Children's Home run by Amegreen Children’s Services in West Berkshire

Unique reference number SC473329 Inspection date 15/01/2014 Inspector Wendy Anderson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 17/12/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

Previously this privately owned service accommodates up to four young people of mixed gender with 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

Young people make very good progress in relation to their starting point on admission to the home in all aspects of their care, well-being, education and their working life. This is due to the safe, warm and nurturing environment the staff team have created. This is underpinned by a committed staff team who are well trained and proactive at meeting the needs of the young people. Care planning is highly individualised and frequently reviewed and updated although some plans do lack robust evaluation.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff in the home demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the young people placed as well as the organisation’s policies and procedures. This knowledge ensures the young people to develop and thrive in a safe environment where boundaries and practice are consistent.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are happy at the home and with the staff who care for them. Very good relationships exist between the staff and the young people and this is the foundation for all work undertaken.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are fully involved in all aspects of their care as consultation is a key theme at the home. Staff feel this links in with developing the young people into responsible adults.

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Overall effectiveness

Fellow professional are very complimentary about the work done at the home. They say that the staff team demonstrate great commitment to the young people they care for and are very good at keeping them up to date with events at the home. There are some shortfalls in the frequency of supervision and staff appraisals. Also the home does not evidence all the work they undertake with a young person prior to admission. The Registered Manager is aware of these shortfalls and is committed to further improve outcomes for the young people and to provide a high quality service.

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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 all persons employed receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal. Including the development of a training matrix so that training undertaken and required and scheduled can be monitored by the manager. (Regulation 27(4(a)). 31/05/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure where monitoring devices for the surveillance of children are used a) the child’s placing authority consents to the use of the measure in question, in particular evidence of this consent is retained on the child’s file, b) it is provided for in the child’s placement plan, d) the measure is no more restrictive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy (Regulation 22 (1). 31/05/2014

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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 children's emotional and behaviours needs are met as set out in their care plans. In particular the 24 hour behaviour plans and associated risk assessment are robust evaluates as part of their review and the risk assessment contain information on how the staff will minimise the identified risks.(NMS 3.7).  ensure the home only provides admission to children whose assessed needs they can reasonably expect to meet. In particular the home should document all the work they carry out prior to the admission of a child. This includes records of visits. (NMS 11.2).

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are outstanding . Young people have made exceptional progress at the home from their starting points on admission in all areas of their development, especially in being able to self- manage their behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The young people have excellent attendance at school and benefit from the staff’s proactive approach to engaging and supporting them in their education. Some young people came to the home having been absent from school for a considerable time but are now very successfully placed in mainstream education. The young people over school age are in work and are doing very well. All of the achievements of the young people are celebrated at the home and this assists the young people to be proud of themselves and to continue to strive further.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people undertake work on their independent living skills at appropriate levels and are doing very well in preparing themselves for the next stage in their life.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Some of the young people were engaging in risk-taking behaviours at the point of admission. This is no longer the case.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people lead a healthy lifestyle which includes them taking part in a wide range of activities both in the home and within the local community. Work is carried out on healthy living through house meetings, keyworker sessions as well as day-to-day life at the home. Staff work with young people on drug, smoking and alcohol issues as well as on good sexual and psychological health. All young people’s health needs are met including attending all the required health care appointments.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All young people are supported by staff to re-establish, plan and maintain contact with their friends and family. Staff spend time with the young people planning and preparing them for their contact to ensure that it is a positive experience for them. The staff team have also been very effective at supporting young people’s families in this area.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Consultation with young people is very good. Young people are involved in all aspects of their care and their views are actively sought in the day-to-day life of the home. Through this open communication the young people are aware of the expectations the staff have of them, which are high. Young people say that they feel well looked after and that the staff really care about them and help them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people said they really enjoy the food at the home. They are involved in the completion of menus and help with the shopping and cooking with staff which they enjoy. The menus are varied, nutritious and reflect the cultures of the young people placed and also introduce them to new culinary experiences.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people receive an outstanding standard of care from a team who have the young peoples’ wellbeing, care and safety at the heart of all aspects of their work. This work is based on the strong relationships the young people have with the staff team. The staff team demonstrate an excellent knowledge of the young people and their identified needs. Staff have exceptionally high expectations for the young people they care for and provide them with consistent support to achieve them.

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Quality of care

Each young person has a detailed individualised care plan which ensures they receive the care they need. These are frequently reviewed and updated to ensure they are current. They clearly identify young people’s vulnerabilities as well as strategies to address individualised behaviours. Young people are involved in the development of their plans and when spoken to clearly understood what they contained.

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Quality of care

Young people have independence plans where needed but all young people take part in independence work. By learning how to carry out household chores themselves they gain a sense of achievement and this also helps them to invest in the home and to respect it.

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Quality of care

Staff ensure that the young people receive all they support they need, both from the team, in house specialists and from external services. This ensures that all their physical, emotional and psychological needs are met. External professionals in their feedback regarding the home commented that the staff, in particular the manager, are excellent at accessing additional services young people may need. One person commented they always go the extra mile for the young people and in some cases have undertaken work that social workers have not or been unable to do. This approach shows their dedication and commitment to the young people. Health care at the home is well managed with robust systems for the administration and storage of medication. Comprehensive records are maintained in this area.

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Quality of care

Consultation with the young people is seen by staff as essential to the work they do and is excellent. This is carried out through regular house meetings, key worker sessions and general open discussion with the young people throughout the day. Young people really like the fact that staff ask for their ideas and opinions. One young person said ‘this is how it should be, it is our home after all’. They also said when it was not possible for staff to action one of their suggestions the staff explained why this was not possible. This makes them feel valued.

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Quality of care

The home operates a key workers system. This relationship is very important to the young people, who speak very positively about their key workers. Key workers sessions are held regularly and as well as addressing current issues they look at the issues that brought the young people to the home.

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Quality of care

Staff consistently emphasise to the young people the importance of education. Young people at the home have made very good progress from their starting point in their education. This has included re-engaging a young person in education. The young people’s schools comment on how impressed they are with supportive and professional staff. There are also young people at the home who are over school age. The home has supported these young people in obtaining work. The home has excellent working relationships with fellow professionals. Feedback from them is very complimentary about the staff, and especially the manager. They feel the team are ‘extremely effective’ in meeting the young people’s needs and ‘communicate very effectively’.

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Quality of care

There is a clear complaints procedure in place which is adhered to in practice. Young people are made aware of this at admission and this is reiterated through keyworker sessions. Young people said they were confident that if they made a complaint the staff would act quickly to resolve it.

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Quality of care

Young people at the home are able to engage in a vast range of activities both in the home and in the local community. The young people choose what activities they wish to do but are also enabled by staff to try new ones to broaden they experiences. These are not solely fun but also develop the young people’s self-confidence, self- esteem and social networks. Young people are also able to access the organisation’s stables, which enables them to ride and care for the horses. This is linked with the equine therapy that the home offers, which aids the young people’s personal development.

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Quality of care

Staff enable young people not only to maintain but also to reinstate their contact and relationships with their families. The staff have been especially effective in this area. Social workers praised the staff for the ‘above and beyond’ support they have given and continue to give to not only the young people but also their families.

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Quality of care

The home has a very robust admissions procedure, which ensures that young people are placed appropriately. This includes visits to the young person’s home and their placement at the time of referral. Young people said they found this approach incredibly helpful as it made the transition between placements much easier. Staff also spoke of this work but there is no written information on the work the staff undertake in this area. This means that current records do not reflect all the work the team do.

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Quality of care

The home is appropriately located, designed and maintained to a high standard. Maintenance is well managed and any repairs or refurbishments are promptly undertaken. Young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms and are involved in the choice of décor and furnishings throughout the home. Young people said that they are very proud of their bedrooms and the home in general.

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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

Young people said that they feel safe in the home and outside of it. All young people could easily identify a number of staff they would go to if they felt concerned, unhappy or unsafe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has robust safeguarding policies and procedures which are adhered to in practice. Staff interviewed demonstrated a good working knowledge of the procedures in place. The staff team receive regular training in this area as it is seen as their core business. The manager has a good working relationship with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and the home’s safeguarding policy and procedure has been shared with the LADO and deemed appropriate.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Behaviour at the home during the inspection was outstanding. The main focus of behaviour management is positive reinforcement. The home has appropriate policies and procedure in place relating to behaviour management. Each young person has a detailed behaviour management plan. These are frequently reviewed and updated. However, the evaluation of these plans is limited. This could potentially mean that strategies that have been found not to be effective continue to be used.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The recording of behaviour issues is robust and these records are monitored by the manager. There is clear evidence of young people’s behaviour improving from their starting point on admission. This view is also held by social workers who said ‘challenging behaviours have decreased markedly’. Young people felt that sanctions used by the home are fair and very rarely used. They felt the rules of the house were based on respecting other people and being reasonable.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Physical restrain is only used by the home as a last resort. There have been no restraints used since May 2013. Each young person has a risk assessment specifically related to physical intervention. This clearly identifies the risk but does not routinely state what the home is doing to reduce this risk and what strategies are being used to combat the behaviours. However, discussion with staff, young people and comments provided by social workers indicate that this work is being undertaken. This gap in the documentation means that the work undertaken is not recorded or evaluated.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a clear policy and procedure for when young people are missing or are absent from the home which is followed by staff. There have no recent incidents of young people being absent from the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has robust recruitment and vetting procedures in place for staff which are adhered to in practice. They follow the safer recruitment guidance. This ensures that unsuitable individuals are not given access to the young people accommodated.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff ensure that young people live in a safe environment where all the required health and safety and fire checks are carried out robustly on a regular basis. Staff also receive training in these areas which is regularly updated. This is supported by detailed and up-to-date risk assessment.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home uses silent alarms on the bedroom doors at night but these is a lack of consistent evidence of this being agreed by placing social workers. This potentially leads to these being used either without the placing authorities knowledge or against their wishes.

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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 home has a Registered Manager in post who is responsible for managing two of the organisations homes. The Registered Manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for further development of the home.

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Leadership and management

At the last inspection two requirements and one recommendation was made. The requirements were to ensure a Registered Manager was in post and to ensure recruitment records contained all the information required under Schedule 2. Both of these requirements have now been addressed. The recommendation referred to records relating to when a young person goes missing. The manager has revised the recording format for this, which is appropriate. However, there have not been any incidents of such behaviours.

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Leadership and management

The homes statement of purpose is appropriate and reflects current practice. The young person guide is also appropriate.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring of the homes practice is good. This is undertaken through the Regulation 33 reports which are robust and evaluative and the manager’s Regulation 34 monitoring. There is clear evidence of points being raised and quickly addressed demonstrating the effectiveness of the monitoring.

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Leadership and management

The home has the appropriate number of staff to meet the needs of the young people placed. There is a good age, gender, experience and ethnicity mix amongst the staff team. There has been recent recruitment of staff who are currently shadowing experienced staff as part of their induction. This recruitment has meant that the consistency of staff has improved. Staff rotas clearly reflect who is working within the home, attending meetings or training.

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Leadership and management

Staff interviewed stated that they felt very supported by their colleagues, the Registered Manager and senior management. Regular team meetings are held with the staff team from the Registered Manager’s other home. Young people placed are a standing item on the agenda. The team also meets with the organisations consultant psychologist and trainer to discuss the young people and to develop strategies of work.

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Leadership and management

Formal supervision for the probationary staff is in line with the organisations supervision policy. However, the existing staff are not currently receiving supervision at the frequency stated in this policy. This could lead to issues not being addressed with staff. The manager has reviewed and amended the home appraisal system. The new system is appropriate but has yet to be implemented.

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Leadership and management

The organisation provides the staff with a wide range of training to meet the needs of the young people. However the current training matrix is not comprehensive. This does not enable the manager to be able to monitor what training has been undertaken and what is needed. This could lead to staff knowledge not being up to date with current practice. Young people’s files are appropriately stored and contain all of the required Looked After Children documentation. This includes minutes of statutory review meetings. All information is securely stored.

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Leadership and management

The home has an appropriate system for reporting significant events to the required authorities although there have been none to report.

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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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