Children's Home run by Partners in Care Limited in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC441717 Inspector Ceri Evans Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Partners in Care Registered person address Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane Kirkstall Leeds West Yorkshire LS5 3BT Responsible individual Luiz Miguel Guilherme Registered manager POST VACANT / Gillian Lesley Mather Date of last inspection 01/08/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 16/01/2015

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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 improved effectiveness .

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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 improved effectiveness.

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This inspection

This interim inspection focused on the progress made since the last full inspection in August 2014, at which the home was judged to be adequate. Four requirements and three recommendations were raised at the last inspection. The home has worked extremely hard in addressing all of these and this has resulted in an improved quality of care and outcomes for young people.

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This inspection

Young people’s education is highly valued by staff and engagement in daily education is expected and promoted. For example, staff ensure that firm routines are established from the onset of placement. This has had a significant impact on young people and they are now engaging in full time education. As a result, they are more likely to achieve better prospects in adulthood and now have a greater sense of achievement due to their education successes.

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This inspection

Young people who present with challenging behaviours are better safeguarded due to improvements made to the measure of control records. This ensures that the manager and staff have a clear understanding of the young people’s behaviour, which helps them to respond effectively to any issues of concern and evaluate patterns and trends. This also prompts regular reviews of the young people’s behaviour management plans and individual risk assessments. This ensures staff remain consistent when managing unsafe behaviour.

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This inspection

Physical restraint is not the preferred option used by the home to manage challenging behaviours. In general the current group of young people do not require this type of intervention. However, when this measure is used it is managed appropriately. Improvements have been made to the records of restraint;-records 3 of 5 are now clear, factual and include a discussion with the young person after an incident. This ensures they understand the reasons why restraint was used and helps them identify alternative coping strategies to minimise its future use.

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This inspection

The incidents of young people going missing from home have significantly reduced, following the departure of young people who were involved in this behaviour. Staff follow the agreed missing from care protocols when young people have been missing, which includes them going out into the community and searching for young people. Missing from home records do not fully reflect the reasons given by the young person as to why they absconded and the action taken in light of those reasons. This hinders the opportunity to monitor and evaluate missing episodes in order to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

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This inspection

A new manager has been in post since August 2014. She is suitably experienced and qualified for the role. The manager is supported by senior managers to ensure the effective operation of the home. The application for registration with Ofsted has been sent within the required timescales and is in progress. The current manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She is determined to improve outcomes for young people and has taken on board the issues raised at the last inspection.

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This inspection

Staff feel valued and confirm good management support through regular team meetings, supervision and training opportunities. Not all training events are accurately recorded on staff files, this is a minor administration error and does not detract from the high level of knowledge and expertise within the team. The manager is in the process to devising a new training matrix format which will enable her to appropriately monitor staff development. Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the quality and frequency of supervisions. A supervision tracker is in place and regular meetings with the deputy manager and team leaders ensure a consistent approach by those responsible for supervision. These measures ensure the home continues to have a competent workforce who can meet young people’s diverse needs.

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This inspection

The Statement of Purpose has been reviewed since the last inspection, which sets out the home’s aims and objectives under the new regulations. The document is now up to date with regard to staffing issues and a copy has been received by Ofsted. The manager has made some improvement to the monitoring of the home. Regulation 34 reports are completed and sent to HMCI in good time. This ensures the regulator is able to effectively monitor concerns, overview progress and the impact the service is having on the outcomes of young people. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

The children's home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people who experience behavioural and emotional difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2014 Full adequate 17/01/2014 Interim good progress 15/08/2013 Full good 05/02/2013 Interim good progress

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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 written records kept by the home when a child goes missing detail action taken by staff, the circumstances of the child's return, any reasons given by the child for running away from the home, and any action taken in light of those reasons (NMS 5.10)  There is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping and take action when needed. This specifically relates to ensuring that staff training is formally recorded. (NMS 21.1) 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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