Children's home SC449331

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The registered manager has not paid sufficient attention to the environment that the young people live in. Although some parts of the home are comfortable and well-furnished, some bare walls, high-wired fencing and institutional-style lighting remain evident throughout the home. As a result, there are areas within the home that are institutional and tired in their appearance and as such do not provide young people with a homely place to live.  Staff fail to consistently, accurately and appropriately record information within children’s case records. A number of records are not signed or dated by the author.  In the main, staff are recruited safely and records stored appropriately. However, on one occasion, appropriate references were not sought and resulted in a member of staff not being safely recruited. This mistake has, however, not compromised the safety of the young people.  Generally, young people attend school and make progress. However, staff

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

have not been successful in supporting one young person to attend school for a significant period of time. As a result, the young person’s educational outcomes are considerably compromised.  The manager and staff provide young people with access to a range of health services. Unfortunately, staff have been unsuccessful in engaging one young person in keeping themselves healthy, managing their eating habits, and attending necessary health appointments. Consequently, the young person’s long-term positive health outcomes are compromised.  Young people living in the home present with a range of complex and challenging behaviours. Staff receive a level of training that ensures that young people are cared for safely. However, additional training and learning is required to ensure that staff possess the necessary knowledge and expertise to further support the young people and improve their behaviours and outcomes.

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The children's home strengths

 The staff team is led by a manager who has the capacity to improve the environment and make positive change.  The manager has made good progress on addressing previously identified areas for improvement.  The staff provide a level of safe care and know the young people well. They are able to support a diverse range of needs, complexities and challenges. Staff are aware of the reasons why young people with autism and Asperger syndrome are more vulnerable than other young people.  Young people have access to various recreational and leisure opportunities. Staff are extremely supportive and encouraging in their attempts to engage the young people in meeting and maintaining friendships.  Staff work very hard to support young people who struggle to manage change. In doing so, some young people are successful in developing independence skills, accepting change and eating a varied diet.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The educational standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff: help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans; help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child's relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(x)) 29 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that staff: help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans; take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child's health and well-being needs. (Regulation 10(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)) 29 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety. The requirements are that: the individual has the appropriate experience, qualifications and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(1)(3)(b)(d)) 29/07/2016

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Requirement Due date

36: Children's case records 29 July 2016 The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(c))

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that ensures that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(c)) 29 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who: provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need to live their comfortably; ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(vii)(c)(i)) 29 July 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):  For children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will in most cases be homely, domestic environments. Children's homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (for example, alarms, food and hygiene); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than an 'institutional' impression. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person must ensure that the home develops and maintains effective working relationship with local police services where children in their care have targets to achieve in reducing offending or socially unacceptable behaviour. This particularly relates to a protocol for police response being

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Recommendations

produced and made available. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.5)

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Information about this children's home

The children's home is run by a national organisation. It provides short breaks and long-term care and accommodation for up to 6 children who have autistic spectrum and associated disorders. The organisation operates a school on site that may provide educational provision for children aged between 10 and 16 years of age.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

12 February 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Requires improvement

Young people live in a home that in the main is decorated, clean and comfortable. For example, the living room has new carpets and furniture, providing young people with an enjoyable social area. The kitchen provides a good range of equipment for young people to learn how to cook. Records indicate that young people are consulted in the re-decoration and refurbishment of these areas. In contributing, young people feel involved and their opinions valued.

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Requires improvement

Unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to some parts of the internal and external environment. In particular, bathrooms and toilets are bare, stark and lack attention to detail. Young people are unable to change the temperature of the shower, mirrors are provided but these are timeworn, plastic and result in young people having a distorted image of themselves. Communal areas lack any personalisation or evidence of the young people’s identities. Lighting, ‘pinpoint’ alarms and 10-foot wire fencing around the perimeter of the school and home remains in place and remind the young people and staff of the historical use of the building.

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Requires improvement

Steps have been taken to improve the garden and external environment, giving young people a safe and fun area to play in. However, in parts of the home there is an ‘institutional’ look that is not homely nor conducive to an environment for young people to thrive.

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Requires improvement

Young people benefit from living close to their school, where they access a good range of educational resources, they meet friends and can be involved in extra curriculum activities. Unfortunately, due to the close proximity of the home to the school, young people living in the home are not afforded a good enough level of privacy. In particular, one young person’s bedroom can be looked into by pupils walking past. Staff have attempted to use blinds to provide privacy but these are not always successful. As result, one young person is at risk of not having privacy when in their bedroom.

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Requires improvement

Some young people attend school regularly and make good progress. A good range of monitoring tools are used by the manager that evidences progress and achievement. ‘A bespoke programme of education, life skills and social skills has been provided by members of the care staff, who are skilled mentors’ reports a lead professional for young people. Unfortunately, despite positive reports from professionals, one young person has disengaged with their learning and is unable to associate themselves with any of the therapeutic programmes provided. As a result, their placement in the home has not been wholly successful and their educational and emotional outcomes are compromised.

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Requires improvement

Young people experience warm and nurturing relationships with staff. The interactions observed were appropriate, fun and supportive. The staff provide structure and routine that enables young people with autism to feel safe, secure and make progress in a range of areas, including their personal care and behaviour. Young people’s care plans provide sufficient detail to ensure that staff know how to provide care that is individualised and personal.

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Requires improvement

Staff use a range of recording and reporting tools to capture young people’s activities, their engagement and progress made. In the main, records are well kept and provide good evidence of progress. Unfortunately, in some instances records are not signed and dated by the author and as such do not provide the manager with accurate data.

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Requires improvement

Detailed health and behavioural plans are reviewed regularly in multi-professional meetings. A professional reports that ‘communication between the home, school and local authority is excellent’, and as a result, staff demonstrate a good level of support and co-operation to ensure that young people’s health needs are met. Unfortunately, staff have failed to ensure that one young person attends important health appointments or maintains a healthy weight. As a result, this young person’s long-term health outcomes are significantly compromised.

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Requires improvement

For young people who present with considerably challenging behaviours, staff are provided with training and learning opportunities to help reduce risk. However, staff spoken with report that they would benefit from more expert and ‘face to face’ learning opportunities to further enhance their practice.

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Requires improvement

A good range of risk assessments exist within the home and these are routinely reviewed and updated. Nevertheless, during the course of the inspection, it was noted that the use of a large paddling pool had not been risk assessed. The manager addressed this oversight with immediate effect.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s behaviour support plans provide a good level of detail to enable staff to support their identified needs/behaviours. For example, specific details guide staff to manage and encourage young people whose diagnosis of autism means they struggle with change and are rigid with their learning. As a result, young people with challenging and complex behaviours have improved responses to changes, to staff and to routines.

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Requires improvement

All staff are trained in the method of restraint used by the organisation which runs the home. Emphasis is placed on de-escalation techniques and records indicate that these are successful and physical intervention is rare.

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Requires improvement

There are appropriate policies and procedures in place regarding young people going missing. While records indicate that young people do not go missing, staff spoken with have a good understanding of procedures to follow. The inspection identified an omission of a protocol in respect of how the local police respond to the management of behaviours. Without this, there is the risk that responses will not be tailored to the needs of the young people, and young people’s behaviours could be unnecessarily criminalised.

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Requires improvement

The structure of the staff team has changed since the previous inspection. Recruitment has been successful and young people are now supported by a stable and qualified staff team. However, on closer scrutiny of staff files, there is evidence that the manager failed to secure appropriate references. While young people are not at risk from this oversight, safer recruitment procedures in this instance were not followed.

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Good

The registered manager is skilled, qualified, experienced, and has worked with young people with challenging behaviours for many years. The requirements and recommendations made at the previous inspection have all been acted upon. As a result, young people’s views and wishes are captured through various means, ensuring that they are involved in the development of the home. Also, staff receive regular and supportive supervision that is recorded well; actions are clear and reflected upon. As a result of the good management of challenging behaviours, there have been no incidents of physical intervention, although staff are led by a manager who is fully aware of and knowledgeable in the process of reporting any such incidents.

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Good

The manager regularly reviews the home’s statement of purpose and works closely with the independent visitor to ensure that the service provided to young people continues to improve. However, the manager has failed to challenge the organisation in changing the outstanding refurbishment actions. As a result, young people continue to live in a home that has historical ‘institutionalised’ decoration and furnishings. The manager accepts responsibility for this failing and has produced a good, detailed development plan that recognises the shortfalls and how to address them.

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Good

The team has regular meetings and young people are the main focus of these sessions. There is good evidence that these meetings include reflective practice discussion.

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Good

Professionals who work with the staff team commented on the good levels of communication between themselves and the home, and they are kept up to date with regular reports and telephone calls. In particular, one professional reports ‘excellent communication between the home and school’.

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Good

The manager has a number of systems in place to monitor the home. Staff rotas demonstrate a good level of qualified staff caring for the young people, and a committed team results in no use of agency staff. Since the previous inspection, the manager has worked very hard in ensuring all previous requirements and areas of improvement are actioned. While a number of shortfalls were identified during the course of the inspection, young people’s safety and well-being was not seriously compromised. The manager recognises that there are still further actions that require embedding, and these are captured in detail within the development plan.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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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