Children's Home run by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council in Blackburn with Darwen

Unique reference number SC360599 Inspection date 24/12/2013 Inspector Helen Walker Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 21/03/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This is a children's home owned and run by a local authority. The home provides short break accommodation for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Brief description of the service

The home can accommodate up to four children and currently provides a service to approximately 43 children and their families. The Adolescent Support unit has two main functions. The first is to provide short and long-term intensive community- based support. The second is to provide short break care from Friday evenings to Tuesday mornings only.

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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

Young people receive an outstanding level of care that is tailored to meet their individual needs. They are kept safe and are very well supported by a committed and motivated staff team. The service itself is exceptionally versatile and resourceful for the benefit of young people and their families. As a result the service is a great success and supports many young people to remain cared for by their families.

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Overall effectiveness

The unit is warm and welcoming and has an experienced, dedicated and stable staff team who provide consistent care to young people. Young people said they thoroughly enjoy their involvement and overnight stays at the unit. Staff encourage young people to participate in a wide range of interests and hobbies. Through these activities they build very positive relationships with staff enabling their confidence and self-esteem to flourish.

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Overall effectiveness

Parents and professionals involved with the service are immensely positive about their contact with the unit. A parent said 'without the intensive support my child was at risk of being in care.' A social worker said 'staff are always there for young people and their families, they are really approachable.' Staff positively promote young people's health and education needs through regular contact with many related agencies.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager provides very effective leadership and management of the unit. Comprehensive monitoring systems and a cohesive management team help to drive continuous improvement. This supports staff to maintain excellent outcomes for young people. No requirements or recommendations have been made at 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 and their families receive a unique service from the unit. They are able to access short periods of care at the unit at times of family crisis. In addition to this service, the staff provide outreach work to both young people and their families. Young people benefit considerably from their stay at the unit which assists them to maintain positive relationships with their family. A social worker said 'I don't know how they (child) would have got through some of the toughest times they had to deal with, they gave the child somewhere to stay and gave them the confidence to believe in themselves and achieve going to college.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff work effectively to fulfil the aims of the service and address issues relating to family breakdown. This means a significant success rate in that young people have remained with their family rather than long term care. A parent said 'the unit took on intense work and they have been brilliant, absolutely fabulous.' A young person said 'I love everything about the house, the staff listen and it's not that I have to listen to others, they make time for me. The house is inspirational.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's parents or main carers retain overall responsibility for their child's health care needs and education. As part of the home's remit the staff positively promote young people to lead a healthy lifestyle and attend education. A substantial number of health promotion agencies provide excellent support, advice and guidance to young people. This includes information relating to healthy eating, substance misuse and sexual health and relationships.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are cared for by staff who are dedicated to ensuring young people attend school regularly. Staff clearly value young people's education for their future and life development. Young people are confident that staff have their best interests at heart and look forward to their stay at the unit. A young person said the unit is 'my favourite place to come because there are people here that I know. It is a safe place to come to stay when you feel upset, they will work out your problems and try to sort them for you.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

An extensive range of innovative opportunities are afforded to the young people at the home. They talk with great enthusiasm about the activities they undertake both in the home and the wider community. This includes cooking, baking and craft time in the home. Young people with more specific interests and hobbies are supported to participate in things such as overnight fishing and the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people learn excellent skills in relation to leaving care. Staff are methodical and consistent to help young people develop independence and social skills. They gain self confidence in a range of practical skills whilst at the unit. At the inspection young people helped to make the evening meal, set the dining table and clear away afterwards.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people are cared for by a consistent, experienced and dedicated staff team. Staff are extremely caring and committed to improve outcomes for young people. Young people talk enthusiastically about their very positive relationships with staff and said they look forward to staying at the unit. Social workers and parents enthuse about the high level of care provided at the home and comment on the difference the service makes to keeping families together.

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Quality of care

Staff ensure young people's needs are carefully assessed so that an appropriate intervention programme is in place. An individual placement plan means young people have highly individualised care and support tailored to meet their needs. For example, young people's cultural and dietary needs are established and met. This includes the provision of specific meals for some young people. There are considerable opportunities for young people to have their say about how they are cared for and how the unit is run. This is obtained through regular consultation and includes informal chats, one-to-one meetings and house meetings. Young people consider they are listened to and talk of choosing the bedroom they wish to sleep in, activities and menus.

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Quality of care

Social workers and parents comment on the flexibility of the service and said the support is available to young people and their families when they need it most. Young people said they know how to make a complaint and have people to talk to if they are unhappy or feel concerned about issues of concern.

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Quality of care

Young people comment that there are lots of things for them to do at the unit and they can choose to participate in many different activities. For example, visits to the cinema, bowling or just quiet time at the unit. A young person commented about how much they like staying at the unit as it means they can have a break from busy family life at home. A number of staff members have particular interests in a range of sporting activities such as football, rock climbing, fishing and swimming. Staff encourage young people to participate in these sports. Staffs enthusiasm to promote interests and activities is commendable and significantly benefits the young people.

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Quality of care

The unit is spacious, very homely, welcoming and comfortably furnished. Recent refurbishment and decoration of some of the rooms has been undertaken. A young person said 'It's really, really nice, the house is beautiful, I have chosen the red bedroom, it's wonderful - it's so homely and everything is nice, I'm 'inspired' by the decoration.' Additionally, the unit is well maintained and domestic staff ensure housekeeping is to a very high standard.

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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 said they feel safe and very well cared for at the unit. Parents and social workers concur with this view. Staff have a comprehensive understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities and are confident in the action to take should a safeguarding situation arise. Staff support young people's involvement in a wide range of dynamic and informative groups. These are creative and specifically designed to promote their safety and awareness relating to risk taking behaviours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff follow detailed and thorough risk assessments and placement plans to help them manage young people's behaviour positively. Young people really enjoy their time at the unit and fully accept that positive behaviour and good manners are a routine part of their stay. Various professionals working with the unit comment on staff's effective partnership working with them to safeguard young people. A professional commented 'I have no doubt that staff are safeguarding the children's welfare at the unit and are able to demonstrate this through outcomes.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

Bullying is not an issue at the unit. Young people said staff take account of the different young people using the unit to ensure they are comfortable in the company of others who stay there. Young people choose not to go missing from the unit and look forward to their stay. However, staff fully understand their duties and responsibilities in the event of a young person going missing from the unit.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff show considerable respect to young people and this is reciprocated. They consider staff are very fair with them. Positive social behaviour is encouraged through effective negotiation and with confidence. This helps to create a calm and settled environment at the unit. Staff are trained and practice a 'restorative justice' approach. This is successful and means physical intervention and sanctions are very rarely used.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Robust health and safety procedures enable staff to maintain a safe and secure home environment for young people to live comfortably.

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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

The manager provides very effective leadership and exceptional management of the unit. The manager is also manager of another children's home run by this provider. She has a wide range of duties in addition to her manager role at this home. To support her in her work and maintain high quality care there is a confident and competent deputy manager at the unit. There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection.

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Leadership and management

The staff team show a passion and energy for their work and this is evident in their interaction with young people. The team have worked together for a number of years and all have a relevant childcare qualification. This helps them to provide consistent and informed care to the young people.

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Leadership and management

All staff are committed and motivated to continue to improve their skills and knowledge to assist them in their work at the unit. Staff undertake a range of training specific to their work with young people. Additionally, they have qualifications such as walking group leader, climbing and outdoor activities leader trainer. This enables young people to readily participate in activities overseen by qualified staff.

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Leadership and management

The staff team spoke highly of team morale and their considerable support from management to enable them to work together for the benefit of the young people. Through meticulous planning, the staff engage young people, identify their individual needs and provide an occasional stay at the unit. This strategy is highly successful and enables the majority of young people to remain cared for by their family. A parent said 'It's an absolute lifeline, it's held our family together, it's been brilliant.' A young person said 'the best thing about the unit is the staff.'

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Leadership and management

Social workers are delighted with the work of the unit and praise staff for their professionalism and dynamic work with the young people and their families. A social worker said the level of communication from the unit is 'brilliant, absolutely fabulous, really approachable.' They also said that 'without their intensive support then the young person would be in care.' This is testament to the work undertaken by staff to enable young to remain cared for by their family.

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Leadership and management

The manager is proactive to establish the unit's strengths and areas for development. This is obtained through various means including the views of young people, their families, social workers and other professionals connected with the home. This means that opportunities to improve the quality of care and outcomes for young people are recognised and implemented.

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Leadership and management

A comprehensive range of monitoring and consultation systems help to ensure that young people continue to receive an outstanding level of care. At the time of the inspection the inspector observed staff supporting young people to engage and contribute to their file records. This was done in a very meaningful yet relaxed way which young people said they liked. Records are maintained in extremely good order and provide a history of young people's time spent at the unit.

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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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