Children's home run by Footsteps Care Homes Limited

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

The young people currently living in the home have been there a number of years. They see it as their home and all have clear plans to stay there until they are ready to move to adult services. The staff work with each young person to set goals that are realistic and appropriate to their needs and understanding. They identify small steps to help young people to reach these goals and achieve their potential in terms of independence. For those young people who have the capacity to move on to supported living arrangements staff help them make progress in learning to shop, cook, and develop self-care skills.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has experienced a number of challenges in Recent times. In particular experienced staff leaving and a period of disruption as a result of problematic behaviour exhibited by a young person admitted to the home. The Registered Manager has taken effective action to manage such challenges. She has kept a focus on the needs of the young people and ensure the service continues to help them make progress. The Registered Manager has recruited new staff and created a new post to focus on staff induction, supervision and development. This means that new staff have clear support and guidance and only undertake direct work with children when they know the young people well and are able to meet their individual needs. This maintains the quality and consistency of care experienced by young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Appropriate actions have been taken by managers to ensure the previous requirement and recommendations have been addressed. This has included providing training for staff to help them protect young people who may be vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Care planning has been improved to help young people with communication difficulties. This means they have been helped to develop a survival vocabulary so that they can make their wishes and feelings known.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One young person was admitted to the home since the last inspection. This was well planned and the young person took part in a gradual introduction before staying overnight. Staff made every effort to ensure they had all the information they needed to meet his needs. This included undertaking an assessment of the impact on the young people already in the home. Despite this, the placement ended in an unplanned way. Staff worked hard to overcome difficulties and manage high levels of challenging behaviour. However due to concerns about the young person’s safety and the impact on other residents, the placement ended. Although not a positive outcome the manager has reflected on learning from this and understood the factors which led to the placement ending; Many of which were beyond their control or influence.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff treat young people with respect and dignity. For those that have limited capacity to communicate verbally or by signing, they pay close attention to small non-verbal clues that indicate a young person’s wishes and feelings. They use this understanding to help young people make choices and to understand their emotions. When it is not possible to ascertain a young person’s wishes and feelings, staff use sensitive judgement to act in the young person’s best interests. In one example, staff helped a young person with limited capacity to understand, cope with a bereavement by attending a wake with family members and using photographs to help him come to terms with his loss.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are very good at supporting young people to have contact with family members. When possible, young people enjoy overnight contact with parents. When necessary staff regularly supervise contact in the community. This means that young people can take part in activities with parents and have contact that is more similar to young people who live with their families.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff understand the particular vulnerabilities of each young person and have clear strategies to manage risks. They teach them how to stay safe in the community and to be alert to dangers from social media and the internet. When child protection concerns arise, the Registered Manager takes prompt action to inform the placing authority. When required she investigates any concerns thoroughly to make sure young people are safe. Where practice issues are identified she ensures these are acted on to improve practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have a thorough understanding of the health needs of each young person. Care plans contain detailed information about how to administer medication and monitor health concerns. Staff undertake specialist training to ensure they can meet complex health needs and administer medications. They are alert to signs and symptoms that may indicate health concerns and ensure that young people receive regular health checks and treatment as required. Staff deliver a good level of care and attention to meet the health needs of young people. This includes advocating effectively when dealing with health services. This means that the young people’s health care is regularly reviewed and they receive treatment promptly when there are any concerns.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people do well in education. They have good attendance, enjoy school and have healthy routines to make sure they are ready to learn each school day. One young person is unable to attend a school or college but has a full timetable of learning from tutors in the home. The professional network supporting the young person acknowledge this approach as being the best option to meet her current needs. Staff work in partnership with the placing authority virtual school, to ensure that the education provision is consistent with mainstream provision.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager is highly experienced and very skilled in her role. She communicates a shared, child centred vision for the service and has a good oversight of the quality of care to ensure high standards are maintained. She is visible within the service and accessible to young people; who interact with her with genuine respect and affection.

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately operated by Footsteps Care services. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 6 young people with learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

09/02/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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Statutory Requirements: None

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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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

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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