Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Unique reference number SC066277 Inspection date 14/01/2014 Inspector Jennie Christopher Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 26/06/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The setting is owned and operated jointly by a local authority children's services department and a National Health Service Foundation Trust. This service offers short breaks for up to nine children and young people who have learning disabilities that may include sensory and physical disabilities, complex health needs or challenging behaviour.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress .

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Progress

At the last full inspection in June 2013, the overall quality rating for the service was judged as good with one requirement and two recommendations made. The service demonstrates improvements in all areas identified as shortfalls at the previous inspection in addition to developing others areas of the service. A particular strength of the service is the nurturing and enthusiastic staff team who are focused on providing enjoyable and rewarding short breaks for all young people.

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Progress

The requirement set at the last inspection was to ensure during the recruitment process, all applicants provide a full employment history, including an explanation of any gaps. This has been met effectively. Although there have been no new appointments since the last inspection, the interview format now contains a prompt to interviewers to gather extra information as required. The recommendation set to make the sanctions and restraints book tamper proof has been actioned. All pages in the bound book have been numbered to identify if any records are missing. The final shortfall noted regarded the need to include complete cultural identity information in care plans. This has yet to be completed due to the number of young people who access the service. However where this has been undertaken, the quality of information exceeds expectations. Examples include information on the country, village and culture where one young person’s family originate from and how young

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Progress

people celebrate special events, including whether they enjoy the group singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them. Parents are actively involved in this process by providing information such as friends and family members the young person might mention and other languages they understand or speak. As a result, staff have an even greater understanding of the young person and the culture within their family.

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Progress

Young people continue to receive extremely well planned care from a highly caring and competent staff team. Young people have a positive view of their care saying they ‘like’ staying at the service. Observed interactions are excellent and suggest relationships with staff are good and that young people feel safe. Staff have a clear understanding of individual young peoples’ needs and effectively support transitions from school. Staff actively engage in activities with young people ensuring their stays are purposeful and enjoyable. Staff have clear and consistent boundaries, which enable young people to positively manage behaviour if they are excited or distressed. Communication is excellent and staff understand individual young people’s communication styles. Staff endeavour for all young people to have as much choice during their stay as possible. The high staffing ratio ensures young people benefit

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Progress

from the support and attention they require while keeping them safe. The culture within the service increasingly celebrates individuality and diversity resulting in young people benefitting from quality care and support based on their individualised needs.

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Progress

Since the last inspection, consultation has begun with young people to choose colour schemes for bedrooms. All have used coloured boards to choose their favourite colours and redecoration is currently underway. Corridors have been decorated with young people’s choice of characters and murals. These include characters to support behaviour such as the ‘calm turtle’ who stops, breathes and thinks before acting. As a result the environment has a much more child friendly and welcoming feel. Currently there is extensive planning for forthcoming changes to staffing levels through maternity leave. The manager is working closely with both the health and social care funding teams to address the anticipated shortfall, with minimum disruption for young people.

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Progress

Reports of independent monitoring visits continue to be evaluative and the manager actions all recommendations as a result of these. Quarterly monitoring by managers demonstrate an excellent level of consultation with young people, parents and other significant people, alongside planning for the future of the service.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  ensure young people receive individualised care which promotes their individual culture and identity (NMS 2.1)  ensure all significant events are notified by the registered person to the appropriate authorities (NMS 24)

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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