Children's Home run by 3 Dimensions Care Limited in Devon

Unique reference number SC407753 Inspector Janice Hawtin Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person 3 Dimensions Care Limited Registered person address Chardleigh House Chardleigh Green, Wadeford Chard Somerset TA20 3AJ Responsible individual Nita Ellul Registered manager Emma Patricia English Date of last inspection 11/09/2013 2 of 10 Inspection date 12/11/2014

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Previous inspection satisfactory progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make exceptional progress in this home. Managers and staff demonstrate a clear determination to provide for the needs of each individual, and to share in their success. A young person who is soon to move on commented 'I would recommend Woodview, and if I was a parent I would be happy for my child to live there, it has felt like a home and is relaxing.’

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Overall effectiveness

Attention to consultation with the young people living in this home, and detailed behaviour management planning contributes to the success of placements. Care planning follows a summary of presenting issues and the actions needed. These planning documents are regularly updated and provide evidence of steady and sustained progress for young people across all aspects of their social, emotional, physical and behavioural development.

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Overall effectiveness

Safeguarding of young people is an overriding feature of the home. The staff present a good understanding of the risks young people present or place themselves in. Action is taken to help them develop the understanding and social skills they need to help keep themselves safe. Staff take control when needed and enforce clear boundaries and expectations.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager is respected by staff and other professional stakeholders. A social 3 of 10 worker commented ‘I’ve been really impressed with the manager; she is motivated and holds it all together, the staff are always on the ball.’ The manager and leaders understand the strengths and weakness of the home and have a development plan in place. Recent inspections across other children’s homes within the same organisation have provoked many developments to benefit young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Three recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection. None of these are having a direct impact on the welfare or safety of young people and relate to issues that have already been identified as needing some improvement, and are being addressed. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

The service is run by an established private provider. The home is registered to provide medium to long term care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The home is managed as two separate units within one house.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider bases its practices on the integration of home, education and therapeutic services working together to meet the needs of the child. Young people living in the home can attend a school also run by the provider and have access to in-house therapeutic support.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2013 Interim satisfactory progress 16/05/2013 Full good 06/12/2012 Interim good progress 01/08/2012 Full outstanding

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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 staff are provided with regular supervision (NMS 19.4)  ensure the Statement of Purpose is a clear document (NMS 13.1)  ensure the home implements all polices in practice, particularly recording considerations of risk around lone working. (NMS 22.1) 5 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

The home demonstrates exceptional outcomes for young people, who make progress in all aspects of their lives. Each is considered a unique individual, and is valued by the staff caring for them and treated with unconditional positive regard. Listening to, and consulting with, young people play a large part in making them feel valued and raising their self-esteem. Photographs of the young people are displayed in the home and they have a wealth of important memorabilia to take with them when they leave. This practice shows care and consideration, which also helps young people develop a sense of worth and ensures they have a history of their time living at the home when they move on.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

The value of contact with family and the importance of young people understanding their history are not underestimated. Work with families has aided understanding of young people’s behaviour and this in turn has improved relationships. Young people benefit from the support provided through re-establishing relationships and regular contact with family members.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people enjoy going to school and college, and attendance is exceptional. They make steady and sustained progress in their attainment and take qualifications appropriate to their ability. Young people have aspirations for the future, and their opportunities are enhanced through the provision of work experience. One is determined to become a writer and is already compiling an autobiography.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people do not engage in drug taking or criminal behaviour. The attention to developing young people and preparing them for adult life equips them with both practical and important social and emotional skills. Where young people were putting themselves at risk of harm this has significantly reduced. They have gained understanding about relationships, the risks of being sexually exploited and around personal safety. One young person commented ‘all I knew was cooking, now I can do more and more, the staff help until you can do things on your own.’

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

The activities provided promote learning and offer stimulating opportunities for young people. They tend to try lots of different things, both in the community and in the home, and enjoy spending time with friends. This encourages the development of their interpersonal and social skills, and young people have gained confidence during their time in the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people are enabled to participate in making choices and are involved in the decisions that affect their lives. They attend planning and review meetings and share their feelings and wishes about the care provided, compiling care and behaviour management plans alongside staff. This adds to their sense of worth and value and contributes to the success of placements. 6 of 10 Young people benefit from the health care provided, they attended routine health checks. They make gradual and sustained progress in understanding and managing their behaviour, becoming increasingly self-regulating.

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Quality of care good

Ofsted has received very encouraging feedback from professionals and young people about the quality of the care provided. A social worker commented ‘communication is good, I get weekly, well written reports about the young person, they involve her in the planning and decisions made. They have prepared her for independence and I would certainly use this home again.’

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Quality of care good

Young people get on well with the staff. Each has a keyworker with specific responsibility for co-ordinating their care and making sure their individual needs are met. This contributes to young people’s continuous personal development.

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Quality of care good

Care planning is detailed and starts with a summary of the young person’s background including the factors which influence their behaviour and emotional needs. Staff are warm and caring in their approach, they have high expectations for the young people and want them to do well. This contributes to them supporting the best possible outcomes for young people. The care provided meets the expectation of the placing authority and parents.

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Quality of care good

Behaviour management planning offers a very careful balance between allowing young people to take age appropriate risks and the implementation of clear boundaries and expectations. If issues arise the staff provide young people with the knowledge and guidance they need to be able to understand the risks. Their ability to consider risk and make the right choice is measured so that additional work can be done if needed. The use of resources produced by specialist agencies aids this process.

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Quality of care good

Young people engage in, and try out lots, of different activities. These can be individual, such as horse-riding, or in community based groups. Young people benefit from regular holidays, weekends away and visits to places of interest. These activities support young people’s interests, offer additional learning opportunities and enhance their social interaction skills.

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Quality of care good

Health and well-being are important features of the care provided. All routine and preventative health checks are up to date. Young people also have access to specialist services should they need these. They have benefitted from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services as well as access to the organisations own clinical psychology service.

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Quality of care good

Young people's record of attendance at school or college is exceptional. The home 7 of 10 has close links with these facilities, and bespoke packages of education and work experience opportunities are provided. The staff team support young people by transporting them to and from school, if necessary, and helping with homework. Young people have their own laptops and access to the internet in the home, this supports their learning. The care staff are both imaginative and creative in developing resources to aid young people's understanding.

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Quality of care good

The environment is homely, and decorated, and maintained to a high standard. There are pictures of young people around the home and bedrooms are highly personalised so that young people have a real sense of value and belonging. Nearby facilities can be accessed using the homes own car or using public transport.

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Quality of care good

Young people know how to make a complaint and these have been dealt with to the satisfaction of the complainant. The arrangements for dealing with medication are safe and effective. Young people are encouraged and supported to take a gradual responsibility for the storage and administration of their own medication in preparation for independence.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are safe and say that they feel safe in the home. They are able to speak to any members of staff and trust them to act in their best interests and to keep them safe act. Bullying is not currently an issue in the home. Where previously there have been concerns about the negative impact young people are having on one another this has been dealt with to keep young people safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans clearly identify the particular vulnerabilities of young people, and promote their safety. They are compiled in consultation with young people. This contributes to them understanding risk and gradually moving towards making safer choices and taking increased responsibility for their own behaviour. Plans are reviewed on a regular basis. Where risk is reduced this is demonstrated to young people, if necessary and depending on learning styles, this can be visual aids or discussions. There are some imaginative visual aids created by the staff.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Action has been taken to reduce incidents of young people going missing from the home. Following incidents the staff have sort guidance from, and worked in consultation with, other professional agencies to address issues and reduce risks. The homes policies around actions to take when young people go missing from the home follow the expectations of the police and the local safeguarding board.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The staff receive training in safeguarding, how to deal with allegations and first aid. They can readily describe the appropriate action to take and have a good understanding of how they can safeguard the young people they look after. The manager keeps detailed records of any grumbles, moans, or concerns raised about 8 of 10 any staff by young people. However insignificant these may seem they are always discussed with another agency to provide some additional independence safeguards for young people. Any allegations of harm or concerns are handled quickly to safeguard young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Specific programs are used to help young people understand relationships, sexual health issues and exploitation. This is helping young people to keep themselves safe when out in the community and also when using social networking sites on the computer.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Health and safety check take place annually and young people are involved in evacuations of the building. This ensures they know what to do in the event of an emergency such a fire in the home. The use of any physical restraint is kept to a minimum. All incidents are recorded and monitored by the manager. Staff and young people reflect on what happened and if the need to use restraint could have been avoided or could be avoided in future.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

All staff working in the home have been carefully selected and vetted before they can work with young people. This helps to ensure that unsuitable people are not employed to work in the home.

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Leadership and management adequate

A Registered Manager is in place, she has substantial experience of work with children and young people and holds professional qualifications in both ‘child care’ and ‘leadership and management’. Staff report they feel supported by the manager, and a professional stakeholder commented ’I have been really impressed by the manager; she has been able to spread her child centred ethos through the team.’ The manager is also responsible for the excellent quality of care planning, risk assessments and behaviour management planning.

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Leadership and management adequate

Strengths and weakness of the service are understood and a development plan is in place. Developments include an update of the supervision policy which includes an increase in the frequency of formal supervision. Prior to the recent implementation of this policy there are significant gaps in supervision frequency and the provision did not meet previous policy requirements to ensure the staff receive the support and formal guidance needed. Staff have individual annual competency assessments and appraisals in place, which contribute to personal continuous development. The staff team are skilled in understanding and meeting the needs of young people especially those who present with behavioural and learning difficulties. The majority of the team hold a child care qualification, with another nearing completion and others currently undertaking these courses.

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Leadership and management adequate

The appointment of a skilled professional to undertake independent monitoring of the home has seen an improvement in the quality and content of the reports which detail 9 of 10 these visits. The reports provide an opportunity for young people and staff to express any concerns or issues and offer suggestion for developments or actions needed to improve the home. This independent oversight helps to safeguard and promotes the welfare of young people.

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Leadership and management adequate

The Statement of Purpose has been recently updated. It offers the reader clear and precise information about the aims and objectives of the home and how the manager and staff intend to meet these. The content indexing doesn’t correspond with page numbers and the contact address of the manager and responsible individual are not readily evident. This small issue is not impacting on the welfare of young people.

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Leadership and management adequate

Young people’s records are well ordered, indexed and up to date. Information is readily available and contributes to understanding the background, progress and needs of the young people. It is a real strength of this home that planning documents and risk assessments are robust. They clearly identify the needs of young people and evidence working in consultation with them to ascertain how staff can help and intervene to tackle areas of weakness or risk and build on strengths.

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Leadership and management adequate

The considerations of additional risk in lone working with young people while away on holiday were not recorded as required. This could lead to the omission of some information. These assessments are preventative and there is no evidence that young people were ever put at risk. The staff team understand the particular vulnerabilities of the young people they look after and are able to describe action they would take should any issues arise. 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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