Children's Home run by Hopedale Children and Family Services Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC444869 Inspection date 26/03/2014 Inspector Helen Walker Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Date of last inspection 05/06/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 10 young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It has its own school within the children's home which is registered with the Department for Education. The home is privately owned.

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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

At the last full inspection in June 2013 the home was judged as outstanding. At that time there no requirements or recommendations were made. Since then, there has been continued improvement in the quality of care and outcomes for young people. No requirements or recommendations are made as a result of this inspection.

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Progress

The enthusiastic manager provides very effective leadership and management of the home. Young people benefit from the significant support of the staff team who provide a caring, respectful and extremely comfortable home environment. Young people say that staff care for them properly and keep them safe. Young people enjoy living at the home and make very good progress in all aspects of their life. Their health and education needs are fully promoted. Young people's school attendance is excellent and their achievements are consistently praised.

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Progress

Staff are proactive in helping young people to take part in a range of meaningful and interesting activities. This includes sports such as hockey, horse riding and football. Some young people make great strides in their sporting achievements and are members of local and county sports teams. Young people have the opportunity to learn and play musical instruments, for example, the piano, guitar and drums. During the inspection a young person demonstrated their skills by playing the drums. Young people have a voice and are listened to, so that their views make a difference. They said 'staff are the best; they give you lots of opportunities.'

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Progress

Staff are very well informed and fully aware of the individual needs of the young people who use this service. Behaviour is managed positively with advice from therapists who support the young people. There have been a number of restraints and sanctions since the last inspection. The manager routinely monitors the records relating to the use of restraint and ensures the use of these measures is reviewed. As a result there is a positive reduction in the use of physical intervention. Young people are happy at the home and do not go missing. However, should this occur the staff are aware of the procedure to follow to ensure their safe return to the home.

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Progress

Young people benefit from an enthusiastic, consistent, qualified and experienced staff team. Staff understand the need to keep young people safe from harm. Staff work successfully with professional agencies to ensure the safety and welfare of young people. This includes contact with local police officers who comment 'it is obvious that all staff have a high level of commitment to any resident that is in their care and that the level of professionalism does not waver between any resident or situation.'

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Progress

Staff are proactive in making sure that young people's futures are well considered. During the inspection some young people talked of their proposed and well planned move to foster care. They said that the staff have supported and enabled them to choose a placement they are happy with. Young people are very excited about this aspect of their life and there is an obvious enthusiasm from staff to support and guide them to achieve.

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Progress

The home's performance is monitored rigorously to promote the sustained improvement of the service. This includes various internal and external monitoring systems. This helps to ensure that a high quality of care is maintained.

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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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