Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Hesley Group Limited in Doncaster

Unique reference number SC008015 Inspector Jamie Richardson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Registered person Hesley Services Limited Registered person address Hesley Hall Coachhouse Hesley Doncaster South Yorkshire DN11 9HH Responsible individual Phillip Champion Registered manager Louise Beaumont Date of last inspection 20/01/2014 2 of 11 Inspection date 12/08/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Overall effectiveness

Young people access an exceptionally tailored environment both in their home and school. Staff work hard to ensure young people are able to progress in both settings. A core team of staff closely support each young person. This ensures each young person is provided with good continuity of care.

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Overall effectiveness

Very meaningful, positive and established relationships exist between staff and young people. Staff are innovative and positive in their approach to each individual’s needs. One parent commented ‘it is really nice as they always tell me positives as well as if there have been difficult behaviours.’ This positive, differentiated support ensures young people make excellent progress from their starting points.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s views are central in all aspects of their care. They are supported in making choices at a level appropriate to their understanding and ability. Young people benefit immensely from an individual communication method implemented to support their ability to improve their communication skills. This ensures young people’s active participation in every aspect of their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people in this setting are safe. Staff have a good knowledge of the risks young people face. Effective care practices of young people are promoted exceptionally well by staff. Staff understand their responsibilities to protect young 3 of 11 people. They have regular mandatory training which includes safeguarding to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to keep young people safe.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is very well managed. Staff report ‘the management style is firm but fair’. Staff are well trained to meet needs of young people. There are very good staffing levels to ensure young people are well supported. There is an effective range of monitoring systems to ensure the quality of the care provided to young people is maintained to a good standard.

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Overall effectiveness

Shortfalls exist in relation to aspects of fire procedures; the supervision policy and some specialist training for staff. These do not impact significantly on the health and welfare of young people significantly. 4 of 11

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Information about this children’s home

This service, run by a company, is a residential school that accommodates young people who have complex needs and severe learning difficulties, including autism. The whole school is registered as a children's home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/01/2014 Interim good progress 09/10/2013 Full good 21/03/2013 Interim good progress 26/09/2012 Full good

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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) after consultation with the fire authority ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that the persons working at the home and, so far as practicable, children accommodated there, are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire (Regulation 32 (1) (e)) 28/11/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): 5 of 11  ensure staff are equipped with the skills required to meet the needs of the children and purpose of the setting and training keeps them up to date with professional, legal and practice developments and reflects the policies legal obligations and business needs of the home. In particular ensure all staff including night staff are trained in to use an epinephrine auto-injector to support children with allergies (NMS 18.1)  ensure all staff have access to support and advice, and are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff so that they are effectively guided to fulfil their roles and provide a high quality service to children. (NMS 19) 6 of 11

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people have significant complex needs; regardless of their level of ability they make excellent progress in their development. Young people access a 24 hour curriculum which provides structure and consistency. This gives them confidence and empowers them to make very substantial progress in their communication, life skills and social interaction. These are skills which will be essential for later life. Young people form extremely positive relationships and attachments with their designated core staff team. Young people who were socially isolated before admission are now enjoying positive interaction with their peers. One parent commented, ‘My child has even been on holiday here. I was sceptical but it went very well.’

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people make excellent progress with communication. They access specialist communication support. Young people are provided with individual communication methods; particular to their specific requirements and needs. This allows them to contribute to their home and care. They are empowered to make choices at their own level of ability. For example one young person was provided with ‘a life space interview’ to inform staff what had distressed him. They were then able to make the choice to use an ‘exit card’. This has increased the young person’s confidence and reduced the number of challenging behaviour incidents.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people gain exceptional benefit from access to a wide range of activities according to their interests. For example: bowling; swimming, outdoor pursuits; visiting park and going out for meals. Staff spoke with enthusiasm about an outdoor pursuits holiday young people had recently been able to attend. The progress and benefits for the individuals taking part are comprehensive as some young people have never managed to experience this before. These opportunities enhance young people’s social interaction and equip them with essential life skills for their transition to adulthood.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people benefit greatly from good health. Their health is improving through making healthy diet choices. Young people have excellent access to health services. They improve their health by attending routine and specialist appointments. Young people’s health is being promoted further through opportunity to partake in physical activities on site and in the wider community.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people enjoy positive relationships with their family and people important to them. This is strongly promoted by the staff team. As well as visits and telephone contact from parents, some young people maintain contact through the use the internet. This assists tremendously in maintaining and building good relationships and attachments from their entry to care. 7 of 11

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff work exceptionally hard and have built and developed very strong meaningful relationships with young people. Staff have an in-depth understanding of each young person’s complex needs and have high aspirations for all of them. Young people’s care plans are child centred and specific to their individual needs. Excellent progress is achieved through having strong clear targets and regular evaluation by staff. The very effective application of the 24 hour curriculum enables staff to support young people to consistently achieving targets in school and at home. This commitment and dedication from staff further improves young people’s progress in developing social and independence skills.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff are dedicated to optimising young people’s communication which helps to aid their understanding of what young people want. Staff are creative in utilising individual communication methods to promote every opportunity for each young person to have a voice and to contribute to their care and home environment. One parent commented, ‘Staff are great I have no problems.’ This positive staff approach allows young people to feel valued and confident to build relationships. This aids them to participate and experience new activities and environments they have previously avoided.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff are proactive at implementing communication and behaviour support profiles. They work effectively in a multi-agency group of health and other professionals contributing to individual plans. This ensures young people receive very individual tailored care and supports them to reach their maximum potential.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people are make very good progress with their behaviour. Challenging behaviours, such as property destruction and self-harm are being significantly reduced by the specifically tailored care provided by staff. One parent commented, ‘If my child is not happy he will show this through his behaviour. They will have scaring from self-harm. This has now improved a lot. I can tell they are now happy, confident and settled.' Professionals have also commented ‘This young person is much calmer now due to the consistent boundaries. His routines are well supported and because of this he is maturing into a young man. His challenging behaviour has reduced.'

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Quality of care outstanding

Education for each individual is very well promoted. Young people are benefiting from excellent attendance at school. Staff go to great lengths to ensure young people can positively attend school. For example a personal path for one young person has been created to aid his transition to his classroom. Staff celebrate young people’s achievements and are proud of their progress. This benefits young people’s confidence, self-esteem and ensures excellent attainment.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people thrive in a child centred, individualised home environment which is tailored to their specific needs. Staff are innovative in creating environments for young people which meet their individual needs and promotes their independence. A 8 of 11 professional commented, ‘The young person’s room is individual. It is very much his own.'

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Quality of care outstanding

The home is well maintained and continues to develop. The benefits to young people are clear. This is evident in the construction of new purpose built medical rooms. This provides privacy and promotes the safe storage and administering of medication.

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Quality of care outstanding

The generous grounds offer young people a safe space to relax. There is quality outdoor play equipment and an abundance of space for physical activities. Staff share their skills with young people and the creation of an allotment within the gardens benefit young people. It is providing opportunity for them to experience the growing of food and plants. A staff member commented ‘the allotment is brilliant. The young people can see what they have achieved.’

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are safe living at this home. One parent commented, 'My child is comfortable and safe here.' There are rare episodes of children going missing. Any episodes are dealt with swiftly and in accordance with the missing person’s protocol. Staff demonstrate a good awareness of how to deal with such incidents promptly to safeguard young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people have detailed individualised risk assessment plans which are contributed to by specialist multi agency professionals. The risk assessments and behaviour support profiles closely link. These plans clearly detail and highlight the triggers and risks. Staff are good at identifying vulnerability’s and risks for each individual. They take pride in managing situations positively.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Behaviour management techniques are proactive. Staff are trained in behaviour management and the use of restraint. The use of restraint is low and only used as a last resort to ensure immediate safety of the young person and others. One professional commented: ‘I observed an incident of challenging behaviour during my visit. I was impressed with the way the incident was dealt with. The reactions of staff were brilliant. It was a very smooth resolve.’

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are protected by effective health and safety checks being undertaken. Staff receive regular training in relation to first aid and other health and safety matters. The fire systems are tested frequently and the majority of the staff take part in regular fire evacuation drills However, not all staff have undertaken a fire practice or fire evacuation drill more than once in the last year. This frequency of practice compromises the ability of staff to respond effectively in the event of a fire.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff receive safeguarding training and are all aware of their duty to protect young people. Staff report they feel confident to approach managers with any concern and they are all aware of safeguarding procedure. Any concerns about the well-being of 9 of 11 young people are promptly addressed by the manager in line with safeguarding procedures. As a result, young people are immediately safeguarded and well supported.

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Leadership and management good

The leadership and management of this home is good. This service benefits immensely from an effective, committed and motivated manager. The manager is suitably qualified, has substantial experience and has been in post for over five years. She is well supported by a strong management team. All of whom have high aspirations for young people and a drive to continually evolve their service for young people.

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Leadership and management good

Young people benefit from a high ratio of staff support to meet their needs. There are a small number of vacancies and new staff are being recruited. The management team is committed to recruiting a high calibre of staff to fill the vacant posts. They have revised recruitment procedures and shift patterns to attract the right staff to meet young people’s needs. In the meantime there is some use of agency staff and the manager ensures the same agency staff are used regularly. This assists and promotes consistency of care being provided to young people.

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Leadership and management good

Staff have access to a wide range of training. The staff induction is comprehensive and prepares staff well for their role. One staff member reported, ’There is a good three week induction it is very helpful. It gave me a good insight into what I could expect from the job. I knew exactly what would be expected of me.’

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Leadership and management good

Staff under take all mandatory training such as health and safety, food hygiene and behaviour management. The service is proactive to ensure staff qualify quickly in the new level 3 Diploma in Caring for Children and Young People. Staff also benefit from more specialist training in such areas as; autism, epilepsy and communication. Although a number of staff have received epinephrine auto-injector training to support young people with severe allergies; a number have not, including some night staff. In the main young people benefit from a staff team who are well prepared and trained to meet their complex and diverse needs.

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Leadership and management good

Staff report supervision is good and say, ’I can talk to managers they are approachable’. Supervision is completed in line with company policy. Changes have recently being made to further improve the quality of supervision across the service for staff. Although the frequency of formal supervision meets the current policy requirement, for some staff this is at three monthly intervals. These timescales do not promote a robust approach to formal supervision, advice and guidance being provided to all staff.

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Leadership and management good

The Statement of Purpose is of good quality and reflects well the service provided to 10 of 11 young people. The management team is committed to improving the service and outcomes for young people. There are effective and thorough monitoring systems in place which enables the analysis of information, trends and shortfalls to be identified. As a result, the service continues to improve the care provided to young people. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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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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