Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Partnership of Care Today in Staffordshire

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are consulted on a regular basis through formal meetings and during key working sessions. Their views are listened to and acted upon.  Detailed risk assessments are understood by staff members and help young people to be safe and stay safe  Staff have the skills to protect young people and keep them safe.  Young people benefit from learning independence skills that will support them when they move on from the home.  The home works collaboratively with other agencies to support young people.  There is good monitoring of the home to identify weaknesses and improve the care given to young people.  The homes satellite house requires greater input in its location risk assessment and statement of purpose.

p.3

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the homes location and strategies for managing these and be fully completed with the relevant information. (The guide to the standards, page 64, 15.1).

p.4

Recommendations

 The homes Statement of Purpose should be child-focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to the quality standards for the children in their care. The Statement of Purpose must include information about all the homes under the same registration. (The Guide to the standards, page 14, 3.5).

p.4

Information about this children's home

The privately owned service is both a children's home and a school that provides care and education for up to 10 young people who have significant social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Ten young people can be accommodated at the children's home with a further two young people accommodated in the satellite home.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

17/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Recent inspection history

18/12/2013 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

p.5

good

Young people make good progress because they receive consistent, individualised care in relation to their care planning arrangements. Staff are aware of young people’s individual routines and each day is structured around school with the opportunity to engage in activities during their spare time.

p.6

good

Staff interact well with the young people and have a very positive view of the young people they look after and work hard to engage with. This promotes an environment in which young people feel confident to express their individuality. Young people report that the staff ‘will always help you out’ and feel that the home is a good place to live.

p.6

good

The organisation has recently opened a satellite home that is under the same registration. This home is primarily a semi independence unit for young people aged 16 years and over. The focus for staff working there is to promote and support young people’s transition into adulthood. Young people living there report ‘I love being able to do my own thing, it’s good that someone is there in case I need any help’.

p.6

good

All the young people receive direct or indirect therapeutic intervention delivered by the in-house therapeutic team or through key working sessions delivered by the home’s staff. As a result of this therapy young people’s risk is reduced and young people have been able to move on successfully into independence.

p.6

good

The home is part of a residential special school, which is on site. All young people maintain good engagement in their education since coming to the home. This includes some young people who have previously not engaged with their education for an extensive period of time. A good relationship between education and care staff ensures that there is a consistent approach between the home and education to support young people.

p.6

good

Young people’s health is promoted within the home. They are encouraged and supported to attend routine appointments with dentists, doctors and opticians. Good health is promoted and young people are discouraged from unhealthy behaviours such as smoking. The home encourages young people to adopt healthy lifestyle through being involved in physical activities and having an improved diet.

p.6

good

Staff ensure that young people are able to maintain contact with their family and significant others. Staff support these arrangements both practically as well as providing emotional support to young people. This means that young people are maintaining relationships with people important to them which contributes to their individual identity.

p.6

good

Young people report that they feel safe in the home. Young people are kept safe through effective working practices and clear detailed risk assessments which are regularly updated. Staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities and are well trained.

p.7

good

Incidents of some young people going missing from the home have reduced which has had a positive impact on their safety and well-being. When there have been incidents of young people missing, the home deals with it appropriately and most young people return home the same day without incident. Upon return to the home young people are offered the opportunity to speak with an independent person and will also have a session with their keyworker around the behaviours that made them go missing.

p.7

good

Challenging behaviour in the home is well managed. This has resulted in fewer disruptions in the home. Physical interventions are only ever used as a last resort to safeguard a young person or others. The home has made improvements to the physical intervention records and now captures the young person’s views more clearly that can feed into a key working session so repeat behaviour can be avoided.

p.7

good

The home supports and encourages young people to develop socially acceptable behaviour, young people are praised for their positive behaviour and rewarded for their achievements. As a result of this, young people link positive behaviour to praise and reward, this has contributed positively to reducing the need for sanctions.

p.7

good

The views and opinions of young people are actively sought on aspects of the home, such as menu planning and activities. This information is captured through the weekly house meetings and through regular key worker sessions. This means that young people’s views influence the running of the home and how their care is carried out.

p.7

good

Young people are clear about the home’s complaints procedures and the avenues of support open to them. Young people have access to independent advocate services if they wish to speak to someone outside of the home. The recruitment and selection of people working at the home is thorough and includes vetting and checking of all applicants before they work with young people. Visitors to the home are required to show proof of identity and sign in before access is granted. This ensures that unsuitable adults do not have access to vulnerable young people.

p.7

good

This home is a large detached property in its own grounds. The home is well furnished and some of the bedrooms are due to be refurbished and decorated. There is a wide choice of communal rooms and sizes of bedrooms to meet individual preferences. There are large gardens around the building that incorporate an outdoor play area for young people and a football field.

p.8

good

Young people are protected by good health and safety procedures. All the required health and safety certificates are in place and internal fire safety checks are undertaken at the required frequencies to ensure a safe building. Regular fire drills also ensure that young people and staff are able to evacuate the home safely in the event of a fire.

p.8

good

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since April 2014 and holds a National Vocational Qualification in leadership health and social care level 4.

p.8

good

The home’s statement of purpose document provides clear information about the level of service provided plus clear information for users of the service, including young people, their parents and social workers about the aims and objectives and facilities offered at the home. The same document however does not provide the same level of detail on the satellite home. This means that potential service users are not receiving the full information on the services this home offers.

p.8

good

The registered manager and staff state that they receive formal supervision and have their performances regularly appraised. Weekly staff meetings also demonstrates further management oversight along with the opportunity to deliver consistent messages to the staff team. Records show that staff receive mandatory training that includes, safeguarding, behaviour management and first aid. This ensures the staff have the right skills to care for young people.

p.8

good

Monitoring of the home is undertaken each month by an independent person. This includes consultation with young people, parents and other professionals. Any shortfalls which may be identified are quickly highlighted and are quickly acted upon. This means that there is good monitoring of the quality of care for young people.

p.8

good

The manager and staff team are committed to developing good relationships with professionals, young people and family members. A social worker reported ‘whenever I call I always find the staff receptive and helpful’. This means that the home works collaboratively with other agencies to benefit young people in their care.

p.9

good

The homes location risk assessment is fully completed and the appropriateness and suitability of the location are reflected in the document. However the document pertaining to the satellite home requires a greater level of detail to make it unique to this home.

p.9

good

At the last inspection there was one requirement for improvement. This has been successfully addressed with a new system in place for measuring young people’s progress.

p.9

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

p.10

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.10

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.10

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

p.11

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.11

Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.12

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.12

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.12

Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.12