Children's Home run by Bristol City Council in Bristol

Unique reference number SC031504 Inspector Sarah Canto Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Bristol City Council Registered person address Bristol City Council, Director of Legal Services City Hall, College Green BRISTOL BS1 5TR Responsible individual Karen Mary Gazzard Registered manager Valerie Mower / Claire Marie Windeatt Date of last inspection 21/11/2014 2 of 7 Inspection date 05/02/2015

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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 sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

This short breaks home was judged adequate at the previous full inspection in November 2014. At this interim inspection, the judgement is that it has sustained its effectiveness.

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This inspection

Requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection are in the early stages of implementation. Sufficient progress has been made to demonstrate managers are taking robust action to meet the requirements. The requirement relating to the independent visitor role has not been met. The home has not benefitted from an independent visitor, providing monthly quality assurance reports, for over two months. The service manager has endeavoured to resolve this and arrangements are in place for a new visitor to start in February. Managers have undertaken work to ensure they meet the second outstanding requirement; they are working on a system for management reporting on service improvement every three months. This system is yet to be implemented and embedded.

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This inspection

The home has a new system in place for recording incidents of physical intervention. Restraints still occur in the home, but have reduced. Records now describe behaviour leading up to incidents, in more detail, and indicate that restraint is used as a last resort. Sanctions and restraint books have been re-designed into a new format which enables the managers to more easily review trends. Behaviour management plans are updated in accordance with this. Managers have also implemented a new behavioural management policy since the last inspection. As a result, young people have individualised plans to assist staff in providing suitable support.

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This inspection

Two young people have been placed at the home under emergency circumstances. 3 of 7 The young people now live in the home. Although this is provided for in the Statement of Purpose, such arrangements are not the usual function of this short breaks home. Despite the unplanned circumstances of their placement, the young people’s confidence and behaviours have improved as a result of the care given. This in turn has positively affected the transition planning for young people. Managers work well with social workers, and other professionals, to secure future placements for young people. Other young people who no longer use the home since the last inspection, due to their age exceeding the limit, have moved on to the adult placements or have their needs met by family and education arrangements.

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This inspection

Contact with family members is encouraged; families visit the home and enjoy meal times and activities with young people. Social activities and friendships are also encouraged.

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This inspection

The home is undergoing a plan of decoration. Young people who live or stay in the home have personalised bedrooms. For example, one young person has matching bedding, cushions and rugs. For another young person, a staff member is designing a radiator cover in the shape of a robot as part of a space theme. Portable personalised notice boards enable young people to display drawings and photographs. Staff canvas young people’s views about the decoration of communal areas and young people vote for their favourite options using a book of wall art images. Young people have also requested a zip wire for the garden which has been purchased and this is in the process of being installed. Therefore young people are listened to and given choices, which allows them to positively contribute to the running of the home. Unnecessary physical restrictions around the home have reduced to a satisfactory level such as the locking of toy cupboards and bath tap

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This inspection

guards. This assists in decreasing an institutional feel in the home.

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This inspection

The managers provide regular supervision to staff, in accordance with the Statement of Purpose and the individual supervision contracts for each staff member. Team meetings take place regularly. Since the last inspection, managers have made several changes in systems to enhance the running of the home. Handover arrangements now ensure that staff, on every shift, discuss the young people. The weekly register demonstrates clearly which children and young people stay in the home and when. Plans are in place to ensure that all children, young people and staff practice what needs to happen in an emergency.

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This inspection

A young person said, ‘ I like coming here.’ Observations indicate that young people enjoy spending time in the home and with the staff. Staff support young people to be as independent as possible and introduce goals with timescales: these are clear and achievable, such as independently making a trip to the shop.

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This inspection

The home reflects young people’s heritages and has ‘cultural months’ where different foods and customs are celebrated which young people enjoy together. A carer said, ‘This is a lovely place to work, the children and young people are great and we have a lot of fun.’ Staff find the managers supportive. A recent survey of 4 of 7 parents indicated very positive opinions and managers demonstrate that any feedback is acted upon. A social worker commented that, ‘Staff go above and beyond what they need to do.’ 5 of 7

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by Bristol City Council. It provides care and accommodation for up to 10 children and young people, aged from five to 17 years at any one time, who have a learning disability and who may also have a physical disability. The home also provides an overnight short breaks service.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2014 Full adequate 03/03/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 25/11/2013 Full good 21/01/2013 Interim good progress

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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

(2001) ensure the independent person carrying out visits routinely interviews or observes children, interviews their parents or relatives to form an opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and the home promotes the well-being of children (Regulation 33(8)(a)(i)&(ii)) 28/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for improving the quality of care in the home and include detail of this system in the report provided to HMCI at least every 3 months (Regulation 34(1)(a)&(b)&(2)) 28/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure visits by the independent person shall take place once a month and may be unannounced. (Regulation 33 (7)) 28/03/2015 6 of 7 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Reg. Requirement Due date

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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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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