Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Herefordshire

Unique reference number SC402426 Inspector David Morgan Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Priory Education Services Ltd Registered person address 5th Floor 80 Hammersmith Road London W14 8UD Responsible individual Helen Sharpe Registered manager Ruth Richardson Date of last inspection 26/03/2014 2 of 8 Inspection date 01/12/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection There has been no enforcement action since last time.

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Overall effectiveness

This children's home has a track-record of providing a good standard of care and this is being sustained. The last inspection raised no recommendations or requirements. This inspection makes four recommendations to raise standards further. These are: to improve the training element of fire drill exercises; to show that communal doors are not locked without due cause; to place greater emphasis on systematically improving the service, and to ensure that the vocabulary used by some staff is not stigmatising.

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Overall effectiveness

There is good practice in all areas of care. Young people make clear progress and achieve levels of independence and other skills comparable with their peers. They speak highly of the service overall and staff in particular and raise no concerns. Safeguarding issues are almost zero and young people feel safe. Behavioural issues are addressed thoroughly and include appropriate support of each young person.

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Overall effectiveness

There is effective management of the service and the manager is aware of the areas that need to be developed. At present there is consolidation of the staff team after some changes. Organisational changes are also starting to affect the service and stimulate improvements. 3 of 8

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Information about this children’s home

This service accommodates up to five young people with behavioural and/or emotional difficulties. The home is owned by a national, private company. It is one of three homes clustered around one of the company's own schools, which most of the young people attend.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/03/2014 Interim good progress 09/01/2014 Full good 28/02/2013 Interim good progress 13/06/2012 Full adequate

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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 risk reduction does not lead to an institutional feel. This is with regard to monitoring the use of locked internal doors (NMS 10.3)  apply the emergency escape plan so that all staff and children are familiar with it and have practised so they know what to do in an emergency. This is with regard to ensuring all staff undertake regular fire drills that are unannounced and use different ‘emergency’ scenarios (NMS 10.9)  ensure the registered person has a written development plan, reviewed annually, for the future of the home, either identifying any planned changes in the operation or resources of the service, or confirming the continuation of the home’s current operation and resources. This is with regard to targets being measurable, attainable and addressed in a timely way (NMS 15.2) 4 of 8  ensure that entries in records are clearly expressed and non-stigmatising. (NMS 22.4) 5 of 8

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are happy in the home and make good progress. One said, 'The staff, the food, everything. Nothing could be better.' This is confirmed by external professionals. Young people feel safe in their relationships with staff and serious risks to their welfare are minimal. Young people are actively involved in reviewing their own progress, which is substantial in some cases. Negative incidents, personal care, independence skills and progress in education all show marked improvements. Young people learn to establish their own social lives outside the home and develop realistic plans for their future.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Residents usually attend the organisation's own school in Wales and then progress to local colleges. Attendance at education settings show significant improvements over pre-admission rates. Young people benefit from close links between teachers and care staff through daily reporting both ways. The reward system is partially linked to behaviour at school, reinforcing the importance of education.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Some young people live at the home during term-time only and some go home for weekends. Parents and young people say that staff facilitate contact arrangements very well. This is an important source of support to young people and several have achieved substantial improvement in their relationships with parents in particular. One parent said, 'He's calmed a lot. I'm not scared of him any more.' Others make sufficient progress to return home permanently, which is a substantial achievement. Young people learn to be more reflective and aware of their responsibilities to others. One parent said, 'He's started apologising, which is new.' They learn to become more emotionally independent, which is particularly important for those moving into adult settings.

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Quality of care good

Young people contribute to the operation of the home in a variety of ways, both formal and informal. This includes signing their records regularly and expressing their views about the service. No complaints have been made since the last inspection. Young people receive a personalised service in terms of their care and the wide ranging experiences they are offered. Their individual sporting interests are supported well, for example, by attending local clubs. Young people are helped to sustain new friendships, which is important for their emotional and social welfare. One member of staff confirmed this: 'There’s a good standard here. It’s well organised. Any issues are addressed immediately by key workers.' A young person said, 'It's fantastic!'. 6 of 8 Placement planning is particularly clear with excellent attention to levels of risk. This provides a firm base for devising and implementing care plans for each young person

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Quality of care good

and tracking their progress. It also enables a high level of consistent practice by staff. Staff address the inequalities faced by each young person in a systematic way, which facilitates their success. There are frequent conversations about social issues, which serve to promote acceptance and understanding of differences between people. This particularly applies to issues of nationality because the home is linked to a school that is across the border and some young people are from Wales. Record keeping in general is of a high standard although some terminology is unprofessional. This indicates a lack of understanding of behaviours and the purpose of records.

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Quality of care good

Health issues are addressed thoroughly. The organisation provides therapy services to young people, which contribute to their emotional development and understanding of their circumstances. Acute concerns about the mental health of young people are addressed promptly with external professionals in order that the correct services are obtained. Medication regimes are kept under review .

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Quality of care good

The property itself is a listed building in a small village. It provides each young person with plenty of personal space, individual bathrooms, and a safe garden. There is a high standard of safety and the presentation is satisfactory. Any major damage is repaired immediately.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people benefit from a high standard of safety and safeguarding. There have been very few safeguarding incidents since the last inspection and none of significant actual impact on young people. There have been no instances of young people going missing and minimal contact has been required with the police. Staff recruitment checks are thorough and help to ensure that only suitable adults work with the young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The management of negative behaviour is effective. Difficulties are anticipated and avoided wherever possible. Planning takes young people's individual needs into account. Staff always discuss incidents with young people (and their parents, where appropriate) afterwards to help them learn and they show progress as a result. Physical intervention is used rarely and only in specific circumstances. This means that the dignity of young people is respected as much as possible and relationships are maintained.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Internal doors are locked to prevent access depending on the time of day and activities in the home. This is managed well but is institutional and is not proportionate to the needs of every young person. The use of locks for these purposes is not monitored through risk assessments or other means. This increases the risks of uninformed application and misunderstanding by staff. The property is on three levels and has an external fire escape. Fire drills occur regularly but have 7 of 8 become routine, which increases the risk of complacency amongst staff in particular.

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Leadership and management good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted for over five years and is suitably qualified in care and management. She organises the service in a systematic and thorough way. This clear structure is appreciated by staff and young people and is a key factor in young people achieving success. The service continues to develop positively and the latest changes in regulations have been absorbed into practice. As a result, monitoring reports have improved, as has the system of monthly visits. Work is also underway to finalise a locality assessment. Minor improvements have been made since the last inspection to the property. The last inspection did not raise any recommendations or requirements.

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Leadership and management good

The Statement of Purpose says that the service is seeking to achieve excellence. However, greater improvement has been limited by staffing issues and insufficiently precise development planning. During the same period, there have also been organisational changes, which are positive but have not yet become embedded. These include, for example, changes to the structure of the organisation's management team and an enlargement in the group of homes of which this service is a part.

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Leadership and management good

A comprehensive system of staff training is in place. Some staff have taken advanced courses to expand their skills. The manager is taking steps to improve both the training programme and the method of staff appraisals to provide greater stimulation and variety to the team. Opportunities provided by the new organisational structure are being taken to improve the staff rota.

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Leadership and management good

The required amount of monitoring occurs to ensure that standards are maintained. An opportunity, provided by the change in regulations has been taken to improve the monthly monitoring undertaken by the manager. This means that the quarterly reports provide greater evaluation of patterns and trends. Regular consultation exercises occur with young people and people outside the home to ensure the quality of the service is being sustained. The results are overwhelmingly positive. Attention is immediately paid to any shortfalls and the manager is reviewing ways to capture this and other evidence of improvement. 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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