Children's Home run by Aspris New Education Services Limited in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC412971 Inspection date 16/01/2014 Inspector Gillian Walters Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides residential and respite care and accommodation for up to four young people with learning disabilities.

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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 on 6 June 2013 this home was judged as adequate There were seven requirements and two recommendations made to promote improvement in the service. These have all been suitably addressed and further developments have been implemented to improve the quality of the service provided.

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Progress

The home has a new permanent manager in post that has been registered with Ofsted. She is experienced in working with young people with autistic spectrum disorders and a range of complex needs. She is ambitious to improve the quality of care young people receive, enabling them to achieve good outcomes. One social worker recently commented of the home, ' Physical standards are always excellent. Staff are always dedicated and want to learn about the young person and how to support him.’

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Progress

The home has strengthened its safeguarding arrangements in a number of aspects ensuring young people remain safe and well protected within the home and when out enjoying their community with staff. The home's health and safety risk assessment has been updated and takes good account of all areas accessed by young people. There are also revised and updated risk assessments for all activities young people participate in. These provide valuable guidance to staff, ensuring that they are well informed and able to prioritise young people's safety when accessing their community.

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Progress

Improvements have been made in relation to the quality of recording when documenting occasions when physical intervention occurs. Records appropriately reflect events as they occur and demonstrate a level of management oversight that enables the manager to monitor the effectiveness of behaviour management within the home. The recording of complaints has also been improved, providing the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the concern raised and how this has been dealt with. This inspires confidence, particularly with placing authorities and young people's families, that any concerns are treated seriously and addressed appropriately.

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Progress

The home has implemented new protocols and procedures in relation to the safe handling and administration of medication. This provides for closer scrutiny of medication administration records and strengthens the arrangements for monitoring the administration of medication on a daily basis. It also introduces new arrangements for the continuous assessment of staff competency in managing medication within the home. These arrangement increase confidence that good and safe practice exists that promotes the health and well-being of young people.

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Progress

Young people are benefiting from recent improvements in the home's staffing arrangements. As well as a permanent Registered Manager, the home has recruited more permanent staff, significantly reducing the home's former reliance on bank and agency staff. This provides young people with greater consistency of care, promoting their sense of security. The home has made further changes to its lone working policy, minimising occasions when this occurs and strengthening arrangements for staff support on the rare occasions when it does happen. New arrangements reduce the potential vulnerability for both young people and staff in this situation.

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Progress

The manager has provided the home with greater structure and organisation. Supervision arrangements have been strengthened ensuring all new employees have more frequent supervision and support to enable them to learn and broaden their experience. Staff report morale to be good and say they feel well supported and guided in their roles. Young people's records are well organised and maintained. Care plans are appropriately signed and dated, ensuring that young people's records are comprehensive and complete. The manager has been proactive in ensuring that Ofsted is kept informed of relevant significant events that occur within the home. This meets with the legal requirement, assisting the regulator in monitoring the home's performance between inspections.

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Progress

The manager has developed good working partnerships with the provider's occupational, speech and language therapists. Together they have developed a new assessment tool to chart young people's individual developmental progress. This successfully informs care planning to ensure that young people's social development and independence is optimised. The home has developed its sensory and activity programmes, including the purchase of new equipment and furnishings, to enable young people to successfully combine play and learning and widen their experience of their environment.

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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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