Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Milton Keynes

Unique reference number SC414738 Inspection date 20/02/2014 Inspector Bridget Goddard Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 15/10/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This privately owned home accommodates up to four young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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

This home had its full inspection in October 2013. It received good overall, and one requirement and one recommendation were made at that inspection. The home has met both the requirement and the recommendation and has made good progress.

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Progress

The requirement concerned updating the Statement of Purpose and sending it to Ofsted. This has been successfully completed. The recommendation raised was to ensure that items raised at resident's meetings are appropriately carried forward. This has been well-met by having a standing item at the beginning of each staff meeting.

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Progress

Most young people are receiving some form of education. This represents a significant improvement for some young people who have been out of education for lengthy periods of time. This educational progress is enabling young people to achieve new skills which will help them succeed in their adult lives. One of the major strengths of this home is the effective partnership between care and education which means key issues for young people can be addressed in different ways. This has proved to be very effective in helping keep young people safer as well as giving them key skills. Safeguarding issues are well dealt with in this home. Appropriate, prompt action is taken and the home is at the centre of a very effective interagency network. Notifications are appropriate and thorough, but are not always sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. This reduces opportunities for oversight of actions taken.

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Progress

Staff in this home are generally very child centred. This is demonstrated in their willingness to engage in sensitive and difficult work with young people. Local authority colleagues say, 'their committed, professional and insightful behaviour in working with very difficult young people has not gone unnoticed'. Some young people are now less inclined to get involved with risky behaviour. For example, some young people are now missing from the home much less frequently.

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Progress

The house has been recently re-decorated and has new furniture. Young people have been very involved in choosing their favourite wallpaper. The home environment is very well maintained, but recording of fire drills does not clarify which young people were involved in the evacuation.

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Progress

There is a strong and generally stable staff team in this home, which is well-led by a committed manager. Two recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection.

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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 there is a system in place to notify within 24 hours the persons and appropriate authorities of the occurrence of significant events in accordance with Regulation 30. The system includes what to do where a notifiable event arises at weekends (NMS 24.1)  ensure that staff preparation and training on health and safety issues covers involving children in fire drills and accurate recording of this. (NMS 10.7)

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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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