Children's home run by Milton Keynes City Council

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:

 Children and young people enjoy their short-break stay and are kept safe with their well-being promoted.  Children and young people develop good relationships with staff and are encouraged to make friendships with their peers.  Staff understand how children and young people’s complex needs impact on their behaviour.  Staff communicate effectively with children and young people. They are well supported to put across their wishes, feelings and preferences.  Children are encouraged to take part in activities with staff and with each other.  There is good communication between the home and parents.  The service is well managed by a competent manager.  Recent changes in the operation of the service have been managed effectively.  The manager has a good view of the service’s areas of strength and areas for development. She is proactive in addressing shortfalls.  Safe staff recruitment processes are not always thoroughly applied. These must

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The children's home provision is good because:

be reviewed to ensure that the regulations are met.  Late transition planning increases anxieties for young people and their families. The manager should ensure that the concerns of the local authority about late planning for children’s transitions are escalated to senior managers at the authority.  Not all staff are aware of how an allegation against a professional should be dealt with after it has been referred to the local authority.

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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 ‘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

32.—(1) The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (2) The registered person may only— (a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that— (d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Schedule 2.—(4)) If a person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, verification so far as reasonably practicable of the reason why the employment or position ended. (Schedule 2.—(6)) A full employment history, together with a

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Requirement Due date

satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(d)) 26 August 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):  The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned and to help each child to prepare for leaving, both practically and emotionally. This is with specific reference to escalating concerns about any failure of the local authority to commence transition planning for children at an appropriate stage. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all staff understand the arrangements in place for the management and oversight of allegations against people who work with children. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards, page 44, paragraph 9.18)

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home provides short-break stays for up to 10 young people who have a learning disability and/or physical disability. The home is owned and managed by a local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

21 March 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

23 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Children and young people develop positive relationships with staff and each other. They are comfortable with staff and most children and young people enjoy going for their stay. A parent said that staff spend time with each young person and another said that her daughter becomes excited when she knows that she is going there for a short-break stay. During the inspection, one child did not want to take part in an activity. She just wanted, and had, a cuddle from a staff member on the sofa. Some children and young people also make friendships with others having a short-break stay. A parent said, ‘My son loves going to the home. Staff provide them with opportunities to build relationships with them and with each other.’ Another parent said that the short-break stay helps her son to develop relationships with his peers.

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Good

A social worker said that children and young people are actively encouraged to take part in activities, including with each other. During the inspection, a young person wanted to go out to the park to use the swing and this happened. During this trip to the park, the member of staff was very attentive, encouraging and warm towards the young person. The young person thoroughly enjoyed the trip and even built up the courage, with encouragement, to try the roundabout which, initially, she had been very wary of. She learned a new skill and it was clear that this gave her a sense of achievement.

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Good

Children and young people are encouraged to make choices, for example about what they will eat and what they want to do for the evening. Staff are skilled in using the various means of communication favoured by each individual, and this enables them to make their wishes and feelings known and understood. Staff understand how children and young people’s complex needs impact on their behaviour. They are aware and alert to how they show that they are upset about something through their behaviour or through subtle actions or movements. Staff try to find out and address what is troubling the individual. More able children and young people are well supported to communicate what is difficult for them, and staff are skilled and experienced in using their individual means of communication. For example, during the inspection, one young person showed staff that she was unhappy by showing them a ‘sad face’ card. Staff found out why she was sad and

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Good

addressed the issue to her satisfaction.

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Good

Children and young people’s educational needs remain the responsibility of their parents, but staff ensure that they arrive at and return from school safely. Staff have acted as advocates for children and young people when issues with transport, for example, arise. They ensure that individuals get to where they need to be during the school day. Staff have also developed some good working relationships with schools to support children and young people’s overall well-being and progress. Children and young people’s health needs overall are the responsibility of their parents, but staff ensure that their needs are met during their short break. Staff are trained to undertake range of complex health procedures, and to administer medication safely and effectively. They carry these tasks out with confidence. A parent reported that staff always take note of any problems that her son is having with his health and let her know about these. Health concerns are escalated to

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Good

health professionals so that plans can be put in place to assess and address these. A health professional said the manager is ‘on the ball’ and proactive about following health issues up, and good at updating plans as needs change. A social worker described how staff try to provide children and young people with consistency of care across their day. She gave an example of staff working with parents and the school so that a child’s behaviour is managed consistently. She said that staff also take care to make sure that the routine at their family home that the child is used to is followed by staff during the short-break stay. For example, for one child, staff ensure that the child is woken at night to use the toilet at exactly the same time as the parents do when the child is sleeping at home. This is important for the child, as it provides them with predictable routines that help them to feel safe and secure.

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Good

Care plans are aimed at keeping children and young people safe and helping them to develop skills. Due their complex needs, the children and young people are likely to need support throughout their lives. During their short-break stay, they are encouraged to develop self-care skills, for example. This provides them with a sense of dignity and increases their level of independence.

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Good

It is the overall responsibility of the local authority to ensure that the planning for young people to leave the home and move into adult accommodation or services is effective. It is important for young people moving onto new accommodation or services to have time to become familiar with their new surroundings. It is also important that new services are fully appraised of the young person’s needs, wants and likes. While the manager does advocate for early transition planning, this rarely occurs. The manager should escalate her concerns about transition planning to senior officers at the local authority.

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Good

Children and young people feel safe during their short-break stay and approach staff with confidence. Social workers and parents said that they feel that their child or young person is safe during their short-break stay. Staff are clear on what immediate action they should take if they are concerned about the safety of an individual. However, they have a limited understanding about the roles of other professionals, such as the local authority designated officer’s and child protection officer’s responsibilities.

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Good

Risk management is strong. A social worker said that she was impressed with how the managers have been fully involved in the implementation of a child protection plan for a child. She said that she is kept up-to-date about anything of concern that is noted during the child’s short-break stay. The managers have had full involvement in this case through attendance at conferences and core group meetings. The social worker also said that the manager always responds to emergencies in other families and offers them support, where possible.

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Good

Due to the children and young people’s complex needs and levels of understanding, they do not bully others in the conventional way. However, care is taken when considering which children and young people stay together for a short- break stay to ensure that they are compatible. When it is known that an individual does not get on with another, then they do not have a short break at the same time.

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Good

Children and young people have limited access to the internet, and this is always supervised by staff. There is some useful information for children and young people about using the internet safely. This has been developed in an accessible format so that children are informed about the dangers.

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Good

Due to high staffing levels and constant supervision, children and young people do not go missing from the home. However, in the unlikely event of a child or young person going missing or wandering off and becoming lost, there are clear procedures that are known about and understood by staff. The police have been consulted on the development of the procedure.

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Good

Most children and young people having short-break stays do not understand the concept of sanctions, so these are not used. Staff use diversion and de-escalation effectively to support individuals to behave safely and appropriately. Physical interventions are only used when necessary to ensure everyone’s safety.

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Good

The location and premises have been assessed as safe for children and young people to stay in. The usual health and safety checks are carried out to ensure that the environment remains safe and action is taken to address any defects found.

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Good

The staff recruitment process is not comprehensively undertaken, in all cases. Full employment histories are not always obtained, and the reasons are not obtained for an applicant’s leaving their previous employment involving work with children or vulnerable adults. This means that these areas are not explored with the applicant to help the organisation to reach a fully informed view about their suitability to work with the children and young people.

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Good

The registered manager holds a diploma in social work and a certificate in professional management in health and social care. She has managed the home since 1997. The manager effectively and confidently manages the home. A social worker commented that the home ‘has a strong management team with good, child-focused care’. A parent described the manager and staff as ‘friendly and helpful to us when we are in desperate need of respite care’.

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Good

There is an up-to-date statement of purpose that underpins the services and care that the home provides. This is subject to regular review.

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Good

The manager has a good oversight of the quality of care and an accurate view about areas that would benefit from development. She is proactive in ensuring the service’s continual development. She has ensured that requirements and recommendations from the last inspection have been met. These improvements have resulted in:

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Good

 Children and young people having a wider range of accessible ways to express their wishes, feelings and views.  A clear focus during staff meetings and supervision sessions on discussing children and young people’s preferences.  Staff thinking about how they interpret children and young people’s non-verbal communication, therefore developing their awareness and skills in expanding children’s choices.  An advocate from a national organisation being commissioned, initially to develop ways in which children and young people can provide their views about individual staff members. This information is being used in staff supervision and appraisals.  The development of a bullying policy that clearly sets out for staff the actions that they should take if they believe bullying is taking place.  Improvements in the management oversight of incidents of potential bullying.  New arrangements for the independent monitoring of the home. At the time of

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Good

the inspection, this had not commenced. The quality of this function will be monitored by Ofsted. The organisation, as a local authority, is subject to financial restraints and, over the past year, savings have needed to be made. As a result, the opening times have been decreased. These changes have been well managed. The overall impact on children and young people and their families using the service has been minimal. A social worker said that the changes had been managed well, but that it was a shame that opening days have decreased because this has impacted on the children, young people and families waiting to use the service. There are good working relationships with other professionals and parents. Professionals said that there is good communication with them. They reported that there is good attendance at meetings about individual children and young people. A social worker said, ‘Staff are involved in childcare reviews and provide me with

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Good

feedback about the children's progress.’

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Good

There is a stable staff team that provides children and young people with consistency. Lines of responsibility and accountability are clear, and staff are supported through regular, good-quality supervision and training. Team meetings are also a supportive arena for staff, where children and young people’s needs and issues are discussed.

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Good

Good-quality care plans underpin each child and young person’s short-break stay. A social worker said, ‘All the children seem to have a comprehensive care plan and this appears to be stuck to.’ She went on to say that plans are updated when needs change. Another social worker said that the home appears to have an excellent focus on the children and young people's needs and that individualised care is apparent.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 ‘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 0300 123 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, work- based 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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