Children's Home run by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Cornwall

Unique reference number SC432404 Inspector Paula Lahey Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Registered person address Fairview House Corporation Road BODMIN Cornwall PL31 1FB Responsible individual Alison Helen Cook Registered manager Donna Maria Parker Date of last inspection 09/12/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 10/03/2015

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

The staff team continue to provide good quality short breaks for children and young people. Care staff know young people's individual needs and work well to provide them with enjoyable experiences and opportunities during their visit. Activities for young people are planned in advance by staff and this ensures visits are purposeful experiences. Staff continue to support young people's complex health needs well.

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This inspection

A new support co-ordinator has been appointed who provides staff with direct support and deputises for the Registered Manager. Her appointment is positive and has strengthened management arrangements since the previous inspection. Support workers are now receiving regular, purposeful supervision; a recommendation at the previous inspection. This is having a positive impact on the development of the support workers. Training and development opportunities have been identified and some staff have recently attended communication training, visited the local children's hospice and are establishing better links with young people's schools. Staff have good opportunities and are expected to share the practice learning from these activities with the rest of the staff team. The impact of these development activities cannot yet be determined as they are in the developmental stage.

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This inspection

There are good arrangements in place to support young people who are new to the home. Visits to young people's family homes take place and families are encouraged to visit the short break service for tea before progressing to unsupported and then overnight stays. During this transition period staff collate key information about young people and produce detailed care and support plans. Families contribute to these documents and ensure that care provided during the short break correlates with that provided at the family home.

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This inspection

Staff routinely attend safeguarding supervisions with a lead professional where purposeful discussion take place about each of the children and provide an 3 of 5 opportunity to share concerns and seek advice. Appropriate action is taken by staff in response to safeguarding incidents or concerns. They liaise appropriately with families and other agencies as necessary and review young people's individual support plans and risk assessments.

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This inspection

Incident and complaint/concern records require improvement. Few complaints/concerns are raised. Where complaints/concerns are raised action is taken by managers in response. However, records maintained by the home do not consistently provide a good understanding of the issue, the action taken and the final outcome. A recommendation was raised at the previous inspection about these records and while some remedial action has taken place further work is required to ensure recording is robust.

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This inspection

Incident records do contain information on the actions taken and the outcome. These are usually recorded immediately following the incident and therefore limit the manager’s ability to reflect on the impact of the action taken in relation to the final outcome. The incident file containing hard copy records was also muddled in its order, resulting in information not being stored chronologically. This can affect the ability of the staff to properly monitor the incidents. The management team had identified the need to improve incident records and at times have required staff to provide additional information and/or rewrite the report.

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This inspection

The home has received positive feedback from families and a social worker. A social worker has praised the home for supporting a family who were in a difficult situation. She reports that the home worked proactively with a family to ensure the welfare of a child was prioritised.

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This inspection

A development plan is in place to progress improvements for the home. Currently the team are working on obtaining more age appropriate sensory toys and games for young people. The team are also working on making the entrance way more welcoming and the bathroom more child friendly. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is part of a local authority short breaks service for up to two children with disabilities, complex individual needs and fragile health.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2014 Full good 13/12/2013 Interim satisfactory progress 30/07/2013 Full good 28/02/2013 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 that a written record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of the investigation. (Regulation 24 (5)) 01/05/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure that records are clear, up to date and contribute to an understanding of the child's life. In particular, ensure incident records consitently demonstrate the final outcome and impact of action taken by the home to prevent reoccurrence. (NMS 22) 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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