Children's Home run by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in North Northamptonshire

Unique reference number SC465287 Inspector Mary Timms Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Registered person address Sudborough House, St Mary's Hosptial 77 London Road Kettering Northamptonshire NN15 7PW Responsible individual Louise Mary Payne Registered manager POST VACANT Date of last inspection 04/02/2014 2 of 6 Inspection date 05/06/2014

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Registered person

Previous inspection adequate Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged adequate at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

Short break stays are well-planned to provide individualised care. Children's safety is prioritised and their welfare needs are met to a good standard. Comments from parents confirm that children are happy to come to this home and that they enjoy the activities provided for them in the home or accessed in the community.

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This inspection

An experienced and knowledgeable staff team understand the individual and diverse needs of the children using this service. Involved professionals have a positive view of the ability of the service to meet a broad range of needs. Comments include, 'what strikes me is that the service is able to manage extremely rare and complex health needs very well'. The service knows the children well and promptly identify changes in demeanour or behaviour which could mean that the children are unhappy or that there is a deterioration in their health. As a result action is taken quickly to meet children's needs. Staff are committed to promoting good outcomes and supporting children to progress. A recent introduction is the setting of achievable goals for each child. As a result children benefit from targeted care which assists them towards developing new skills.

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This inspection

Effective external management monitoring ensures the continuous improvement of the service. There is close scrutiny of care arrangements during the monthly monitoring visits made to the home including obtaining feedback from key stakeholders. The report also identifies recommendations for further service developments which are reviewed again on subsequent visits.

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This inspection

Following the last inspection actions were taken to improve the quality of the service in response to the two requirements and five recommendations set.

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This inspection

Placement plans for each child have been reviewed and the breadth of planning expanded as previously there was a focus on the children’s health. Placing social 3 of 6 workers also confirm that they are involved in all aspects of placement planning and are updated about the changing needs of individual children.

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This inspection

Prompt actions were taken to improve the format used to record measures of control and discipline in the home. The recording format is now a bound and printed book which the management team developed to ensure that recording covered each area required by children's home's regulations. Although this is an improvement further shortfalls were found during this inspection in relation to this same area of record keeping. Prior to the last inspection there had been occasions when low level physical holds have been used by staff to move a child from one area of the home to another. The management team recognised that this was not acceptable met with involved professionals to agree adjusted behaviour management strategies. However, inspectors saw during this inspection that the recording of several recent incidents failed to describe in detail what had led to the need for physical intervention. The failure to fully detail the need for the use of physical intervention

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This inspection

means there is a lack of evidence to confirm that children are always fully safeguarded by the care provided.

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This inspection

The manager has improved the level of consultation with placing social workers, families and children. Feedback is incorporated into management reporting and also used to further develop the service. For example, children's suggestions about activities have been listened to and acted upon. Parents who have asked for more detailed feedback on each short break for their child confirm that this has been responded to. A link person in the local authority placing team has also been identified for the service to be working closely with the service to maintain and improve the quality of care provided.

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This inspection

Improved facilities are provided in the shower room. As a result children benefit from a more pleasing bathroom environment which maintains health and hygiene requirements.

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This inspection

Records of over-the-counter remedies stored and administered in the home have been improved. A control system is now operated and as a result staff can easily clarify the level of medication in stock.

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This inspection

Recruitment procedures have been strengthened to ensure that there is record of written references being verified by telephone. This enhances the level of safeguarding arrangements operated to protect children from unsuitable persons working in the home.

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This inspection

Record keeping has also been improved in relation to allegations about staff practice. Regardless of whether the outcome of enquiries is that allegations are unfounded the details are now recorded on individual files. This means that there is a permanent record of any allegations and that the outcome is linked to one-to-one staff management and where necessary used to improve practice within the home. 4 of 6 No formal complaints have been received about the service since the last inspection. However, a small number of informal concerns have been received. While these have been acted upon by managers the detail of the concerns and steps taken is not captured within the home's complaints records. This raises the potential that external management monitoring will not identify and review the handling of such issues, which are currently captured only on the individual child's records. 5 of 6

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Information about this children’s home

This home is a six-bedded residential short break service operated by a healthcare foundation trust for children with learning disabilities.

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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 within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose which shall include:- details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure (Regulation 17B(3) (b)) 27/06/2014

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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

 The home has and implements a written policy that clarifies the purpose, form and content of information to be kept on the registered person's files. In particular this relates to the need to capture the detail of concerns raised abo the service and the actions taken in response, regardless of whether they mee the criteria of a formal complaint. (NMS 22.1) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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