Children's Home run by Wessex College Limited in Wiltshire

Unique reference number SC037596 Inspector Paul Clark Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Wessex College Limited Registered person address Boreham Mill Bishopstrow Road Warminster Wiltshire BA12 9HQ Responsible individual Joanne Sams Registered manager Sarah Louise Bonner Date of last inspection 18/12/2013 2 of 9 Inspection date 10/10/2014

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

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness of this children's home is good but the home should ensure that young people are supported to attend school regularly and are able to engage in clubs and societies within the wider community. The home provides each young person with a clear plan of their care upon admission and sets out a plan of individualised behavioural management. Individualised risk assessments also ensure that young people are helped to keep safe and in discussion young people say that they feel safe. Young people make good progress in relation to their starting points. There are good relationships between staff and young people and the management and staff group are committed to the care of the young people accommodated. The leaders and management of the home effectively monitor the quality of care, make necessary improvements, and ensure that all stakeholders, including the young people living in the home, have a say in service development and

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of four children's homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The organisation also runs a school that is registered with Ofsted. This provides placements exclusively for young people accommodated in the group’s homes. Alternative educational placements are used to meet the specific needs of young people where appropriate.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2013 Interim good progress 15/04/2013 Full good 11/12/2012 Interim good progress 16/07/2012 Full good

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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 that children are supported to attend school regularly (NMS 8.3)  ensure that children are encouraged and enabled to make and sustain friendships with children outside of the home. Specifically, that they are able to engage in clubs and societies within the wider community. (NMS 7.6) 4 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

The outcomes for children and young people in this home are adequate but the home should ensure that young people are supported to attend school regularly and are able to engage in clubs and societies within the wider community.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are helped to develop their self-confidence by engaging in the numerous therapeutic services offered by the home. Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff and although they are offered a range of recreational and leisure activities by the home they do not always engage in them.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

The health of young people is promoted by registering them with a general practitioner, dentist and optician and the home ensures that routine check-ups are carried out. This ensures that their ongoing health is closely monitored. Young people are given a 'health passport' where they can record illnesses and ailments, inoculations and any adverse reactions to medicines. This means that those young people living away from home have a means of knowing their health history. Young people are encouraged to engage in healthy lifestyles by being actively involved in menu planning and food preparation. Although they are offered exercise opportunities such as gym membership and swimming, young people do not readily engage with them. There are no bicycles at the home. One young person continues to smoke in the garden of the home in spite of being discouraged by staff. The home works closely with placing authorities to ensure that young people's

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

connections with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are ongoing. This helps to support the positive mental health of young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

The organisation runs a school which young people may attend. One young person is attending this school regularly. Although another young person is attending the school 50% of the time this is an improvement in relation to their starting point. Two young people have recently come to live at the home and are undergoing a period of introduction to the school whilst being supported by home tutoring. Full time attendance at school would benefit young people in developing their educational progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people take pride in their individual bedrooms and are given the opportunity to furnish and decorate them according to their own taste. There is evidence that they are able to bring their own personal effects such as toys and musical instruments to the home. This helps to promote their personal identity and feelings of ownership of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Because the behavioural characteristics of the young people placed in the home may require high levels of support, the home has an extensive behaviour management system in place which includes positive reinforcement of good behaviour and care of 5 of 9 the living environment. Although the behaviour of many of the children placed has moved on positively, at the time of this inspection there was evidence of a large amount of damage to the windows and doors of the home for which one young person has recently received a police caution.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Although some of the young people enjoy horse riding at local stables, none of the young people are members of any clubs or societies, or have an interest in any faith activities in the community. This does not enable young people to have the opportunity to engage in wider community activities, or to make and sustain friendships with children outside of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are supported by the home in maintaining contacts with their families where this is identified as being in their best interests. In practical terms, the home will transport young people to these contact meetings with their families. Maintaining family links helps to promote young people's sense of identity and give them knowledge and understanding of their background.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Two young people who have recently left the home were prepared for a successful transition to independence, further education, or successful placement by undertaking a full independence programme developed by the home. This is an example of good practice.

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Quality of care good

The quality of care in this children's home is good.

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Quality of care good

The group of young people who are living in the home at the time of this inspection are settling down after a period of changes to the resident group. A number of new young people have come to live in the home recently. This has resulted in some inappropriate behaviours as young people seek to establish relationships and order with one another. This settling-in has been managed by good support from the management and staff team and this has helped form the positive relationships that young people enjoy with staff members. In spite of several recent staff changes and vacancies, the home attempts to provide consistency for young people by using only the organisations sessional workers who have spent a long time working in the home and with whom the young people are familiar. This consistency helps young people to feel secure.

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Quality of care good

Young people are encouraged to express their views about the day to day running of the home. This is achieved through weekly sessions with their key workers, frequent house meetings which are properly recorded, and young people's attendance at quarterly 'Development and Improvement' panels where large scale issues about the running of the home are discussed and decided upon. Young people and parents are also encouraged to express their opinions on the quality of their care at looked after children's reviews. These measures enable young people to have a voice in the 6 of 9 decision making about their care.

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Quality of care good

The home has a clearly written policy on complaints and young people are made aware of their right to make complaints through the information contained in the children's guide. The home maintains a record of complaints received and the actions taken in response to these. This enables young people, and other stakeholders, to have a say in their care and gives them an avenue where they can express concerns.

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Quality of care good

The home develops detailed placement plans at the time a young person comes to live in the home. Due to the nature and needs of the young people living in the home they also produce an individualised behaviour management plan and risk assessment. These are reviewed at the same time as young peoples’ looked after children's care plans are reviewed. Ongoing scrutiny of children's care helps to maintain their developmental progress and identify their ongoing needs.

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Quality of care good

Staff attempt to engage young people in a range of purposeful and enjoyable activities within the home and make good links with the organisation's educational provision. Children's individual likes and dislikes are known and young people are helped to pursue areas of individual interest. This helps to promote their life experiences.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home has a clear written policy on actions to be taken in the event of a young person going missing and the staff are well aware of the procedure to be followed. The home enjoys a good relationship with the local police liaison officer who they contact in the event of a child going missing. This effects immediate action to try to find missing young people. Additionally, clear risk assessments are in place for individual young people. Although there are a number of instances where young people have gone missing during the past two months, this must be seen in the context of their histories of absconding prior to their coming to live at the home, which has been high in the case of each young person.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The health and safety of young people is supported by clear procedures and checks to be followed in relation to the living environment. The fire safety measures contained in a fire safety log are robust with staff properly trained in this and areas such as food hygiene and first aid.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home has a clearly defined behaviour management policy. The staff have been trained in appropriate physical restraint methods designed to keep young people safe. The home has developed an intervention plan for each young person which details the procedure to be followed by staff if behaviours need to be managed by physical intervention. Although there has been a recent increase in the numbers of physical restraints and sanctions applied this must be seen in the context of the recent changes of young people placed in the home and the starting points of the 7 of 9 young people. The behaviour management systems applied help to promote an environment that is fully conducive to the therapeutic wellbeing of the young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

There are rigorous selection and vetting procedures in place for all staff and workers who come into contact with the young people placed and this helps to ensure that unsuitable people are prevented from having the opportunity to harm young people or place them at risk. There are systems in place to ensure that investigations into allegations or suspicions of harm are handled fairly, quickly and consistently. All staff receive training in safeguarding children and young people and this training is regularly updated. The local authority designated officer for the safeguarding of children and young people has raised no concerns about the home.

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Leadership and management good

The home has responded positively to the recommendation of the previous inspection and monthly monitoring visits are now both announced and unannounced and conducted by a person independent of the home.

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Leadership and management good

There is a clearly written statement of purpose which spells out the aims and objectives of the home and clearly states that the young people who may be accommodated may present with high levels of need. The inspection observed that the home is meeting its stated aims and objectives. The statement was last reviewed in July 2014. Regular updating of the statement helps to ensure that all stakeholders are kept aware of the type of care that the home can provide.

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Leadership and management good

The manager regularly conducts review audits of all key policies, procedures and records. Young people's individual files are well ordered, comprehensive and up to date. Young people's placement plans are appropriately reviewed, as are their individual risk assessments.

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Leadership and management good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified person who has many years’ experience in child care practice and management. The home has a clearly written policy and procedure on receiving and responding to complaints and there are information documents which inform all stakeholders. The record on complaints received indicates that they are dealt appropriately and in a timely way. The manager constructs a monthly review of the quality of care and draws upon the opinions of young people, parents and other stakeholders in the review. This ensures that all interested parties are able to contribute to service review and development.

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Leadership and management good

In spite of several recent personnel changes the organisation ensures that there are always a sufficient number of staff on duty to meet the needs of the young people. In addition to the permanent staff group, the home uses sessional bank staff employed by the organisation and occasional agency staff who work regularly in the home. This ensures that young people receive a consistency of care by people who are familiar with their needs. Staff receive regular supervision and are well inducted 8 of 9 and trained. The majority of the staff group have an appropriate professional qualification. All staff undertake an annual appraisal which identifies their training and development needs. This ensures that young people receive the best possible care from people who are well trained and supported.

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Leadership and management good

The manager ensures that the regulatory body and appropriate authorities are notified of all events as detailed necessary by schedule and regulation. 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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