Children's Home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited in Lancashire

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people live in a well maintained, clean, nurturing, and supportive home which enables them to make good progress in all aspects of their lives.  Managers and staff are committed to ensuring that all young people are safe and their practice is underpinned by a sound understanding of safeguarding policies, procedures and young people’s risks and vulnerabilities.  Young people are supported to maintain contact with those who are significant to them because staff promote and facilitate this in line with their individual contact plans.  Staff effectively use social stories and visual prompts in helping young people prepare for any significant changes to their lives. This has helped young people overcome barriers and actively engage in their healthcare arrangements.  Parents have confidence in the staff and are complimentary about the care and support their children receive. They report that the care and support

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The children's home provision is good because:

their children receive from the committed and stable staff team has assisted their children to grow in confidence, develop and learn new skills and make substantial progress.  The home is effectively managed by a very child-focused manager who gives young people’s needs the highest priority. She is well supported by a small and stable staff team who actively engage with partnership agencies in the delivering a good standard of care.  A number of shortfalls have been identified. These relate to the Statement of Purpose, managers monitoring reports, supervision, staff training and accident records.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 27/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience, in particular the registered manager (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 27/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every six months and supply HMCI with a copy of the quality of care report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1)(4)(a)) 27/11/2015

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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 the staff can access appropriate facilities and resource to support their training needs. This specifically relates to ensuring staff receive additional training on supporting young people with Autism. (The Guide, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Recommendations

 Ensure staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, in particular that a written record is kept of all actions and interventions that the staff team implement following any accident that occurs within the home. (The Guide, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home is run by a privately owned company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people who have a learning disability.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/02/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

A small and dedicated staff team provide young people with a good level of care and support which is tailored to meet their specific and complex needs. Staff are knowledgeable about young people and are committed to providing them with the highest possible level of care. This benefits young people who have made progress in a number of areas including education, health and social development.

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Good

Young people make good progress with their education. They maintain high levels of attendance and staff support them in expanding their learning experiences. Staff work closely with education colleagues in promoting a consistent approach to learning. They routinely share information through verbal handovers at the beginning and the end of the school day and use home-school diaries to record young people’s experiences. This promotes consistency in the way that care and education staff support young people. Managers and staff have high aspirations for young people and value their education. For example, staff help young people complete their homework including developing their communication. One education representative said, ‘Staff have been supporting (Name) with his communication which has helped him to build up his vocabulary, making good progress with his communication skills this year.’

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Good

Young people’s general health and well-being has improved. The manager and staff are proactive at building and sustaining relationships with a range of healthcare professionals. Young people are supported to access a range of routine and specialist services to ensure their varied needs are met. This includes helping young people overcome their fears and anxieties, facilitating appointments through effective planning and support. For example, staff use visual prompts and social stories to prepare young people for their healthcare appointments. This has been effective in enabling young people to access the dentist and opticians, services they would not attend before.

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Good

Young people are central to their care planning and their views are valued in the running of their home. Staff use their knowledge of young people’s abilities and needs and, visual communication aids. These mediums are used to support young people to have their say and make choices about the aspects of their lives which they have capacity to understand. They are also used to enable young people make choices about food, activities and the homes décor as well as gather their opinions about the staff. This helps young people feel valued and respected as individuals. Young people maintain appropriate contact with those who are significant to them. Contact with family members is facilitated by staff who understand the importance of helping young people to maintain attachments with those who are important to them. Family members and professionals are complimentary about how staff support contact arrangements and the way families are kept up to date with their

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Good

child’s progress. One parent said, ‘The staff are always at the end of the phone during our contact visits. They are always available to support me. They are a very competent team and the communication is great. I have complete faith in them.’

p.7

Good

Young people are sensitively supported to increase their semi-independent skills and abilities in line with their level of understanding and ability. They enable them to take part in their shopping, food preparation, and keeping the home clean. This supportive approach enables young people to try out and learn new skills in a safe environment, and ensures they have additional skills that they can go on to use successfully when they make the transition to adult living.

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Good

Young people live in a spacious well-furnished and maintained home which is suitably designed to meet their individual needs. Young people are encouraged and supported to personalise their bedroom with their photographs and personal belongings. They appear happy and at ease in their home, and have enough space to spend time with staff or on their own. The home is appropriately located and a range of amenities and resources can be accessed to enable young people to engage in recreational pastimes and activities of their choice.

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Good

Young people are increasingly safe as a result of the care that is afforded to them by managers and staff. Managers and staff receive regular safeguarding training and demonstrated through discussion that they have a clear understanding of the home’s safeguarding procedures, including the organisations Whistleblowing Policy.

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Good

Staff provide young people with a high level of close support and supervision due to their individual and complex needs. This ensures that young people are not exposed to unnecessary risks such as going missing from home, child sexual exploitation or bullying. Staff fully understand young people’s known risks and vulnerabilities which are fully recorded in detailed and thorough risk assessments. These documents are regularly reviewed and updated. Changes in behaviour and emerging risk are quickly identified and routinely shared among the staff team and other relevant professionals. This promotes a collaborative approach to maintaining young people’s safety. Staff place an emphasis on consistently promoting positive behaviour through encouragement, recognition and praise. This nurturing approach greatly benefits young people as they learn to understand what the world around them offers to them, what it expects from them, and how they can keep themselves happy and

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Good

safe. Staff are trained in the use of physical intervention and will use this when young people are unable to control their behaviour. However, this has not been necessary since November 2014. This is because staff are patient in their use of planned behaviour management strategies which are underpinned by strong relationships.

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Good

There have been no safeguarding concerns or allegations against staff, no complaints made from any other parties and, no issues regarding bullying since the last inspection. In addition, the provider's robust recruitment and employment arrangements help ensure that staff who are employed to work with young people are safe and suitable. Furthermore a range of health and safety checks are routinely carried out to ensure young people and staff live in a physically safe environment.

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Good

The home’s manager was registered with Ofsted in March 2014 and is suitably experienced and qualified. She is effective in her role and demonstrates a strong commitment to the young people in her care. She has high expectations of her small and stable staff team who share her person-centred approach and ethos in delivering a high standard of care and meeting young people’s needs. The effectiveness of their efforts are apparent in the progress young people make in many aspects of their lives including their health, education and social development.

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Good

Positive partnership working between the staff team and external agencies ensures young people are kept safe and their needs are fully met. Staff are proactive in their efforts to engage the relevant agencies as and when required. These working relationships are well utilised in promoting a care package which addresses young people’s holistic needs. Families and partner agencies are very complimentary about this collaborative practice and fully recognise how staffs efforts have contribute to the progress young people make.

p.8

Good

Young people are cared for by a sufficient number of staff who fully understand their individual needs. During the inspection they were seen to be happy and engaging in warm and positive interactions with the staff team. Staff talk positively about working at the home and say they feel well supported in their role. Team meetings, monthly supervisions, annual appraisals and regular handovers are routinely used to ensure the team is clear about its aims and objectives in meeting young people’s needs. However, the Registered Manager has not been receiving formal supervision on a regular basis.

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Good

Young people are cared for by an experienced and knowledgeable staff team, who are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the home. Two of the four staff members have achieved the required childcare qualification and the remaining two are on track to complete this. All staff have completed mandatory training. A recent review of the organisations training and development plan has revealed the need to improve the needs related training. This includes the delivery of autism training which was raised as a recommendation at the previous inspection.

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Good

Staff are committed to providing young people with a positive, supportive and nurturing home as identified within the homes Statement of Purpose. This document clearly sets out the aims and objectives of the home and makes parents, carers and placing authorities aware of the services and support their children can expect to receive. However, some aspects of this document are not up to date including reference to old legislation and guidance, staffing arrangements and details of the managers recently acquired qualification.

p.9

Good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and needs of the home. Areas for development are detailed in the homes development plan with clear plans to address these. Care practice in independently evaluated through monthly visits by an independent person. A record of this visit is maintained suitable action is taken by the manager to address any identified shortfalls and improve the overall quality and experiences of the young people. The manager also undertakes regular monitoring activity which culminates in the completion of a six-monthly report. However, this report has not been submitted to Ofsted since November 2014.

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Good

Records, including those pertaining to young people are stored securely and only shared with authorised persons. This ensures young people's right to privacy is maintained. Case records reflect young people’s everyday lives and the work that is being undertaken by the staff team. They accurately reflect young peoples’ needs, strengths and vulnerabilities as well as highlighting their achievements and future plans. However, accident records do not include a written account of what actions or interventions the staff team have taken following any accident that occurs within the home. This makes it difficult to determine whether staff have made the right response in ensuring young people’s safety and well-being.

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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.

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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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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

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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

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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 .

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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,

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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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

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