Children's Home run by Doncaster Children‟s Services Trust Limited in Doncaster

Unique reference number SC032167 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council Registered person address Doncaster Council, Civic Office Waterdale DONCASTER South Yorkshire DN1 3BU Responsible individual Linda Calverley Registered manager Julie Anne Wybrant Date of last inspection 10/01/2014 2 of 11 Inspection date 27/10/2014

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Previous inspection satisfactory progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness adequate

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

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Overall effectiveness

Although children and young people have good outcomes; there are a number of issues in the management of the home which is judged to be inadequate as a result. These include staffing levels, supervision of young people, fire safety procedures and the quality of the physical environment. This impacts on the quality of care, safeguarding arrangements and overall judgement which are all adequate.

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Overall effectiveness

This home provides an invaluable service to families in the town. Professionals comment on the flexibility of the staff that will always accommodate families in a time of need. Children and young people are cared for by committed and skilful staff who provide them with experiences that would otherwise not have the opportunity to have. The division of the home into two separate areas has given greater opportunities for children and young people; particularly the older more able young people who are learning skills to support them into adulthood.

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Overall effectiveness

Parents and professionals speak highly of the care children and young people receive. They say, ‘Her mum was very reluctant for her to go, but she is very pleased in the way the staff manage her.’ Children and young people are cared for safely.

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Overall effectiveness

The shortfalls identified at this inspection were brought to the attention of senior 3 of 11 managers and immediate steps have been taken to address them. 4 of 11

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides up to 10 short-break placements for children who have physical and/or learning disabilities.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 29/08/2013 Full adequate 01/02/2013 Interim satisfactory progress 09/08/2012 Full good

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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

4 (2001) ensure the children's home is at all times conducted in a manner consistent with the statement of purpose (Regulation 4 (6)) 31/12/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that there are at all times, having regard to the needs of the children, sufficient number of staff working at the home. (Regulation 25 (1) (a)) 31/12/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the home is suitably furnished with adequate storage to meet the needs of the children accommodated (Regulation 31 (4)(a)) 31/12/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the home is equipped with what is reasonably necessary, and adapted as necessary, in order to meet the needs arising from his disability, in particular appropriate beds (Regulation 31 (2)(f)) 31/12/2014 5 of 11 (2001) ensure the home is kept in good structural repair (Regulation (2) (d)) 31/12/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that persons working at the home are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire (Regulation 32 (e)) 31/12/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the independent person, when carrying out a visit, interviews with their consent the parents of children accommodated there in order to form an opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and their wellbeing is promoted (Regulation 33 (8) (a) (i) & (ii)) 31/01/2015 6 of 11

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Children and young people make good progress in many areas of their lives. They experience a range of opportunities that they would not otherwise access by attending the home for a short break. This has enabled children and young people to develop friendships with peers they may not have come into contact with. This promotes their well-being and self-esteem.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Many of the children and young people have some complex health issues, although, parents oversee their children’s health requirements. During children and young people’s stay at the home they are cared for by competent, well trained and experienced staff that have a good understanding of their health issues. Individual protocols are in place, which are accessible to staff to ensure they know how medical conditions are managed. For example, epilepsy protocols are in place to give guidance on how seizures are to be managed; individual moving and handling plans are in place for transitions; feeding regimes, where necessary, are in place to ensure meals times are a relaxed and enjoyable event. This ensures children and young people’s health and welfare are promoted, and ensures parents feel confident that their children are being well cared for. Some parents say, ‘It’s lovely here, they are well looked after.’

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Children and young people are able to make their wishes and feelings known to staff. Key workers support children and young person to help formulate their care plans and encourage them to decide what activities they wish to participate in. Individual care plans set out each child or young person’s method of communication and staff have a good understanding of these methods. For example, plans set out words that some use for familiar requests, some use a picture exchange communication system, and others may use Makaton or their own signs which they have developed. Staff demonstrate patience and understanding to ensure that they are able to ascertain children’s and young people’s wishes and feelings.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Parents oversee the education of their children, although the home has good links with schools to ensure pertinent information is shared. For example, individual home school diaries are used and staff attend education review meetings.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Children and young people participate in community activities such as attending the local church fayre; they use the local shops and parks. The recent open day to mark the reopening of the home was opened by a local hero, who was seriously disabled in the Iraq war. This provides good role models for young people. This event was attended by a number of local residents. This has built better understanding between the home and the community and there are plans to set up a ‘Friends of (homes name)’. This not only will be a fund raising venture but also build community relationships. 7 of 11 Young people are learning a range of new skills. This has been made possible by the division of the home into two separate areas where those more able young people have greater opportunities to develop their self-help skills. For example, they are able to prepare drinks and snacks in the attached kitchen; they have a greater say in

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Outcomes for children and young people good

activities they wish to participate in, have good access to computers and attend a youth club. Social workers say, ‘The split has worked very well they are getting much better opportunities, they enjoy participating in meal preparation and develop their skills like gardening and do their laundry.’ This helps the more able young people prepare for adulthood. The less able young people also maximise their potential with hard work and support of staff.

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Quality of care adequate

Quality of care is adequate because the home does not provide a homely environment for young people. For example: some bedrooms have stop taps and piping exposed; vanity units in some bedrooms are shabby with laminate off. Alongside this, bedrooms and communal areas are stark; some containing beds that should no longer be used as they do not comply with current standards; there are only small bedside cabinets or filing cabinets for young people’s clothes. There is no hanging space in a number of bedrooms. This does not promote a homely environment for young people and does not value children and young people’s possessions.

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Quality of care adequate

There is also a shortfall in supervision at night for some young people which compromises the levels of care at this time. At all other times children and young people are well cared for by highly committed staff that provide good care. This is confirmed by parents and professionals who say, ‘They are a great team who work well with my service’; and, ‘It provides a much valued service, they are very flexible and have a good understanding of the impact of looking after a child with disabilities has on families.’

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Quality of care adequate

The majority of children’s individual needs are clearly set out in their care plan except for some where levels of night time support are not clear. Otherwise these plans include the guidance and strategies to ensure children and young people needs are met. Care plans include the behaviour management plans, bedtime routines and any interventions that may be required; for example moving and handling plans and epilepsy protocols. This ensures staff know exactly where they can locate information. These are regularly reviewed and the home also produces regular progress reports to monitor children and young people’s development and progress.

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Quality of care adequate

Children and young people’s behaviours are well managed. Individual behaviour management plans are part of the care plan which ensures a consistent approach to managing behaviours. 8 of 11 Children and young people views are sought by having house meetings. These have been particularly successful with the older young people in one of the bungalows fully participating; these meetings are facilitated by a member of staff. For example, they have discussed how they would like their bedrooms decorating; one young person requested a printer to enable them to print things off the computer; others want the outside fence painted in bright colours; others requested more games; more magazines and some would like to go ‘trick or treating’ as part of the Halloween celebrations. Minutes from these minutes are available to the young people and are presented in a colourful child friendly format and reflect the lively discussions of the

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Quality of care adequate

Children and young people’s short breaks are well matched to enable them to sustain friendships and for staff to organise activities that are suitable for the group. For example, some like to go to the youth club, some prefer to stay in the home watching television or playing on the computer. Parents receive an update following every visit to ensure that they are fully aware of how their child has been during their stay.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff are skilful in communicating with each child or young person in their preferred method of communication; this enables children and young people to make choices and promotes their well-being.

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Quality of care adequate

Children and young people benefit from accessing a range of services to help meet their complex needs. For example, the child and adolescent mental health service supports them and their families to manage behaviours. An individual from this team will attend staff meetings and hold consultations with staff to discuss particular children or young people and offer guidance on how behaviours are best managed. The occupational therapist supports and advises families and the home on a range of issues particularly around equipment suitable for individual children or young people.

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Quality of care adequate

Children and young people enjoy participating in a range of activities which enhance their life experiences. For example, within the home they have access to computers; there are lounges for them to watch television or listen to music, participate in games or craft activities. There is a sensory lounge equipped with sofas; this is a particular favourite for those children or young people with limited mobility where they can relax in a safe space. The home has its own mini bus and children and young people are taken on trips out, for example, to the seaside, local parks, bowling, a youth club, a sports club (Disports), the cinema and theatre.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Safe guarding has been judged as adequate because since the refurbishment of the home there is confusion over the emergency evacuation procedures in the event of a fire. For example, the generic fire evacuation procedure directed staff to fully evacuate the building, but individual fire evacuation plans advised that some children 9 of 11 or young people were to be taken beyond fire doors. Staff were unclear of what action to take in the event of a fire. This has been exacerbated by one of the external fire doors being broken which does not allow access to some areas of the home. This confusion and situation has compromised the safety of all. When these discrepancies were brought to the attention of staff they immediately sought advice from the fire officer to have definitive procedures in place and improve safety. Other health and safety checks are carried out regularly to keep the physical environment

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Children and young people are well supervised during the day to ensure that they are safe. There are effective behaviour management strategies in place to support young people’s behaviour and deflect potentially volatile situations. There is minimal use of physical intervention; this is used to prevent situations escalating by guiding children or young people away from harmful situations.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Children and young people are safeguarded by the good matching that ensures that the more vulnerable do not attend at the same time as more boisterous children or young people. Their safety is further enhanced by the division of the home into two separate areas to accommodate the needs of different groups of children and young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Children and young people are protected by having their bath time routines and moving and handling plans set out in their care plans. Not only do they ensure children and young people are moved safely they also ensure their dignity is preserved.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

There are no incidents of children or young people going missing. If a child or young person leaves the building they are accompanied by staff to ensure that they are safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Children and young people are helped to be safeguarded by the robust recruitment practices which ensure only suitable people are employed in the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Children and young people are safeguarded by the vigilance of the staff team to seek advice from the LADO when incidents happen in the home.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The leadership and management has been judged as inadequate because of the accumulation of shortfalls that the manager has failed to address. These include the poor quality of the physical environment, unclear fire safety procedures and shortfalls in supervision of young people on a night time. These issues compromise the quality of care, welfare and safety of children and young people.

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Leadership and management inadequate

Although there are adequate numbers of staff employed in the home the deployment 10 of 11 of these staff at night compromises the welfare of children and young people. For example, there has been no consideration given to the number of staff required with regard to the mobility of some young people if there was ever a need to evacuate the building in line with the fire procedure. Also the night staff are located at one end of the building and some young people sleep at the other end separated by two closed fire doors; a monitoring device is utilised to monitor this area. This is unsatisfactory as it does not fully ensure all young people are adequately supervised during the night-time hours. This compromises their welfare and safety as staff are unable to establish if young people are out of their bedrooms and need support.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The Statement of Purpose does not contain all the correct information. For example, it states that, ‘Listening devices should only be used in conjunction with an individual care plan, which has been agreed and signed by the parent/carer and young person if appropriate.’ It does not make any reference to the routine use of such a device, nightly, to monitor the area behind two fire doors where children and young people are sleeping with no staff in attendance. This does not ensure an open and transparent approach to care strategies and supervision of children and young people.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The monthly independent monitoring of the management of the home does not include consultation with parents to gain their views on the care provided. This does not ensure parent’s views can contribute to the development of this short break setting.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The Registered Manager has been in post for a long time and has 39 years experience working with children and adults with learning disabilities. She is appropriately qualified attaining the level 5 Diploma. She leads a team of enthusiastic and committed staff who have good training opportunities and ensure children and young people have positive outcomes. The majority of the staff have worked at the home for a considerable time and provide stability; however there has been a number of new staff recruited to expand the staff team. Of these staff, those who have not attained level 3 or equivalent have undertaken the induction standards and are to commence level 3 imminently. This ensures children and young people are cared for by competent staff.

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Leadership and management inadequate

Children and young people’s records are maintained on a central recording system enabling all interested parties to have access to information. Professionals speak highly of the input from staff, saying, ‘They have really bought into this and we can have access to all the relevant information and how they (the children and young people) have been.’

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Leadership and management inadequate

Requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection have been met; the home ensures information is well recorded and referrals are made to appropriate agencies. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management inadequate

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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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