed meticulously to ensure that staff are suitable and safe to work with young people.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

Young people live in a home that is very effectively and efficiently managed in the best interest of their needs. The home meets the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose, and young people, their families and social workers are clear about the services and support the home provides.

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Leadership and management

The home is managed and organised in a manner that delivers and maintains an outstanding level of care. The manager provides strong leadership and has the expertise, skills and knowledge to effectively manage this residential provision. Young people receive high quality care from a skilled staff team who are committed to achieving very good outcomes.

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Leadership and management

Young people's progress and achievements are reported to the local authority and families each month. This provides an opportunity to demonstrate the positive impact that living at this home has on young people. Young people are making excellent progress in many aspects of their lives, including family contact, educational attendance and achievement and health.

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Leadership and management

The skills within the staff team match young people’s needs exceptionally well. The numbers of staff on duty are sufficient to meet the needs of young people including supporting them in activities, visits and attending appointments. Staff are suitably qualified and receive high-quality training and supervision which develop their individual skills and knowledge relevant to the care of the young people.

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Leadership and management

The manager has detailed systems in place which monitor the service and review the quality of care provided to young people. Independent monitoring visits are also completed on behalf of the registered provider. The information gathered through these arrangements is used effectively to help plan further improvements to the service.

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Leadership and management

The home can demonstrate its capacity to improve, based on its excellent track record, performance and compliance with standards and regulations. The manager clearly understands the homes strengths and weaknesses. The home has a written development plan in place, which is used effectively to identify areas for potential development and continue to improve the quality of care provided to young people.

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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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