Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Blackburn with Darwen

Unique reference number SC467268 Inspection date 26/03/2014 Inspector Elaine Clare Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 30/01/2014 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

The home is registered to provide care for six young people, of either gender, with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private company.

p.3

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

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be adequate .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

At the last inspection this home was rated inadequate in all judgements. Although the home is now judged as adequate, there are some aspects of the care and services provided which are good. The manager has successfully complied with and addressed the enforcement notice, requirements and recommendations identified at the previous inspection.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Following the discharge of young people, the young people that remain have made adequate progress in various aspects of their lives. Educationally, attendance has much improved and some progress is being made in achieving targets. Young people are proud of these achievements and are looking forward to working with the onsite tutor. Young people have matured and made progress socially and emotionally with the support of the staff.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Young people are cared for by a committed staff team who have a number of years' experience in working with young people. As yet the majority are unqualified but all are enrolled onto Diploma course working with children and young people in care. The staff receive regular supervision and continue to be supported in the delivery of care to young people.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Two recommendations have been made with regards to involving young people in the documentation around room searches and the need to have defined boundaries and roles for staff members.

p.3

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.4

Recommendations

 ensure the home only carries out searches of a child, their room or their possessions in accordance with the home's guidance (NMS 3.20)  ensure that managers and staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities; with particular regards to education staff undertaking room searches (NMS 21.4)

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are adequate .

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Staff have a good understanding of the specific needs, abilities and vulnerabilities of young people accommodated. Despite the problems recently experienced at the home, young people have made satisfactory degrees of progress socially, emotionally and educationally. The level of personalised care and support provided contributes to the overall personal growth and development of young people. Young people are very appreciative of this and acknowledge the progress and achievements they have made. One young person said 'I'm happy here, it's all right.'

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people live in an environment where their healthcare needs are met. They are given appropriate health advice and support which helps them to make informed decisions and to begin to take some responsibility for their well-being.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Given the starting points of the young people prior to being placed in the home, and since the February half term, young people have achieved good school attendance. This contributes to young people making adequate progress at their educational placements and assists them to strive towards achieving their educational ambitions. The young person spoken to during the inspection is proud of their educational achievements and is looking forward to working with the onsite tutor further.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make decisions about their placement plans, reviews and running of the home. They feel able to say what they think and to discuss a wide range of topics which includes food, personal activities in the local community, sanctions, house rules and the decoration of the home. Comments received include, 'staff support me to become involved in house meetings and confidential meetings' and, 'I say what I'd like to happen, like activities and stuff and most the time it does.’ They also confirm they do not have to wait for a meeting as a lot of discussion takes place over meals and throughout the day.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are provided with effective support which enables them to maintain contact with their families and people who are important to them. This includes assistance with transport as well as providing supervision during the contact arrangements where appropriate. The practical support has contributed to increased contact with families and young people commented how much they enjoy spending time with their family. Staff ensure that effective communication is maintained between themselves and young people's families and respective placing authorities. This ensures that all parties are kept informed regarding the care and well-being of young people.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

The home provides young people with experiences to promote their skills in independent living. Young people learn how to prepare and cook meals, undertake various household chores and manage their money. These acquired skills support young people to grow in confidence and suitably prepare them, in time, for their transition towards independent living.

p.5

Quality of care

Notwithstanding the best efforts and intentions of staff, they have not been able to meet the challenging needs of all young people accommodated. As a result, this has led to a placing authority discharging one young person from the home. Despite such disappointments, staff make every effort to support young people to make progress. Staff are also fully committed to assisting young people to achieve their individual aspirations. This provides young people with the necessary support which also helps them to make progress in various aspects of their lives. There are good relationships established between the staff and young people. Young people spoke positively about the care and services they receive and their overall experience at living at the home. One social worker stated that 'there have been significant gains recently and staff have turned the kid around.’

p.5

Quality of care

Staff are committed to meeting the individual day to day care needs of young people accommodated within the limitations placed on them by the challenging behaviour of young people. Detailed placement plans are established for this purpose. Risk assessments are good and staff demonstrate a good knowledge of potential risk for each individual young person. These and other relevant working documents are regularly reviewed and revised to ensure that they reflect the changing needs of young people. Young people are fully supported to attend and contribute to their statutory reviews.

p.5

Quality of care

Young people are involved in a wide range of activities and interests that reflect their personality and individuality. Encouragement given to young people to participate in different experiences provides them with opportunities to obtain new skills and develop self-confidence. For example, various sporting pursuits including ice-hockey.

p.5

Quality of care

Young people are encouraged and supported to adopt a healthy lifestyle. In one case this has led to a young person from stopping smoking. Young people are registered with the various local healthcare services and are fully supported to attend their own appointments. Young people confirmed that they are happy with these arrangements. Young people also receive specialist support and intervention to meet their specific physical, emotional and psychological needs and are provided with advice and support regarding unhealthy risk taking lifestyles. Robust systems and practices are now established for the safe storage and administration of medication which promote the safety and well-being of young people.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff fully support the educational aspirations of young people. All young people receive education onsite within a classroom in the home. This ensures that their educational needs are appropriately met. The level of support that staff provide and the well-established routines and expectations within the home, has contributed to improved attendance for the young people. Staff work in close partnership with young people's tutor and this ensures that effective communication is maintained between them and that any concerns are promptly addressed.

p.6

Quality of care

Young people's views are actively sought about the care and services provided. This is currently achieved on an individual basis and during weekly house meetings. Young people are aware of how to complain and feel comfortable in discussing any concerns or worries with particular staff who they get on with. No complaints have been received since the last inspection. Previous records indicate prompt action is taken to address and resolve all concerns raised.

p.6

Quality of care

Young people live in a home which is well maintained being clean, tidy, comfortable and well-furnished and in good decorative order. The home maintains an on- going maintenance and redecoration plan. As a result a number of improvements have been carried out to enhance the overall living environment of young people. This includes the removing of locks from the kitchen cupboards. Young people are provided with their own bedrooms which are personalised to their individual tastes. The home also provides young people with sufficient communal space together with bathing and toilet facilities to meet their individual and collective needs.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

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

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

The home has not recruited any new permanent staff since the last inspection. However, the previous inspection report confirmed that robust arrangements are in place for the careful vetting and selection of new staff. These procedures ensure that new staff are suitable to care for vulnerable young people.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

During this inspection there was only one young person present at the home. The young person confirmed that they felt safe living at the home. The manager ensures that any potential or actual safeguarding issues are referred to the local Safeguarding Children Board and are responded to promptly. All staff receive appropriate training and as a result have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in this area of practice. There have been no serious incidents at the home since the last inspection that have required the Registered Manager to inform Ofsted with a notification.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

There has been one incident where a young person has gone missing from the home and this was for a number of days. Concerns were heightened within the staff team due to the young person having an associate risk when out in the community. Staff are well aware of the procedures to follow when young people go missing and take appropriate action to secure their safe return at the earliest opportunity. However following discussions that took place with all relevant agencies, in an attempt to minimise the risks to this young person, a decision was made to discharge him from the care of the organisation. The manager has updated the recording format to ensure that it records what action should be taken to prevent future incidents.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

There have been two room searches at the home which have both occurred when the young person was away from the property. Forms completed after each room search did not record the young people view nor did the form obtain a signature from the young person. Both of which are the organisations procedure. The room search was conducted by the education tutor and a member of the care team. This resulted in a confrontation between the young person and the tutor the next day as the young person felt that the teacher had wrongly entered his private space within the home. The young person said 'it's disrespectful man.' The room search did locate a car key that had been missing from the home the week previous. While it is acknowledged that time had been given for the young person to hand in the car key, there remained the potential that the young person could have gained access to the car during the week.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

The manager and staff acknowledged that the home was an unsettled place to work in, particularly during January, when the last inspection took place. Staff struggled to effectively meet the needs of young people living at the home. Staff also found it difficult to manage the particular challenging and risk taking behaviours displayed, despite being appropriately trained in the use of restraint and de-escalation techniques. Although detailed behaviour management plans are in place to provide staff with guidance and assistance to help young people to manage their challenging behaviour, these were not effectively implemented. Since the last inspection, records indicate that there has been a decrease in the use of physical intervention and a significant reduction in the number of sanctions applied. As there has now been a change in the composition of young people accommodated, the dynamics within the home has shifted and staff are now better able to deal with the negative behaviours

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

The environment is well maintained and kept safe through monthly checks, risk assessments and an ongoing maintenance programme. Services such as gas and electricity, electrical appliances and firefighting equipment are regularly checked. Fire drills are carried out monthly including night-time drills. Risk assessments are in place for the building and all activities including car travel.

p.7

Leadership and management

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

p.7

Leadership and management

The home is managed by a Registered Manager who has considerable experience in residential childcare and is suitably qualified. He is also the area manager of a group of homes within the company and is supported in his role by an operations manager in each of the homes. This inspection took place following a full inspection in January 2014 where the overall judgement was rated as inadequate. This led to the issuing of a compliance notice together with a further eight requirements and four recommendations. Since the last inspection the requirements and recommendations have been met.

p.7

Leadership and management

Following the last inspection the manager did not send in an action plan to explain how he planned to address the requirements and recommendations, however a plan was written during the inspection. The manager was asked to send in all previous notifications retrospectively into Ofsted at the end of the inspection in January 2014; however the notifications did not arrive into Ofsted until the beginning of March 2014. The manager explained that this was a senior manager decision. As a result the delay caused Ofsted to question what immediate action had been taken over the very serious concerns found at the last inspection.

p.8

Leadership and management

The recently reviewed Statement of Purpose is up to date. The aims and objectives of the service are clearly specified and embraced in the day-to-day work with young people. The children's guide contains the required information to help young people settle in during the early stages of their admission.

p.8

Leadership and management

The manager ensures that there is a sufficient number of staff on duty throughout the day and night in order to meet the needs of young people. Young people are cared for by a staff team who have a variety of experience in working with young people. Two staff have achieved the national vocational qualification level 4 in Care or the Diploma with the remaining member of staff enrolled onto the relevant course. The organisation is committed to supporting staff to undertake additional training to enhance their skills, knowledge and competence. However, the range of specialist training provided so far has been somewhat limited. The home has undertaken an administration of medication training session and a sexual health course. During the staff meetings National Minimum Standards one to three have been discussed.

p.8

Leadership and management

Staff are receiving formal individual supervision on a regular basis. Records also show that staff continue to receive appropriate support and that their working performance is adequately monitored. In addition daily handovers and regular staff meetings are held which enable staff to raise and discuss particular issues relating to the care of young people as well as any specific working practices within the home. Support is being given from within the organisation to support the manager and the staff team in improving standards.

p.8

Leadership and management

There are effective internal monitoring processes in place which monitor the care provided to young people. One of the requirements made at the last inspection concerned the external monitoring to the home where it required the visitor to speak with the young people, parents and social workers. This has been addressed. Communication with placing social workers outlines their satisfaction regarding the leadership and management of the home. The home's records are up to date and stored securely.

p.8

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.

p.9

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.

p.9