Children's Home, Residential special school run by Rowden House School Limited in Herefordshire

Unique reference number SC035625 Inspection date 14/01/2014 Inspector Andrew Hewston Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Date of last inspection 20/06/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This service is a privately registered children's home that also provides education on site for up to 30 young people with special educational needs. The service comprises of seven separate residential homes.

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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 judgement at the last inspection on the 20th June 2013 was outstanding. No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection. The home continues to offer a high level of care to the young people and systems are being developed to respond to young people's and parents needs, this ensures that good progress is made at the home.

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Progress

Since the last inspection the Registered Manager has moved from the home to support another service on a time limited contract. Arrangements for her replacement during this time are well organised and being completed by two experienced members of the senior team. Staff state that they have not seen any reduction in the quality of their support or of the care of the young people during this period.

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Progress

Placement planning is highly personalised and gives clarity to staff with regard to differing aspects of young peoples care. A small number of more recent initiatives, relating to young people's care, have not been subsequently recorded within the placement planning, although staff are well aware of these. This may effect the level of care offered by new staff working with the young person. The health needs of young people are well supported due to strong links with health professionals. A recent appointment of a new health care promotions member of staff will further support young people's health across the site. There has been a reduction in the number of medication errors completed at the home, due to increased audits and training of staff to support the safety of young people. The high level of care is provided by a well qualified and experienced staff team.

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Progress

No child protection concerns have been referred to the local authority since the last inspection. The home continues to have robust and well known policies and practice regarding the safety of young people. A recent anonymous complaint was fully investigated by the senior team. Full records of this are in place, with an emphasis on the safety of young people. No notification relating to this has been received by Ofsted however.

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Progress

All concerns relating to the care of young people are consistently examined, with outcomes recorded. This ensures that the staff team are continually developing the service provided and their knowledge of the young people and their families.

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Progress

Training initiatives have been rolled out to both the staff team and the parents of young people. Workshops for parents have related to use of toys and effective ways to respond to differing behaviours. Feedback from parents of these courses are reported as being positive and is a good way of engaging with families. Staff have completed training in reporting and recording to enhance the quality of information kept regarding the care of young people.

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Progress

The physical environment continues to be of a high standard throughout the site. On-going repairs and decoration are completed as part of a rolling programme to ensure that young people live within a pleasant environment that meets their needs.

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Progress

Monitoring of the home is completed well. Reports give a high awareness of the running of the home and the ability of the staff to provide care in line with it's Statement of Purpose. Reports also show interactions with young people, gaining their views of the service where appropriate.

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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 if 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 28/02/2014 column 2 of the table (Regulation 30.1)

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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 each child’s Placement Plan is monitored by a key worker within the home who ensures that the requirements of the plan are implemented in the day-to- day care of that child (NMS 25.2)

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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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