Children's Home run by Bristol City Council in Bristol

Unique reference number SC034184 Inspector Sharron Escott Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Bristol City Council Registered person address Bristol City Council, Director of Legal Services City Hall, College Green BRISTOL BS1 5TR Responsible individual Karen Mary Gazzard Registered manager Wendy Ann King Date of last inspection 24/07/2014 2 of 7 Inspection date 10/10/2014

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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

The home was inspected in June 2014 and was rated inadequate in all outcome areas. A further full inspection in July 2014 resulted in the home being rated adequate overall. At that inspection all the requirements and recommendations had been met and the home was providing a safer and more caring environment for young people.

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This inspection

In the short time since the last inspection the home has demonstrated sustained effectiveness. Two of the previous six recommendations have been suitably addressed; the remaining recommendations are reinstated. The Registered Manager and her team are aware of the shortfalls identified. They are introducing new recording and improved monitoring systems which will address the deficiencies. The manager and her team share a clear vision and determination for the home's further improvement.

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This inspection

At the last inspection, two recommendations were made in relation to the views of young people, social workers, and Independent Reviewing officer’s (IRO) being sought regularly on the quality of care provided. Staff now ensure regular feedback on the young person's care is included in routine monitoring activities. However, the previous recommendation relating to how the young people's views are considered and responded to after matters are raised within the residents meetings is not yet fully met. A young person's feedback from meetings poster has been developed. This will help to ensure all young people receive feedback on what actions and decisions are taken following requests or where enquiries are made. However, this is not fully implemented in practice yet. As a result, the recommendation has been reinstated.

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This inspection

The staff team were asked to make sure that handwritten records are well maintained, in particular, that they are legible. However, shortfalls in the central 3 of 7 records of sanctions remain. Incomplete handwritten entries identify sanctions imposed which were excessive, written entries were illegible, the effectiveness of the sanction not evaluated and the views of the young people not sought and recorded. Four recommendations raised at this inspection reflect these deficiencies.

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This inspection

The home was requested to review care planning to ensure individual young people's identity is clearly defined and how their cultural needs are being met. Care planning now includes individuals’ cultural identity. Those young people for whom English is not their first language have regular access to an interpreter. Religious festivals are celebrated and the menus reflect individual preferences and their cultural needs, for example; halal meat. The manager and care staff explained that the young people are developing their own self identify and their cultural needs are considered daily. Young people say that the staff are nice, they listen to them and help them.

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This inspection

The manager and staff refer to the local authority policy for children missing from home or care. This policy does not incorporate the guidance from the Department of Education issued in January 2014 and therefore, lacks specific detail on preventative approaches. The home maintains established links with local police and the local authority's missing from care coordinator. Prior to moving to this home some young people previously engaged in concerning high risk behaviours. Since being placed at the home, there has been a significant decrease in these high-risk behaviours. This is attributed to respectful and nurturing relationships developed between the core staff team and young people.

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This inspection

Regular risk management meetings take place and ensure risk assessments for individual young people are reviewed and updated. Young people do not go missing from the home frequently, however, records inform that some young people are absent on a regular basis. The care team are informed by a generic missing from home protocol what actions to take if a young person should be missing or absent from home. This protocol has not been approved by the police and lacks individual strategies. Telephone welfare checks are completed by the staff who escalate concerns to the police if there is a concern. However, reduced staffing levels in the evenings, and the care team not having access to a vehicle has resulted in the staff members not actively searching for and verifying where a young person claims they are. As a result, they are not fully safeguarded.

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This inspection

The staff team are provided with detailed risk assessments to consider sexual exploitation and have access to a wide range of specialist training. Staff members stated the training available to them is good and enhances their skills and knowledge. Staff stated that the training provided on child sexual exploitation has given them a greater awareness to enable them to identify changes of behaviours, what they need to monitor and report if they should suspect a child is at risk of harm.

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This inspection

Young people positively benefit from receiving continuity of care from a staff team 4 of 7 who are well supported by the manager. Young people know who will be caring for them and make arrangements with individual staff members when they are on duty. However, staffing rotas do not identify shift leaders, times scheduled for handovers and the planning for time spent with the young people.

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This inspection

Positive outcomes for all young people are sustained. One young person has a voluntary job and is awaiting her educational arrangements to be secured. Three young people independently travel to, regularly attend and achieve well at college. Close working relationships with parents, maintained by the staff team, has supported young people to develop their relationships with their family. Young people have increased their self-esteem and confidence which has contributed to the reduction of risk taking behaviour.

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This inspection

There have been no physical interventions since the last inspection. Two complaints received from a neighbour, were handled well, and appropriately responded to. The Registered Manager ensured that learning from this complaint was shared with the staff team and the young people. This helps to reduce the chances of any repetition of the issue. 5 of 7

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of a number of children's homes operated by a local authority. The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people of either sex with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The purpose of the home is to support young people with independent living following an assessment of independent skills.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2014 Full adequate 02/06/2014 Full inadequate 04/03/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 15/10/2013 Full adequate

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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) prepare and implement a missing child policy. In particular, ensure the policy reflects the latest guidance from the government (Regulation 16 (4)(b)) 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):

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Recommendations

 ensure that children understand how their views have been taken into account, and where significant wishes or concerns are not acted upon, 6 of 7 they are helped to understand why. For example, ensure that the minutes of meetings held with young people include a response to the issues raised at the previous meeting (NMS 1.2)  ensure that sanctions and rewards for behaviour are clear, reasonable and fair and are understood by all staff and children. In particular, have a clear record of any reward (NMS 3.8  ensure children are encouraged to take responsibility for their behaviour, in a way that is appropriate to their age and abilities (NMS 3.6)  ensure the Runaway and Missing from Home and Care protocols and procedures are maintained and managed by the police and are individualised to meet the needs of the young people in placement (NMS 5.6)  ensure staffing rota’s have time scheduled to ensure handovers are held

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Recommendations

and they include the planning of time spent with the young people (NMS 17.6)  ensure that all staff's work is consistent with these Regulations and National Minimum Standards, the homes' policies and procedures (NMS 21.3)  ensure entries in records are legible, clearly expressed, non-stigmatising and distinguish as far as possible between fact, opinion and third party information, specifically regarding legibility(NMS 22.4)  ensure there is an effective system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping and take action when needed. (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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