Children's Home, Residential special school run by Rowden House School Limited in Herefordshire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to make good progress. Staff use skilful, sensitive planning and warm welcomes to enable newly admitted young people to settle in. Consequently, they quickly adjust to their new environment and routines.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have enabled one young person, who recently arrived but had not attended school for a lengthy period, to feel confident to attend most days. A social worker commented, ‘I was taken back by how fast positive change happened- she is happier, calmer and settled. Her care plan seeks to achieve improvement to her quality of life and it has already significantly improved’. A parent also commented, ‘We are really happy, she has learnt to use an iPad- it’s given her a voice'.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people who have left since the last inspection have also benefited from staff working in close collaboration with parents and local authorities to identify appropriate placements. They helped young people prepare for moves by providing them with photographs of their new home, effective use of social stories and accompanying them to their new placements.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Placement plans effectively address young people’s anxiety, social development and communication. The use of sensory rooms and good routines add to this. Young people have opportunities to go into the community with staff for activities such as swimming, the cinema and ice skating. They also enjoy watching music videos and playing computer games after school. Careful matching enables young people to form positive relationships with their peers. Young people say they are happy and they clearly respond to warm and positive attention from staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff keep young people safe. Parents and professionals confirm this. For many young people their safeguarding needs relate to their physical vulnerability and need for constant monitoring by staff and behaviour management.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Some medication errors have occurred. These have been rapidly identified and appropriate advice from a doctor secured. No young person has suffered harm as a result of these errors. When staff make mistakes, the registered manager acknowledges and addresses them appropriately. She has put measures in place to improve practice. These include establishing special medication rooms and ensuring that staff wearing medication tabards are not spoken with when preparing medication.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff help young people to keep themselves safe by focusing on their ability to communicate their frustrations and anxieties appropriately. This reduces behaviour that could lead to injury to the young person or others.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager responded positively to the requirement made at the last inspection, improving feedback from young people, family members, staff and professionals. She is now using this in her review of quality of care.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

She has made significant progress with the regard to targets identified in this review. The registered manager has improved training, including introducing workshops on communication. The introduction of an independent advocacy service has helped young people express their views, wishes and feelings about a range of issues, including menus. There is a poster displayed with a picture of the advocate and contact details.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff continue to work effectively with health and education professionals, local authorities and other homes, in planning for young people and meeting their needs. Work with a range of therapist supports staff learning and parents and professionals are very positive about how staff communicate with them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people’s records are not always easy to access, which has implications for staff accessing important information. Records are not always available in a form which is helpful to young people. Whilst the registered manager responds quickly and appropriately to complaints, she does not always ensure that there is a full record of the response and outcome, in line with the complaints procedure.

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned residential special school, which is registered to provide care for up to 30 children with special educational needs. The home provides care for young people who either attend the school or come for short breaks. There are 6 individual children’s houses at the school. The home provides on-site support services, including consultant occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and an educational Psychologist.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11/03/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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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 ensure that a record is made of a complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 19/02/2016

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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 staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection, 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

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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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