Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Unique reference number SC369840 Inspector Matthew Hedges Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Stoke on Trent City Council Registered person address City of Stoke-on-Trent, Civic Centre Glebe Street STOKE-ON-TRENT ST4 1HH Responsible individual Susan Hammersley Registered manager Christine Jeanette Speakman Date of last inspection 07/02/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 22/08/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection .

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Overall effectiveness adequate

Outcomes for children and young people adequate Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe adequate Leadership and management adequate

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Information about this children’s home

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for two young people of either gender with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by the local authority. The Registered Manager also manages another local authority home nearby.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2014 Interim good progress 10/07/2013 Full good 18/02/2013 Interim good progress 03/10/2012 Full outstanding

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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 all persons receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal (Regulation 27 (4) (a)) 03/10/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) If, in relation to a children’s home, 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 column 2 of the table. (Regulation 30 (1)) 03/10/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure visits by the independent person take place once a month and provide a copy to HMCI; interview children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the children’s home in order to 03/10/2014 4 of 9 form an opinion as to whether- children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes the wellbeing of children (Regulation 33)

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 at least once in every 3 months: improve the quality of care in the home; consult with children, their parents and placing authorities and supply to HMCI a report in respect of any review of the quality of care. (Regulation 34) 03/10/2014 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Since the last inspection outcomes for young people have been mixed. Some young people have recently moved out due to increasing levels of anti-social or risk taking behaviour. This limited their progress in key areas of their life. Other young people are actively engaged in their education and are achieving well. One young person talked about starting a new school and said that they were looking forward to this. Another young person’s attendance in education last term was 100%. All young people currently living at the home have robust education plans in place for the new school term. This ensures that YP achieve and develop a positive self-view. It also helps young people to develop appropriate friendships with other young people of a similar age. A social worker commented that they can see ‘real progress’ for a young person since coming to live at the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people develop independence skills. This includes cooking simple meals or tidying their bedrooms. Some young people use their own travel passes to get to and from education independently. One young person identified that their next goal was to walk to the local shops without help from staff. Some young people engage in independence work with professionals from adult services. This helps young people to prepare for adult life and gives them a sense of pride in their developing independence.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are generally healthy and take increasing responsibility for their own health as they get older. Some young people take a keen interest in healthy eating and help to devise menus around this. Keywork sessions also evidence young people’s enthusiasm in this area. This empowers young people to maintain good physical health.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people benefit by keeping in touch with people who are important to them. This is well supported by the home and tailored to each young person’s needs. This ensures that young people maintain links that help them to understand their background and supports their identity. Parents and social workers talk positively about the arrangements that are in place.

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Quality of care good

Young people enjoy positive relationships with a warm and caring staff team who are concerned with their welfare. Young people talk positively about staff and the support that they offer them. A social worker said the staff team were ‘very experienced.’ They felt that staff were ‘good at building relationships’ and that they could offer the young people the ‘nurturing’ that they needed. 6 of 9 Young people and their families understand how to make a complaint. Parents talk positively about the service. One parent said that although the complaints procedure had been explained to them they never felt that they needed to use it. Another parent stated that ‘the home is lovely with very supportive staff. There is nothing that the home could do better.’

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Quality of care good

Young people are treated as individuals. Staff understand young people’s strengths and the areas where they require more support. Individualised placement plans reflect this. Staff support young people to attend their reviews and to be involved in decisions that affect their lives. This ensures that young people feel valued and accepted.

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Quality of care good

The home provides a healthy environment for YP and supports them to access the services and support they need. The home has good links with a range of services including mental health services, sexual health services and specialist safeguarding teams. This further supports young people‘s development and promotes their safety. In addition staff work closely with adult services. This helps young people move out of the home in a positive and supported way.

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Quality of care good

Staff work hard to support young people to attend education placements and understand the importance of this. Good plans are in place prior to young people coming to the home which outline how their individual educational needs will be met. Young people are well prepared prior to starting in an education setting. Key work sessions evidence on-going support and encouragement regarding young people’s education. Staff attend parents evenings and take a keen interest in the progress that young people make. This promotes a positive culture regarding education. Attendance and attainment are celebrated; this helps young people feel proud of their achievements.

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Quality of care good

Purposeful and enjoyable activities are available to all young people. Although not all young people choose to engage in these staff work hard to promote this. Staff understand the benefits that positive activity can have on young people’s self-esteem and on the building of positive relationships. Favourite activities include trips to the cinema, bowling, sports and trips to learn about animals and birds.

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Quality of care good

The home is well maintained and nicely decorated. Young people are actively involved in this, choosing wall paper and personalising the home. Young people have also been asked by the acting manager to choose a new name for the home and a new kitchen. Young people feel a sense of ownership and take pride in their environment. Damage to the home is rare.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

7 of 9 Most young people feel safe and are safe. Some young people previously living at the home continued to engage in unsafe behaviours. This meant that they needed to move from the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Some young people have been missing since the last inspection. These young people had been missing before moving to the home. This behaviour did not reduce while living at the home. The police and social workers felt that ‘the home did all they could.’ When young people are missing the staff work hard to locate them and make sure they are safe. Potential child sexual exploitation is well identified and responded to appropriately. Robust relationships with the police and other safeguarding agencies ensure that information is gathered and shared appropriately. Regular strategy meetings are held when there are concerns. Staff offer good support to young people in relation to their sexual health. Staff also keep in touch with young people when they have moved on. They offer support to young people and continue to work with key professionals to share information. This protects young people from further harm.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Records held within the home do not always evidence a robust response to other safeguarding issues. These issues relate to concerns raised by young people about previous placements. Staff raise concerns and inform the young person’s social worker but this is not always accurately recorded or followed up. The impact on young people is minimised by the acting manager’s oversight of this. Social workers comment positively about the communication with the home and confirm that they are notified of all incidents.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Positive behaviour is promoted within the home. Sanctions are rarely used and a culture of rewarding positive behaviour has clearly developed. This helps young people to reflect on their behaviour and its impact on other people. Young people have been able to talk about this with each other.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Some young people moved into the home in an emergency which has not allowed for effective planning. This meant that young people’s behaviour deteriorated and physical restraint has been required. A lack of support and supervision led to inconsistent practice and a reactive approach when managing young people’s behaviour. This resulted in an increased number of calls to the police. Improvements have been made including improved supervision and better access to training. Impact assessments are also in place when new young people move in and key issues are raised in advance with specialist teams including the police. This ensures that support is better planned and responses to behaviour are more consistent

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Leadership and management adequate

8 of 9 The homes Registered Manager has 17 years of experience working with children and has been the manager at the home since 27 June 2013. She has an NVQ level four in health and social care and is currently working towards a level five diploma in leadership. The Registered Manager has been absent from the home since May 2014.

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Leadership and management adequate

The acting manager is aware of the homes strengths and weaknesses and has identified a number of areas for development. These are underpinned by a detailed development plan that has also been commented on by young people. These improvements are yet to be fully embedded and the long term management arrangements at the home remain unclear. This impacts on the homes effectiveness and creates a sense of uncertainly. The impact of this on young people is minimised by the relationships they have with the staff and the acting manager.

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Leadership and management adequate

Notifications to Ofsted are not always completed in a timely fashion. The systems in place for monitoring the home are not effective and do not drive improvement. The home is visited each month by another manager employed by the same authority and a report is produced. Until recently the visitor has not been suitably independent of the home. Reports are not fully completed and key tasks such as discussions with families or other professionals are not included. Staff work hard to engage young people and their families and to seek their views. The impact of this is therefore reduced.

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Leadership and management adequate

The interim manager monitors the homes performance each month and has produced one quarterly report. No other reports have been written since the last inspection in February 2014. The report was not sufficiently detailed and did not identify patterns and trends. The report did identify clear actions that the home needed to take. These are linked to the homes updated development plan. Team meetings are now used to discuss improvements that are needed. The homes Statement of Purpose is now reviewed regularly by the acting manager. A children’s guide is also available. Both documents are well written.

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Leadership and management adequate

Staff training and supervision has been poor. This has led to inconsistent practice and has affected the support that young people receive. Since June this has improved and staff say they feel more supported. Some key areas for training have been identified by the acting manager and courses have been booked. The acting manager is also working with other local homes to improve the quality of record keeping and report writing. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management adequate

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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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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