Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Unique reference number SC408369 Inspection date 18/03/2014 Inspector Mark Ryder Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 14/01/2014 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

This is a children's home run by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for two young people between 10 and 18 who may have emotional and/or 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 satisfactory progress .

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Progress

At the last inspection in January 2014 this home was judged as good with outstanding features. Two statutory requirements and one recommendation were made, all of which have now been met.

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Progress

Young people continue to progress well within their respective placements. Staff provide a nurturing and safe environment. Young people comment that the staff are kind and fair with them. Staff invest in the young people with the result that the young people feel valued and cared for. There is a low level of behaviour management required at this home.

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Progress

A strength of this home remains its commitment to young people's education. Staff encourage and support educational attendance and attainment. All young people have made satisfactory progress since the start of their placements in this regard.

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Progress

Young people say they are helped to develop their independent skills. For example, young people are able to access the local authority's independent training flat, which they feel helps them to mature. Young people say they are able to independently use public transport and are able to cook meals within the home. Young people are, therefore, suitably prepared for adulthood.

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Progress

Care planning and review of arrangements continues to be well managed and includes contribution of young people and other stakeholders. Young people are fully involved in the planning and decision making regarding their own care and future plans. A young person said they know what they want to do when they leave the home and feel listened to by the staff.

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Progress

Monitoring of the home is managed on a consistent basis. Senior staff from the local authority visit monthly and provide a report that accurately reflects the practice and administration of the home. Reports are now regularly sent to Ofsted which is an improvement since the last inspection.

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Progress

An internal monitoring report is also now submitted to Ofsted every six months by the Registered Manager. The report gives a brief summary of the issues relevant to this home but is not, however, factually accurate or provides a critical review of the home's development and progress. This means that the Registered Manager is not always able to identify trends or patterns of behaviour within a given period of time. For example issues regarding bullying or health that have previously been raised in other reports are not reflected within the manager's review of practice.

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Progress

The home safeguards young people and ensures their safety and welfare. However, notifications to Ofsted with regards to serious incidents necessitating calling the police are not sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. This means the regulator is unable to assess the providers' response from such incidents between inspections.

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Progress

The young person's guide now includes all required information for young people to contact their social worker and independent reviewing officer. This is an improvement since the last inspection.

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Progress

The Statement of Purpose provides an overview of the home's ethos, philosophy, aims and function. However, staff experience and qualifications are not suitably recorded. As a result it is unclear from this document what skills each member of staff contributes within the team to benefit young people.

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Progress

A young person was previously placed at the home in an emergency. While the needs of this young person were met and they were well cared for, the home's Statement of Purpose currently does not refer to the home being suitable for emergency admissions. The report, therefore, is inaccurate.

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Progress

As a result of this inspection three statutory requirements and one recommendation have been made. None of these areas, however, have any direct impact on the quality of care and the safety 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 any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table (Regulation 30 (1)) 18/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for improving the quality of care provided in the children’s home (Regulation 34 (1)) 29/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) compile in relation to the children’s home a written statement (in these Regulations referred to as “the statement of purpose”) which shall consist of a statement as to the matters listed in Schedule 1 paragraph 5 namely the number, relevant qualifications and experience of persons working at the children's home. (Regulation 4 (1)( Schedule 1 (5)) 29/04/2014

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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 the registered person does not admit children in an emergency unless explicitly included as a function of the home. (NMS 11.7)

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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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