Children's Home run by HAVEN CARE GROUP LIMITED in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC474179 Inspection date 22/08/2014 Inspector Michelle Spruce Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/04/2014 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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.

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Brief description of the service

This is a privately owned children's home that can accommodate up to four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties between the ages of 8 to 17 years.

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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

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

The home does not have a Registered Manager. This has not adversely impacted on the outcomes of young people. The current leadership arrangements are temporary but provide staff and young people with some continuity.

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Overall effectiveness

This adequate service provides young people with a safe environment to live. Young people feel safe and engage with staff to improve behaviour that places them at risk. Young people are involved in planning their care, but planning does not always provide access to services that were part of the care package prior to placement.

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Overall effectiveness

The views of young people are listened to and acted on. Relationships are forming and bonds between staff and peers are improving.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team are dedicated to improving outcomes for young people. The service does not have a development plan to outline how it will continue to operate. Staff are involved with consultation about the operation of the home. There were some shortfalls identified and one requirement and two recommendations have been made.

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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 the registered provider appoints a person to manage the children’s home and gives the name of the person so appointed and the date on which the appointment is to take effect. (Regulation 7(2)(a-b)) 30/09/2014

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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

 ensure the children's health is promoted in accordance with their placement plan (NMS 6.5)  ensure the registered person has a written development plan for the home. (NMS 15.2)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have positive views about themselves. They know and understand their history, culture and reasons for being in care. Young people take care of their personal hygiene and appearance. Their appearance is reflective of their origin. A young person said, ‘I cook Jamaican food and have my hair done by a specialist hairdresser.’ Young people take care of their own health and understand the impact of risk taking behaviour. Some behaviour has reduced such as smoking cannabis and smoking cigarettes. However, some health support services are not accessed as part of the continuing plan of care. This has the potential to impact on the emotional and psychological well-being of young people. Young people enjoy a healthy diet, take part in regular physical activities and attend routine appointments. Young people make progress with attending education. A young person said, ‘I did not attend; I now attend full time.’ They recognise the importance of gaining a good

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Outcomes for children and young people

education and are take steps to improving grades and attendance. Young people are engaging with their community. Job opportunities are sought by young people with the help of staff. This helps young people improve their social skills and gives them a sense of belonging. Contact arrangements takes place with staff support. Care is taken to ensure young people remain safe. Risk assessments and joint working further support safe contact arrangements. This helps to maintain strong bonds with family. Young people make good use of their independence skills. For example, young people can cook, budget and take responsibility for general household chores. Young people benefit from target and reward charts that include tidying their bedrooms and completing their own washing. This helps to improve their life skills. A young person said, ‘I have pocket money and I can earn points to get things.’

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Quality of care

Staff work closely with young people and help them to form trusting relationships with staff and other peers. Relationships are generally good and the staff promote socially acceptable behaviour. Young people’s views are considered in planning their care. A young person said, ‘everyone listens to me; I attend my reviews; it is important to speak about what I want.’

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Quality of care

Young people know how to complain and have benefitted from visits from advocates. A young person said, ‘I have a welcome book and know how to complain.’ Staff provide literature that sign posts young people to information about how to raise concerns or complaints. This gives young people the confidence to speak up if they have concerns.

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Quality of care

Records show that staff encourage young people to take part in planning their care. A young person said, ‘I take part in planning my care with my key worker and I attend my reviews; I look at my records and am encouraged to make comments and add or delete comments I disagree with.’

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Quality of care

Young people have placement plans but staff have not ensured that services that were offered to support the young people before placement are continued. This lacks continuity of care. This means young people may revert to behaviour they were being supported to change.

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Quality of care

Staff provide a healthy environment for young people to live a healthy lifestyle. Food provided meets the cultural and religious needs of young people and staff living and working in the home. Young people independently take part in the planning, shopping and cooking of their meals. As a result, young people remain fit and well.

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Quality of care

Staff help young people to get the most out of their education. Where young people have faced difficulties in attending school, staff have negotiated arrangements with education services to provide full time opportunities for education placements. This has increased the attendance records significantly for some young people.

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Quality of care

Staff work with young people to ensure they gain access to activities that are appropriate, stimulating and meet their social and emotional needs. Young people are consulted about their choice of activities and as a result, have attended a range of activities. A young person said, ‘we do lots of activities; I play badminton and go boxing.’

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Quality of care

The home is well designed and located. The home is maintained well and all health and safety requirements are met to provide a safe place for young people and staff to live and work.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe in the home. A young person said, ‘I like it here; I feel safe.’ Staff have sufficient knowledge in safeguarding, and the homes policies and procedures further promote safe working practices. This helps to protect young people and keep them safe. A young person said, ‘we have fire drills and risk assessments to keep us safe.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Sometimes young people place themselves at risk when they go missing from home. Although for some, episodes of missing have significantly reduced. Young people work with staff to identify the reasons why they go missing and how to keep themselves safe. A young person said, ‘when I go missing staff contact me, the police look for me and do safe and well checks on my return. I know staff have my best interests at heart.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Socially acceptable behaviour is encouraged and implemented through behaviour strategies. A young person said, ‘Staff give me consequences for poor behaviour but they are fair’. The staff work with young people to identify what behaviour they feel could improve and set target steps to manage and improve it. For example, staff set out target objectives giving five steps to work towards improvement. This encourages young people to change their behaviour while giving them a sense of achievement through incentives. A young person said, ‘my anger has improved; staff never restrain me.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are fully vetted before they start employment to keep young people safe from unsuitable candidates having access to them. Staff check visitors to the home to ensure they are legitimate. This helps keep young vulnerable young people safe from exploitation.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Health and safety checks are completed regularly to ensure the home is compliant with regulation and standards. Fire drills and equipment tests are undertaken in line with the home’s policy and procedures. This keeps everyone living, working and visiting the home safe in the event of a fire evacuation.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The home is operating without a Registered Manager. The previous manager has resigned. In the meantime, the Deputy Manager along with the Responsible Individual are overseeing the management arrangements. A suitable candidate has been recruited and a start date is to be arranged. The interim management arrangements have not had any adverse effect on young people.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose reflects the aims and objectives of the home and is updated when change occurs. Young people and placing authorities understand the aims and objectives the home aspires to achieve. Young people are provided with a summary of the guide on admission. No complaints have been received about the home since it began operating.

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Leadership and management

The home has no current development plan that outlines how the home will continue to operate and develop, although staff confirm they are involved in providing their views about the service and how it will continue to operate. But there was no written plan available at the time of the inspection. The deputy manager said ‘the leadership team have been working with the staff to agree plans for the service.’

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Leadership and management

The monthly monitoring of the home is undertaken by an independent person. Reports are provided to the home and to HMCI, Ofsted, in line with regulation. Regulation 30 notifications are recorded in line with legislation and are sent to the appropriate authorities.

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Leadership and management

Staff receive training and supervision that keeps them up to date with current practice. Where agency staff are used they are equally provided with supervision to monitor and support their practice.

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Leadership and management

All records are safely stored in locked cabinets. This protects confidential information and restricts people from having unauthorised access.

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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 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.

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