Children's Home run by Keys ACE Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Unique reference number SC397112 Inspection date 26/03/2014 Inspector Nick Veysey Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/01/2014 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is one of a number owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four young people with 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

The overall effectiveness of the children's home was judged as outstanding at the full inspection in January 2014. The inspection found one area for further development: although the manager was routinely asking young people’s about their views of the running of the home and the quality of care, their views were not explicitly shown in the monitoring reports.

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Progress

The children’s home is making good progress since the last inspection. Young people continue to live in an exceptionally supportive and safe environment that enables them to achieve positive outcomes. The manager provides strong leadership and has met the recommendation for improvement made at the last inspection. She uses the quality assurance systems effectively to improve the quality of care and support. Her monitoring reports are very detailed and evaluative, and focus on securing improvement. The reports include consultation with parents, social workers, teachers and other people working with the young people. The reports now also include detailed consultation with young people. The manager routinely finds out young people’s views in different ways, including talking to young people individually and in groups, and from feedback questionnaires. This provides young people with different opportunities to have their say in ways that they feel comfortable. The monitoring

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Progress

reports clearly set out young people’s wishes, suggestions and concerns, and what the manager has done in response. For example, young people have asked to see their family more often and the record shows that the manager has talked to the young people’s social workers about this. The manager takes young people’s views about their lives and the running of the home into account. The provider has recognised the manager’s approach and reports as good practice and introduced this in its other children’s homes. The manager has also improved the ways she shares information and communicates with parents where English is not their first language. The statement of purpose and children’s guide has been translated into a family’s first language. The young person said ‘this has been really helpful for my mum and made things clearer.’

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Progress

Young people are making exceptional progress and growing in confidence and emotional resilience. They are making significant and continuous improvements in their education, health, behaviour, social and life skills. They gain confidence by taking part in a wide range of activities in the community, and reduce risk taking behaviour. Young people are very positive about the quality of care and the opportunities they enjoy. A young person said, ‘I am able to spend time with my friends, they can visit, I can go to see them and we go out ice skating together.’ Social workers and parents are also positive about the care provided. A social worker said, ‘(young person) is doing really well here, he has settled down very well. Staff are doing a brilliant job with him. They are child-focused, the risk assessments are really good, and (staff) are good at working with parents and other professionals. Parents feel involved and informed.’

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Progress

Young people school attendance is excellent. They are settled in school, have made friends, and take part in the life of the school. Their attendance has consistently improved since they moved in; for example one young person’s attendance has improved significantly from 64% to 100%. As a result young people have more opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and interests, and gain qualifications. From time-to-time some young people struggle in school, but this has not prevented them from attending and taking part in the full range of school activities. Staff have established strong links with schools and education services. They work effectively to challenge any barriers to young people’s full participation in education and training; for example, offering support to young people in school, and working extremely hard to get young people back into full time education. Recently staff have worked

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Progress

effectively to improve some young people's behaviour and efforts in school and to get them into school on time.

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Progress

Young people are being well prepared for adult life. They are becoming more independent, appropriate to their age, abilities and level of understanding. They successfully take on more responsibilities and have every opportunity to build confidence in their skills. They routinely plan, shop for and cook meals, undertake cleaning, wash clothes, choose clothes and toiletries, take more responsibility for their health and personal care, and develop their understanding of money and managing their finances. Young people’s plans for independence are tailored to their individual needs and circumstances, and take into account their wishes about where they want to live and their preferences for education, training and employment. Staff effectively put young people’s plans into practice. They fully understand each young person’s needs and the support they require to develop their confidence, skills, and confidence. They work well with schools, social workers, Connexions, and counsellors

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Progress

to promote young people’s independence. This also focuses on helping young people to feel confident and emotionally resilient. They work sensitively with young people to build their self-esteem and social competence, help them face the challenges of adult life and manage their anxieties in social situations. They encourage and support young people to carefully plan and organise how to complete tasks and resolve difficulties; for example, using public transport to go shopping independently and what to do if they feel worried. Young people’s written records provide a clear picture of their abilities and progress in managing more tasks independently. The records also identify areas where support is required and show the work that staff are completing with young people. For example, staff are supporting and encouraging young people to develop good personal care routines and understand the importance of a healthy diet, including the health risks of drinks with high sugar

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Progress

Staff consistently apply excellent safe-caring practices to ensure young people are safe and protected from harm. Young people do not engage in risky behaviour and do not go missing. Their behaviour is usually excellent and has significantly improved over time. They benefit from a nurturing and structured environment where positive behaviour is actively promoted through praise and rewards. Young people feel fairly treated. The staff apply reasonable and consistent boundaries to help young people understand what is expected of them. Staff have an excellent understanding of the times and factors that contribute to young people becoming upset. When young people have difficulties staff support young people very effectively to manage their feelings and frustrations constructively.

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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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