Children's Home run by Cumbria County Council in Westmorland and Furness

Unique reference number SC034158 Inspector Elaine Clare Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Cumbria County Council Registered person address Organisational Development The Courts, English Street CARLISLE CA3 8NA Responsible individual Lynette Marjorie Burns Registered manager Alison Glanville Date of last inspection 14/03/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 18/10/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness outstanding

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

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Overall effectiveness

Young people receive extremely well-planned and individualised care; their views are central to all aspects of the operation and practice of the home. Staff are committed to providing high quality care and this promotes positive outcomes for young people. High aspirations for young people contribute to their positive progress, particularly with regards to their educational progress, making constructive lifestyle choices, development of positive self-images and transition planning back to home The Registered Manager and her staff team are dynamic and innovative in finding ways to ensure a successful future for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

There is a full complement of experienced staff which promotes stability. There is strong management and a genuine commitment to providing an excellent quality of care with an emphasis on continuous improvement. Quality assurance is vigorous and enables staff to have an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Practice is based around a behavioural approach; working with families alongside effective outreach has resulted in excellent progress for the young people. Feedback from a professional involved in young people's lives was included the following comment, `I am impressed with the progress the young person has made and in many ways this has far exceeded expectations.'

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are very happy to be living at the home; professionals also highly 3 of 9 complimentary about the service provided. Young people are relaxed and comfortable around the staff and talk positively about how staff keep them safe. The home strives to embrace equality and diversity. This means that children and young people are supported to achieve a strong sense of personal identity. 4 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

The children's home provides short-break care for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The local authority owns and operates this setting.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2014 Interim good progress 22/10/2013 Full good 03/01/2013 Interim good progress 04/07/2012 Full good 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people benefit from high quality individualised support which helps them grow in confidence and understand their past. The key worker system enables young people to focus on their goals; they make exceptional progress in almost all cases. Young people are taught to appreciate their individual differences and to be respectful towards others. They achieve this to a very high standard. Highly individualised support helps young people to grow in confidence and address challenging behaviours. As a result young people make significant progress in all aspects of their lives, which they themselves recognise.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Fully supported by the staff team, young people achieve excellent attendance at school or college. As a consequence, young people are able to maximise opportunities, make up for lost time and achieve positive results. Overall young people make excellent progress in relation to their individual starting points and have clear ambitions for future education pathways. One young person said, 'I only got into college because of this place.' Staff are aspirational for the young people with regard to their future potential.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people benefit from an excellently planned health provision that includes access to highly specialised professionals. Young people understand the importance of a healthy life style and take responsibility for their own health, as appropriate. Young people understand the consequences of risk-taking behaviours and as a result the risk-taking behaviour is extremely low. Recording of medication administration is consistent with the setting's own procedures and medication is being administered safely.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

The range of activities young people access is huge and includes local activities as well as those further afield, such as camping. Young people clearly enjoy the range of activities on offer, are able choose which ones to pursue and as a result clearly benefit from them. Numerous avenues exist for young people to voice their views and opinions in the home which they do with increasing confidence.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff promote and achieve high quality, positive relationships with clear boundaries that enable young people to develop self-awareness and keep safe. Young people benefit from a staff team who are immensely insightful, extremely professional, sensitive and caring. Young people confirm that they have positive relationships with the staff who are genuinely concerned about their welfare. 6 of 9 Young people benefit from committed staff and managers who consistently and effectively challenge barriers to ensure the correct care package is in place. Staff go the extra mile to ensure they are fully informed about each young person's life history and work closely with the parents to enable life history work to be carried out sensitively. This results in young people being able to address problematic issues and in a way that enables them to move on in their lives.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff have strong relationships with all agencies involved in young people's lives; feedback from social workers and parents is excellent. Comments include, '(the staff) will never know how much it has meant to us, we hopefully now can keep moving forwards and all have happier times' and from a professional , '(staff) have worked wonders'.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff are excellent at enabling young people to have a say about the way in which the home is run. Young people respond positively to staff input, support and guidance. Young people feel listened to; for example after incidents they are able to reflect on their actions and record their views. They are encouraged to participate in daily group meetings, say how they are feeling and raise any concerns they may have about their day. Young people respond positively to these meetings which are sensitively handled by experienced members of staff. As a result, young people are able to openly and confidently express their thoughts and views. Young people know how to complain, either formally or informally, are confident about doing so, with good outcomes as a result.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff are skilled at promoting positive behaviour and effectively manage negative behaviours. Staff set firm and consistent boundaries; as a result there have been no incidents of criminality, no use of physical interventions and very few incidents in the home. Staff work with outside organisations to help and support them in managing challenging behaviours, if necessary. Young people know why they are at living at the home and contribute to their reviews. Young people are supported to access appropriate services to meet their physical, emotional and psychological health needs.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff have an excellent understanding of diversity issues and work well with young people in order to help them to develop a positive view of themselves and others. Staff consistently challenge any discrimination young people may face and ensure they are not disadvantaged. Young people are assisted in addressing areas relating to gender, sexuality, disability, faith and religious beliefs.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people live in a home that is appropriately located and extremely well designed. Young people, when they come to stay, are able to personalise their bedrooms, for example with favourite personal possessions. Health and safety arrangements are robust and are well used to create and maintain a safe living environment. 7 of 9

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people report they feel safe and protected in the home. They feel they can share any fears and anxieties with the staff and that these will be treated seriously and acted on. Safeguarding procedures are robust; all allegations are addressed. Staff given appropriate training, and re-training if necessary, on basic and advanced safeguarding.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Positive behaviour is well promoted with excellent outcomes; there has been no use of physical interventions, no criminality and no unauthorised absences. Clear protocols are in place in the event that a young person were to go missing and staff are trained to carry out physical interventions if needed. Effective management of young people's behaviour is a strong feature of the home and is supported by discussion and high levels of communication.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

While there have no new staff have been employed since the last inspection, recruitment procedures are robust and have been updated in line with changes in legislation. This provides enhanced protection for young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Care plans clearly identify areas of risk and protective factors for individual young people. Care plans allow for young people to take reasonable risks as appropriate to their age and enable them to grow and develop independent life skills. All plans and risk assessments are reviewed very regularly by key workers and closely monitored by the Registered Manager.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

The environment is physically safe and appropriately secure with a good standard of health and safety checks in place. Fire safety procedures are robust with fire equipment being checked regularly and regular fire drills to ensure that young people know what to do in the event of a fire. The fire risk assessment is reviewed monthly.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Young people benefit from a home which is highly effectively and consistently well managed. The Registered Manager has been at the home since March 2012 and is suitably qualified. There is a strong management team in place even when the manager is not there. As a result, young people make outstanding progress from their starting points and achieve excellent outcomes..

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Leadership and management outstanding

Staff feel extremely well supported and report that regular supervision and daily de- briefing meetings provide opportunities to discuss their roles and responsibilities and ensure effective handovers between shifts. Staff receive training in all core areas as well as additional specialised training on topics like child sexual exploitation. Good relationships between staff and young people form the basis of the home’s extremely effective behavioural approach. The results are such that young people feel safe, well cared for and learn to manage their behaviour. 8 of 9 The monitoring of the home is rigorous and highly effective. It is clear that all documents are monitored and reviewed to identify any themes and patterns that may be impacting on young people's care. Comprehensive, robust and regular monitoring of the home's operations ensures that the quality of care provided continues to meet young people's needs. The quality of regulation 33 and 34 reports is outstanding,

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Leadership and management outstanding

highlighting clear progress made by young people, including a reflective response to individual incidents and evidencing how the home can continue to improve the already high quality of care on offer.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Records are clear and are securely stored to protect young people's confidentiality; there is additional security for sensitive information. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management outstanding

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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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