Children's Home run by The Beeches UK limited in Peterborough

Unique reference number SC466786 Inspection date 04/02/2014 Inspector Clive Lucas Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 02/09/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

The home is operated by a private company and is registered to accommodate up to three young people aged from 10 to 18 years with learning difficulties, and emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 good .

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Overall effectiveness

This is the first inspection of this service since it was registered. Overall the service provides good services for young people. Outcomes for young people living at the home are particularly strong. There is a registered manager for the home, who also manages another home for the same organisation and splits their time between both homes.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make outstanding progress while they are living at the home. This includes progress in their educational attendance, health, social development and self confidence. Staff provide very effective support for young people to help them make such progress. Young people are also given a great deal of support to help them when they move into the home. This helps make the move less stressful. Staff are proactive in finding the information they need to support young people in their religious beliefs. Consequently, young people are able to observe and follow their religious and cultural beliefs as they choose to. Young people's views are listened to and have an impact on their plans. They are able to take age-appropriate risks in a planned way that provides safeguards for them.

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Overall effectiveness

There have not been any restraints, sanctions, complaints or instances of young people being missing from care since the home opened. Staff are trained to help them encourage and maintain good behaviour. There is a system in place to ensure that recruitment checks are done, including taking up of references. However, these references are not always verified by telephone. This limits the effectiveness of the recruitment system to some degree. Staff are positive about the support they receive and say that managers are always available, not all staff are receiving appropriate formal supervision.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager has a good awareness of the home and the young people living there. There are processes in place to help ensure that young people live in a physically safe environment. These include equipment tests and risk assessments, but not all areas are covered in written risk assessments, so the system is not as robust as it could be.

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Overall effectiveness

Social workers and parents say that young people are safe and well cared for in the home. Staff have good and appropriate relationships with young people. There is good communication with social workers and parents to help ensure effective and consistent care of young people.

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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 all persons employed in the home receive appropriate supervision (Regulation 27(4)(a)) 13/03/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that a written record is kept of the administration of any medicine to any child. (Regulation 21(2)(c)) 13/03/2014

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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 that telephone enquiries are made as well as obtaining written references for new staff. (NMS 16.1)  ensure that risk assessments of the whole children’s home environment are carried out, to identify any potential sources of harm to the children are recorded in writing and regularly reviewed. (NMS 10.8)

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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

Although the home has only been operating for three months, there is evidence that young people make exceptional progress while at the home. This includes their attendance at and commitment to education. Social workers describe the progress in education as huge. Even young people who have been out of education for considerable periods start to attend the organisation's school. They attend very regularly and show enthusiasm for their education. The school is on a different site, so young people get used to getting up and preparing for school, then travelling to it. This has significant benefits as it helps young people to develop routines which will help them when they move to other schools or colleges, or when they start work. Overall, this gives young people much better opportunities to succeed in their education and also to gain social opportunities such as forming positive relationships with school friends.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop considerably in their social skills. They have beneficial and realistic opportunities to take a much more active part in social and community- based activities. They have a range of enjoyable experiences that were not previously available to them. This in turn helps them to develop more confidence and a more positive self-view. Social workers say that young people do 'remarkably well' in the home. They also say that they are 'amazed at the transformation' in young people. Young people develop beneficial relationships with their peers in the home. They have effective opportunities to learn about their peers' backgrounds, cultures and beliefs which not only helps them in exploring their own self-view but also in developing their understanding of other cultures in a positive and enhancing way.

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Outcomes for children and young people

While living at the home, young people gain a clear understanding of a range of health issues, including some very significant ones. They are able to understand and consider the benefits or costs of taking or failing to take particular courses of action. This allows them to take increased responsibility for their own health. As they understand and come to terms with health issues and experience different and rewarding social opportunities, young people become very much more confident. In turn this allows them to take chances and develop further. Young people are confident and comfortable in the home, they describe staff and the home as fantastic. They are supported to prepare for moving into the home. Social workers and parents speak positively of this support. One described it as 'above and beyond'.

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Quality of care

Staff have very good relationships with young people in the home. They also have a good awareness of the young people as individuals. This allows them to use effective individualised strategies to help young people to manage their behaviour. The organisation has another home and some staff from there have moved to work in this home, others work across both homes. Consequently, there is a balance of new staff and experienced staff. As a result young people are cared for by people who have appropriate skills and experience, even though this home has only been operating for a few months.

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Quality of care

Young people's views are taken into account in developing their plans and the way that they are looked after in the home. Parents' comments about consultation with young people are positive. They say that young people feel they are heard and have options. Written plans based on young people's views, are used to ensure that staff are clear and consistent in how they work with young people. There are regular resident's meetings that are used to share information with young people and prompt discussions, as well as gather young people's views. When young people feel listened to, they are less likely to show challenging behaviour and more likely to develop their self-esteem as they realise that their views are important.

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Quality of care

Staff offer young people their prescribed medicines in line with the prescriptions and homely medicines as required. The practice is sound, but records do not always provide full information. For example if a young person refuses prescribed medicine this is not always clear. While young people are given their medicines appropriately, monitoring this is made more difficult by the records. Young people are given good support to understand issues relating to their cultures and religions, as well as to follow them. Staff find out about issues that relate to religion, such as diet and dress and ensure that young people can practice their religion through these areas. Staff discuss with young people, matters of culture and help young people to consider and develop their own views of this. This provides good support for young people in developing their self-view.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Care plans and risk assessments clearly set out potential risks to young people and how they can be minimised. Staff are well aware of the vulnerabilities of individual young people, which helps them to provide safe care. However, young people are helped to take age-appropriate risks as they develop their independence. Staff use written plans to identify how independence will be promoted in a way that provides safeguards. This was commented upon positively by parents. It helps young people to learn about the importance of safety and keeping themselves safe. There have not been any incidents of young people being missing from care since the home opened. Neither have their been any sanctions or restraints used or complaints made. The home has a copy of the joint protocol on young people missing from care and staff are well aware of how they should respond if a young person does go missing. Staff have also been trained in how to build rapport with young people and on managing

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Safeguarding children and young people

behaviour. This all helps to prepare staff to act positively to deal with issues of behaviour and risk when they need to.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are procedures in place for the recruitment of staff to help ensure that unsuitable adults do not work with young people. For the most part these procedures are appropriately implemented. Written references are sought, but records are not always kept of the verification of these references. Verification of references is important in order to ensure that the written information provide is full and accurate in informing decisions about employment.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Parents and social workers say that they feel that young people are safe in the home. Initial concerns about risk taking behaviours by young people have not been substantiated during their time in the home. However, staff are aware of the potential for these behaviours and alert to the need to address them if they occur. The staffing levels allow for good supervision of young people to help keep them safe.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager also manages another children's home nearby. She splits her time between both homes, staff say that she is always readily available if they need to contact her. A deputy manager who also has responsibility over both homes has recently been appointed and there is a senior team leader in this home. The Registered Manager has a good awareness of the young people in the home, their needs and plans. She is also aware of legislative issues, including both recent and planned changes to legislation.

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Leadership and management

There is external monitoring to assess and report on the conduct of the home. However, the first visit did not take place until the home had been operating for seven weeks, but they are now happening monthly. Issues identified in the monitoring reports are addressed. The Registered Manager and staff have built good relationships with placing social workers, parents and health professionals in order to ensure effective communication and joint working to care for young people well. To date the number of other agencies they have had to work with have been limited.

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Leadership and management

Staff say that they receive good support form the Registered Manager and from their colleagues. They are formally supervised, but the frequency of this varies. One member of staff had not been supervised since the home began to operate. While staff can ask for support and consultation with managers or seniors if they need it, this relies on them identifying the need. Lack of regular supervision limits manager's and senior staff's ability to monitor the performance and practice of staff in caring for young people.

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Leadership and management

The home is well maintained. It is clean, warm and suitably decorated and furnished. Young people appear comfortable and 'at home' there. There are checks of fire and electrical systems to help ensure that young people can live in physically safe homes. This is supported by risk assessments, but these do not cover all areas. For example the Registered Manager is aware of a question about the safety of materials used in an outbuilding roof. She is aware of need to address this, but there is no recorded risk assessment to set out how the matter will be followed up, or what staff need to be aware of in the interim. While the systems to ensure the safety of the premises are mostly appropriate, this does limit them to a degree.

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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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