Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Sandwell

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:

 Young people make good progress. Staff ensure that young people have varied opportunities to maximise their potential.  Young people are safe. Staff have an excellent understanding of each young person’s vulnerabilities.  Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. Staff are committed and dedicated to provide excellent personalised care. Young people are positive about coming to stay at the home.  Staff ensure that young people are able to enjoy a wide range of activities when they stay on their short break. These experiences significantly enhance young people’s social and emotional skills.  Staff effectively work in partnership with other agencies and communication with family members is strong.  The staff team works well together and receives good support and guidance from the management team that is highly motivated to offer a child-centred service.  There are two shortfalls identified. The manager’s review of physical

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The children's home provision is good because:

interventions are not dated so it is difficult to establish if incidents are considered within regulatory timeframes and staff vetting is not consistently completed prior to employment.

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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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. They must ensure 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)(d)) 12/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— (b) within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint the registered person— (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(ii)) 12/09/2016

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Information about this children's home

This service offers short breaks for up to five children and young people. The service is available to children and young people with a learning disability, a physical disability and/or sensory impairment. This service is delivered and managed by an independent provider that operates other social care services.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

14/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people make good progress from attending their short breaks. Parents and professionals consistently praise the impact that the service has on young people. For one young person for example, this has meant that for the first time a bedtime routine has been established. As his social worker observed, ‘This is a considerable achievement.’ Young people's health needs are well met. Staff make sure that young people have detailed health plans in place, which set out their medical condition with clear details on how this impacts on the young person daily. Staff work closely with health professionals to ensure that staff are confident to meet the complex healthcare needs of young people accessing the service. Staff receive specific training, for example in percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding, to ensure that they can respond appropriately to specific healthcare needs. Young people’s care plans are highly individualised and provide clear guidance to

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Good

staff on how each young person is to be cared for throughout the day and night. This includes contingency plans in the event of a young person waking at night and becoming distressed. These plans ensure that a consistent approach is maintained and they reflect the excellent individualised care that is provided. Liaison with young people’s schools is good, which ensures a consistent approach to learning. Staff attend the different school settings to contribute to education review meetings to share relevant information and contribute to individual targets. The home provides a wide range of activities that benefit young people. Staff actively support and encourage young people to make choices in what they do during their stay. The activities are well planned and take into account what young people like to do such as going to play parks, sea life centres and bowling. Two young people have recently returned with staff from a very enjoyable overnight

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Good

stay in a seaside resort. The home also has a number of resources such as a sensory room, craft activities and entertainment systems. These activities enable young people to have fun and build confidence and promote friendships with others. Staff make sure that there is excellent communication with family members. They receive reports on the progress of their young person, including photographs of the young person enjoying activities, which provides parents with reassurance. As one parent commented, ’I know he is safe, well looked after and well supported by all, which means I can relax and recharge my batteries.’ Young people are encouraged to make healthy choices for their meals. For those young people who have a restricted diet, staff provide them with opportunities to smell, touch and taste different foods. Staff work hard to match young people when planning their short break. The deputy manager uses a matching matrix, which is regularly reviewed and updated

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Good

with staff to ensure that young people’s needs are appropriately matched at each visit. Introductions are well planned and include visits to the family home and tea visits to meet other young people. Family members feel confident in the process, as one family member commented, ‘I felt confident they were interested and committed to meeting his needs.’ This helps to sustain relationships and gives young people the opportunity to develop friendships with others. The home is well decorated and maintained. It offers communal space with a lounge and a sensory room where young people can relax. All young people have their own room and they can bring things from home to personalise their space during their stay. Young people have recently been involved in choosing paint colours for their rooms. Complaints are effectively addressed by the registered manager. The complaints procedure reflects the communication systems used by young people who access

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Good

this service. Any concerns raised are resolved as quickly as possible. Parents are confident that any concerns raised will be taken seriously and addressed.

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Good

Young people are safe. They are safeguarded by staff’s awareness of their vulnerabilities and comprehensive individualised risk assessments. These assessments identify any potential danger with clear strategies in place to minimise the risk. The care plans prepared by staff are tailored to meet specific needs. The plans are extremely individualised and incorporate day and night-time routines. Risk management in relation to the health needs of young people is excellent. Young people are safeguarded against injury because there are appropriate arrangements for moving and handling safely. Staff are also trained in the use of specialised equipment such as invasive techniques that assist feeding. This means that young people are cared for safely and competently in line with their health- care plans. Staff are skilful in ascertaining young people’s views, including those who have no verbal communication. For example, staff use a variety of communication methods

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Good

including a picture exchange communication system to make sure that young people are effectively able to contribute to the running of the home. These different methods allow all young people to give their views regardless of their communication style. Individual behaviour management strategies allow young people to develop an understanding between positive and unacceptable behaviours. Staff effectively use distraction techniques, which help young people to refocus their attention. Positive re-enforcement helps to promote good behaviour. Staff use praise and rewards to acknowledge young people’s good behaviour. Behaviour plans are re-enforced between home and school. This helps to maintain a consistent approach. The use of physical intervention is infrequent but when it is used, it is mainly to guide young people away from situations. All incidents are evaluated and young people are effectively debriefed by staff using a range of communication methods.

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Good

This enables staff to modify individual behaviour management plans appropriately. However, the manager’s evaluations are not consistently dated so it is unclear if these are completed within appropriate timescales to ensure effectiveness. There are no instances of young people going missing because of good supervision and staff vigilance. Young people have complex needs and are vulnerable. Some young people have limited awareness of danger. Consistent staff and staffing levels ensure that young people are supervised safely at all times. All staff receive suitable training to support the health and well-being needs of young people. This is supported by a robust system for the safe handling, administration, storage, disposal and recording of medication. This contributes to the quality of care provided. Young people stay in a home that is physically safe. Regular safety checks are completed on gas, electrical and fire safety equipment to ensure that they remain

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Good

in good working order. Fire checks and evacuations are regularly undertaken. Staff make sure that everyone is familiar with the system so that young people are familiar with the noise of the alarm and the action to take in the event of an emergency.

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Good

The home is led by an appropriately qualified and experienced registered manager, who has been in post since September 2012. He is supported by an experienced deputy manager. They work well as a team and have a good level of understanding regarding the needs of the service. Most staff are qualified in residential childcare. Those members of staff who are unqualified are within regulatory timescales, at present, to obtain their qualification within the two years of starting work. Staff are well supported through monthly supervision, annual appraisals and regular staff meetings. This gives opportunities to discuss career and practice issues as well as discussing individual performance. Training records show that there are good opportunities for mandatory training alongside specialised training that includes epilepsy and autism. The registered manager monitors training through a matrix. This helps to indicate who has completed specific training.

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Good

Monthly monitoring visits from someone independent of the home show a level of scrutiny that helps the service to improve. Managers from the service consistently evaluate the home’s operation to ensure that young people’s needs stay fully met. Quality assurance processes have recently been strengthened to evaluate the impact of feedback from professionals, parents, staff and young people on the service delivery. Due to these processes, young people benefit from using a service that is improved as a result of feedback from all stakeholders. The home promotes and develops effective partnerships. Communication between staff, young people and their families, social workers and other professionals is good. As a result of this collaborative approach, there is clear, coordinated support to meet young people’s needs. Managers challenge other agencies if needed. The home is operating in line with a comprehensive statement of purpose. This

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Good

allows young people and parents to have an understanding of the care that they will receive. The process of selecting staff and vetting arrangements is in place. However, references from last employers have not consistently been received prior to employment commencing. This compromises the manager’s ability to ensure that only staff eligible to work with vulnerable young people work at the home. There are no requirements or recommendations from the last inspection.

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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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