Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire County Council in Derbyshire

Unique reference number SC051513 Inspection date 03/02/2014 Inspector Judith Longden Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/08/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is run by a local authority and provides care for four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties or 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 satisfactory progress .

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Progress

This home was judged as good at the last full inspection in August 2013. Since that time the home has generally maintained its quality of care and outcomes for young people. The home has addressed and met the one requirement made at the previous inspection and all significant events are notified to Ofsted as required. The home's incident reports have been updated to provide prompts for staff to consider the need for a notification. This means the regulator is able to review the welfare and safety of young people in a timely manner. One requirement and two recommendations are made as a result of this inspection and these relate to the recording of complaints, the admittance of young people to the home and the quality of the analysis within Regulation 34 reports.

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Progress

Young people know how to complain and are supported to make their views heard. The majority of complaints made since the last inspection have been resolved in house meetings with young people actively resolving their own issues and concerns. For example, a young person was complaining about the noise in the morning from staff knocking on bedroom doors to wake other young people up. The group discussed in the house meetings alternatives such as an alarm clock and a change in the morning routines. This has resolved the complaint and the outcome has been recorded. However, not all complaint records are detailed and some do not have the outcome recorded. This means young people are not always aware their complaint has been dealt with.

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Progress

The home has recently experienced several admissions and departures of young people and this has caused a period of disruption and unrest for young people and staff. There are tensions within the current group of young people and a recent incident has resulted in police intervention. The incident has been well managed by staff. However, staff say morale is low because they feel ill- equipped to deal with some of the presenting behaviours and complex emotional health needs of the current group of young people. This may result in young people's needs not being met. A recommendation is made to ensure the home considers the needs of the young person and the existing group before accepting new admissions to the home.

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Progress

The manager completes monthly monitoring of records in the home and undertakes reviews of the care provided and welfare of young people. However, the depth and quality of the review is inconsistent and as a result it does not always identify patterns and trends to enable change. A recommendation is therefore made.

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Progress

Young people continue to be involved in their care and in the running of the home. They participate in regular house meetings where they discuss plans, concerns and rules of the home. Ofsted reports and Regulation 33 reports from the provider are shared with the young people and they are consulted on ways to improve the performance of the home.

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Progress

Young people benefit from individual education packages that meet their needs. Staff continue to support education and as a result the achievements of young people are improving. Young people enjoy appropriate contact with family and friends which is facilitated by staff.

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Progress

A number of improvements are being made to the fabric of the home, this includes refurbishment of the bathroom facilities for young people. The manager has completed risk assessments for the building, use of tools and presence of workmen within the home. This ensures young people are safe.

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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 a written record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of the investigation. 17/03/2014 (Regulation 24(5))

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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 the children's home only provides admission to children whose assessed needs they can reasonably expect to meet (NMS 11.2)  ensure there is regular monitoring, in line with regulations, of all records kept by the home to ensure compliance with the homes policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. (NMS 21.2)

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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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