Children's home run by My Life - My Choice Ltd in Hyndburn

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:

 An experienced registered manager, committed to achieving high standards of care for children and young people, leads this home.  The established staff team knows and understands the children and young people in their care. Staff place the well-being of children and young people at the centre of their practice.  The decoration and maintenance of the home is of a high standard. Facilities and equipment meet children’s and young people’s individual needs. Parents describe the service as ‘a home from home’.  Children’s and young people’s wishes and feelings are valued by staff and influence care. They can choose which bedroom they stay in, as well as their meals and what activities to undertake.  Children and young people build positive relationships with staff. Parents, professionals, children and young people describe trusted relationships between children, young people and the adults who care for them.

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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 registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development, with particular regard to e-safety and ‘Prevent’ training (Regulation 33 (4)(a)). 31 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires (Regulation 44 (2)(a)). 31 July 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The use of agency or bank staff should be carefully monitored and reviewed. Rapid turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, is likely to indicate underlying problems and should be monitored and addressed by the registered person (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 10.12).  Settings should support children both to leave the home smoothly at the end of each stay and eventually permanently or when they move to another provider (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.33).

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to accommodate up to eight children, irrespective of gender, aged five to 17, on a short-break basis. The home specialises in the care of children who present with learning disabilities. It is operated by a private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Good

Children and young people build secure relationships with staff and enjoy their short breaks at this home. Children, young people and their families value the home. Parents say that they are ‘very happy, always pleased, fantastic staff’ and that they ‘feel so happy and confident with leaving (name)’. Some parents commented on the improvements, saying ‘especially of late because of out and about events [at] which he seemed to have grown more confident’. Children and young people receive support to participate in decision making during their short-break stays. They choose the bedroom that they stay in, select meals and choose the activities that they undertake. Recent activities chosen include participation in a play scheme at a local leisure centre, visiting shops or taking a picnic to the beach. Facilities at the home allow children and young people to enjoy themselves and have fun. They include a hydrotherapy pool, outdoor play centre, sensory ball

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Good

room and a range of inside and outside activities. Activities support children’s and young people’s developmental needs. For example, one young person’s chosen activity is to sweep the main hall and this promotes independence skills. Staff work proactively with other services, including social workers, child and adolescent mental health services, schools and specialist medical services. A social worker said, ‘The home is able to deliver a high-quality service often going the extra mile. The staff are able to establish a real partnership with families and service users, making them feel valued. The registered manager and her team have at their hearts the young adults and children they support, and because of this they are able to provide a personalised service for each young person.’ This demonstrates that the quality of relationships between professionals and staff are very good. The home has positive links with the local community. Children and young people

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Good

attend community events and use local facilities. Children and young people are valued in the local community and develop a sense of belonging. Children’s and young people’s health needs receive proactive care. Health needs and medication are well recorded and monitored. Specialist nursing consultation is available and staff receive training to meet children’s and young people’s individual needs. Staff know children and young people well and understand their behaviours. Behaviour plans guide staff in de-escalation techniques and physical intervention and result in a consistent staff approach to care, which supports children’s and young people’s progress. Staff treat children and young people with dignity and respect. Their culture, identity and faith are included in care plans and guide care. Targets are planned with parents, schools and the children and young people and are being reviewed in a timely way to push children and young people to develop further skills. This

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Good

promotes their development when staying at the home.

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Good

Routine health and safety checks underpin the safety of the home environment. Trained staff administer medication. Medication procedures are well organised and well recorded. Comprehensive medication checks with regular management oversight further enhance practice. All children and young people have individualised risk assessments. The registered manager’s ethos is that risk assessments should be enabling rather than disabling, as such, children and young people receive support to undertake new experiences. Risk assessments within the home take account of children’s and young people’s need to develop new skills. Individual behaviour management plans focus upon de-escalation techniques and guide the use of any physical intervention. Physical intervention is in use only when de-escalation techniques prove ineffective. Physical intervention is not an issue in this home. A focus upon positive behaviour and praise encourages progress in

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Good

targeted areas. Clear recording of significant events and safeguarding issues shows the progress of incidents, action taken in response and outcomes. All significant and safeguarding events receive monitoring and oversight by the registered manager. Safeguarding policies and procedures undergo regular review and updating. Training around e- safety and radicalisation has been identified as an area of development. This would assist staff with their responsibilities to provide a duty of care when children and young people use the internet in the home. The home has had three complaints sent to Ofsted, mainly from an anonymous source. The responsible individual had been tasked to undergo a provider investigation and report back to Ofsted with her findings. The investigations were detailed and thorough. The result found that the complaints were not upheld and were malicious in nature. A bullying and discrimination policy is in place. There is not a culture of bullying or

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Good

discrimination in this home. Careful matching of children and young people on short-break stays minimises conflict and allows children and young people to develop valued peer relationships. Restorative practices, such as encouraging children and young people to say sorry following conflict, allow them to develop an increased sense of personal responsibility and encourage positive behaviour change. The registered manager makes proactive links with external professionals to improve safeguarding within the home. Links with the police service provide ongoing support in terms of crime prevention. The local authority designated officer provides consultation regarding safeguarding issues and the home links with the Local Safeguarding Children Board to access up-to-date safeguarding training.

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Good

An experienced and suitably qualified registered manager leads this short break service. She demonstrates a commitment to high standards and improvement. A fully-staffed, established team provides care to children and young people. A commitment to staff training means that all staff have completed or are working towards their level 3 diploma in Residential Childcare. Eight staff members have left the home since the last inspection. One parent said, ‘Although most of (name)’s key workers have remained, some have left, which may affect children. I do understand this [is] not a fault of the service.’ The registered manager is committed to improving this and understands the impact that a changing staff team has on children and young people with complex needs. The physical environment of the home is of a high standard, it is well decorated and furnished with specialist equipment to meet the needs of children and young

p.8

Good

people using the service. Children and young people also benefit from the addition of an outdoor play area, hydrotherapy pool and sensory ball room. Management monitoring ensures the maintenance of good standards of care. Regular independent monitoring enhances internal monitoring and provides additional accountability. However, the independent visitor does not regularly interview staff in private and this is a shortfall that has been raised as a requirement as part of this inspection. Care plans for children and young people address their needs and include targets for progress. A parent said that ‘(name) has been supported with his personal hygiene and has been helped to develop this’. Staff test methods of care to explore what works best for each individual. For example, reconfiguring the dining room furniture has enabled one young person to engage more effectively at mealtimes. All staff receive regular effective supervision. Staff report feeling well supported in

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Good

their role: ‘we are a very happy staff team, we have regular team meetings and supervision and can discuss any issues, there’s always someone to talk to’. Staff appraisal is annual and sets clear development targets for personal development and the development of the service. Staff recruitment is robust and includes the required checks. All staff receive induction training. Specific training is in place to meet individual children’s and young people’s needs, including around autism and communication. Feedback from all sources describes positive relationships between staff and children and young people. A parent said ‘He’s very happy there, the staff are lovely, there’s a lot of love and laughter.’ Staff say, ‘It’s very rewarding. Children have a good time and are really happy.’ Children and young people say that they enjoy their time at the home and they like the toys, the food and the adults that care for them.

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Good

The registered manager works hard to ensure that the needs of children and young people coming into the home are met. This starts with a careful referral process. A parent said ‘It took me a long time to send her to respite, we had lots of visits beforehand. The staff are lovely, they put me at ease about her staying there.’ This means that children and young people settle quickly in their short- break stays. Transition planning considers the needs of young people and their families, but can result in young people staying beyond their 18th birthday. This impacts on the dynamics of the group and can result in post-18 adults sharing the same space as vulnerable children. The registered manager is making some progress in addressing the issue together with the responsible individual, who is looking at supporting the adults in a new provision nearby.

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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 that 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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