Children's Home, Residential special school run by Amberleigh Care Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC448209 Inspector Janine Shortman-Thomas Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Registered person Amberleigh Care Limited Registered person address Amberleigh Care Ltd, Golfa Hall Golfa WELSHPOOL Powys SY21 9AF Responsible individual Patricia May Pritz Registered manager Kim Edwin Langton / POST VACANT Date of last inspection 06/11/2014 2 of 7 Inspection date 04/03/2015

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Previous inspection adequate Enforcement action since last inspection There has been no enforcement action taken since the last inspection.

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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

At the full inspection on 6 November 2014 the home was judged to be adequate in quality of care and leadership and management, and good in safeguarding, and outcomes for children and young people. The overall effectiveness of the home was judged to be adequate.

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This inspection

All three of the requirements from the previous inspection have been addressed appropriately. The Manager has taken necessary action to address the shortfalls in storing and recording the administration of medication. This ensures children and young people’s health needs are met and they are kept safe. Suitable action has been taken to ensure the Statement of Purpose is regularly reviewed and reflects the staffing arrangements and the qualifications of the staff. This ensures children and young people, their families and placing authorities now have accurate and up to date information about the running and management arrangements of the home. The written record of the Regulation 33 report which continue to be undertaken monthly by an independent person are now being received by Ofsted in a timely way. While the Independent Visitor gains the opinions of children and young people, they do not routinely seek the views of parents, relatives and the placing authorities.

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This inspection

As a consequence it is harder to be assured that any shortfalls identified by these important stakeholders are being addressed.

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This inspection

Suitable action has been taken to address two of the three recommendations raised at the previous inspection. These relate to ensuring children and young people pursue their individual hobbies and interests, and ensuring placing authorities are informed and consent in writing to any restrictions that are made within the home to promote children and young people’s safety. The Manager has now ensured a matrix is available highlighting when staff supervision has taken place. This highlights that not all staff are receiving supervision on a fortnightly or monthly basis. As a 3 of 7 consequence staff have not always been fully supported to continue to develop and deliver a good standard of care. The work undertaken by the Manager and the staff to address all but one of the shortfalls raised previously, demonstrates the homes capacity to continue to improve.

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This inspection

Children and young people’s education attendance has continued to improve. They are at different points in their education pathways and staff actively support them to attend and achieve in their identified placement. Staff value education and promote this for all. Staff use their relationships and knowledge of the services within the area to ensure varied education and training opportunities are identified. Staff support young people to engage in these different opportunities, which enhances young people’s knowledge, experiences and skills.

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This inspection

Children and young people make progress with their social and emotional wellbeing. They are now beginning to understand their emotions and behaviours and have responded well to the behaviour management plans that are being used to improve these. Staff receive training in restraint and only use this to prevent injuries occurring to themselves or others. Effective recording of the incident highlights the method used and the duration of the incident. The record also includes who was involved and the child’s or young person’s account of the event. The manager evaluates all incidents regularly to analyse and identify any triggers and trends to develop care practice. The number of restraints has now reduced.

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This inspection

Children and young people’s holistic health needs continue to be met through primary health services and in-house therapeutic provision. Positive working relationships with partner agencies ensure any presenting or emerging health issues can be identified and strategies implemented to reduce further incidents. Young people enjoy a range of regular activities such as attending targeted groups to discuss healthy eating and exercise, partaking in after college activities and going swimming, which result in children and young people developing socially and promotes positive emotional and physical health. As a consequence young people’s emotional health has improved and incidents of self-harming behaviours have decreased.

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This inspection

The home is effectively and efficiently run by a dedicated management team who emphasise and promote high standards of care. The Manager joined the home following the last inspection and is in the final stages of the application process with Ofsted. Staff are positive about the changes that he has brought to the home and feel the systems and process have now much improved. The Independent Visitor commented, ‘Reporting and recording have dramatically improved, this has made it easier for staff to complete and easier to note the progress children and young people are making.' Efficient internal and independent external monitoring systems, which routinely include views of the children and young people, analyse the quality of care and care plans. Any actions and recommendations which are identified within these are taken forward and incorporated into the development plan. This ensures the service continues to develop and improve.

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This inspection

4 of 7 One requirement and one recommendation have been raised to improve care practice. These relate to seeking the views of parents, relatives and placing authorities within Regulation 33 visits, and the supervision of staff. These shortfalls do not impact on the welfare of young people. 5 of 7

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Information about this children’s home

This company owned children's home offers an integrated residential therapeutic care and education package to young women. This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 12 young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2014 Full adequate 18/03/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 02/05/2013 Full good 21/11/2012 Interim satisfactory 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 when caring out their visit interviews, with their consent and in private, such of the children accommodated there, their parents, relatives and person's working at the home as appears necessary in order to form an opinion as to whether the conduct of the children's home promotes the wellbeing of the children accommodated there. (Regulation 8(a)(ii)) 24/04/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): 6 of 7  ensure that staff have access to support and advice, and are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff. (NMS 19.4) 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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