Children's home run by Hamelin Trust in Basildon

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:

 This is a child-focused service where children’s needs take priority. Staff know the children well and provide a calm and ordered environment.  Staff are passionate about making a difference for the children who access this short break service. They ensure that there are lots of opportunities to explore and have fun.  The children feel safe and look forward to their stay, demonstrating their excitement to their families.  Families and professionals have absolute confidence in the quality of care the service provides, describing it as excellent.  Good-quality risk management and care plans paint a picture of each child’s strengths, needs, aspirations and personality. They provide staff with effective guidance on how to manage risk and offer good-quality individualised care.  Augmentative communication systems are embedded into the home, promoting children’s communication. Photographic records of children’s

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The children’s home provision is good because:

stays, and how their wishes have been met, record the good experiences that they enjoy over the years they use the service.  Staff are well supported and trained. The effective manager has developed the service and led it effectively though a period of some change. She provides good role modelling to staff promoting a child-focused and inclusive service.  Some requirements and recommendations have been made at this inspection, which relate in the main to documents such as the statement of purpose, the independent visitor’s report and development of an emergency evacuation plan for each child, which have little or no impact on children’s experience of the home. There have been some medication errors, which have resulted in a help and protection judgement of ‘requires improvement to get to good’. However, the manager has implemented plans to improve arrangements, and children’s overwhelmingly positive experiences are not

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The children’s home provision is good because:

significantly diminished. Therefore, while requirements have been set, these have not reduced the overall grading of the home.

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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 keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it, notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safe keeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. In particular, ensure that medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(b)) 12/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. The independent person must produce a report about a visit (‘the independent person’s report’) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded, and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (1)(4)(a)(b)) 31/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc). However, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. In particular, ensure that each child has an individual personal emergency evacuation plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, they should ensure that there is a consistent approach to verifying references. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is run by a local registered charitable trust. The home provides short-term respite care for children and young people with learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities, some of whom may also have sensory impairment. The home is registered for six children. The charity provides others services to people with disabilities and their families, such as outreach services, clubs and residential services for adults.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

14/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

19/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

The setting provides short breaks for children and young people with learning disabilities and associated complex needs. Prior to using the service for the first time, a comprehensive assessment of need is completed, and updated information on any changes in need is requested for each visit. Sensitive, well-planned transitions take place, both prior to using the service and for those who on occasion move on to alternative, full-time residential placements. Parents say that the levels of support are ‘excellent’ and their guidance on how their child should be cared for is followed fully. The consistency of approach helps children feel safe and settled in their environment. This is particularly important for those children who are often unable to articulate their emotions and anxieties verbally. One parent said: ’He loves it here. They’re so professional, nothing is ever too much for them.’ Inclusion is central to the philosophy of care. Staff constantly seek children’s

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Good

thoughts wishes and feelings through direct discussion and observation of their non-verbal communication. The children are encouraged to communicate through the use of information technology and pictorial communication systems. For example, they can help themselves to prominently displayed symbols showing that they feel sad, want to go out or have a drink. This approach, in addition to well- planned staffing deployment, enables children to feel more in control of their environment. As a result, they enjoy their stays and levels of challenging behaviour are low. Good-quality assessments and care planning guide staff effectively in how to meet individual children’s complex needs. However, most important to the children are the relationships that they develop with staff over time. The children flourish in the care of staff who get to know them well and understand their individual likes and dislikes. As a result, they receive highly individualised care. For example, staff

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Good

checked with parents, when a child arrived for their short break, whether they still liked mayonnaise on everything they eat. Without this knowledge, this child is likely to have refused much of the food provided, as they have a very small appetite. Staff’s attention to detail and these effective relationships with parents ensure that the child’s well-being is at the centre of care delivery. One social worker said: ‘They get to know her really well and can eventually coax her around. She really does see this as her home.’ A parent said, ‘Staff are loving and caring, they really do care for her. She sees them as her other mum.’ The children benefit from an environment which is suitably adapted and equipped to meet their needs, and any specialist equipment which would benefit them is provided. Parents remain responsible for organising and maintaining their child’s health and education in accordance with short break arrangements. However,

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Good

staff, having received appropriate training and competency assessments, ensure that any complex care needs, such as epilepsy or tube feeds, are well managed. The level of progress made by children is hard to measure due to their particularly complex needs, but people who know them well identify small but personally significant steps for individual children. Staff ensure that children remain consistently and appropriately stimulated. They provide an immersive learning environment with a variety of physical and sensory activities promoting the children’s better understanding of the world around them. The children look forward to their visits and are able to request things they like, using the wish box. Staff try to make sure where possible that these wishes are met on their next stay, for example, getting a takeaway, buying a tent and camping in the garden or visiting an animal sanctuary. Photographs in personalised events books help them

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Good

to share and remember memorable moments, such as trips to a tropical butterfly centre, the fire station or going to a party and having their first dance. Parents describe their joy at coming to the home and one said: ‘It’s the only time he can get out of his chair and really relax.’ Through accessing this service, children have been willing and able to take part in social activities that previously they could not. Parents and professionals comment on how the flexible service really meets the family’s needs in time of crisis, on occasion helping the family to stay together. One social worker said: ‘I couldn’t be more grateful to them, they have been so flexible to facilitate meeting the child’s needs. I can’t sing their praises highly enough. They’ve really helped this child.’ One parent said: ‘I can’t recommend it highly enough. They’ve been like a family to us.’

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Requires improvement

The children are helped to feel safe and secure through consistent support and routines. These reflect their individual needs and routines at home, which helps to reduce any anxieties. Families and professionals have absolute confidence in the service to safeguard the children effectively. They describe them enjoying their short breaks and always indicating they feel safe. One said: ‘He starts clapping with excitement as soon as he sees the place.’ Another said: ‘They are almost overcautious at times, to keep him safe’. Good preadmission risk assessment and management plans, which are regularly updated, guide staff effectively in how to manage challenges and risk. The staff know the children well and are alert and responsive to their individual signs of distress, which prevents situations escalating. As a result, breakaway techniques are the physical intervention used in the vast majority of instances to enable staff

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Requires improvement

to escape a child’s physically harmful actions. One parent commented that she now took her guidance on how to support her child from staff, which means that the child benefits from improved support at the family home. The children are well safeguarded by appropriate supervision and support, reducing individually assessed areas of risk. As a result, there have been no significant incidents in the home. Staff are suitably trained and are clear as to the actions they should take if a child goes missing or if they have concerns around a child’s safety or well-being. Staff competence to deliver complex care tasks and medication administration is regularly assessed. Arrangements for medication are not consistently sufficiently robust to protect children effectively from medication errors. Due to the nature of the short break service, and many of the children having complex health needs, medication arrangements are complex and the risk of error is increased. While

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Requires improvement

otherwise good systems are in place to manage medication, on three occasions in the past six months human error has undermined the overall safety of daily prescribed medication administration. In the three months prior to this inspection there were two incidents where a child failed to receive their prescribed antibiotic medication. On another occasion, due to wrongly labelled medication, a child received a number of increased doses of anticonvulsant medication. Staff acted appropriately and immediately sought the guidance of senior managers and medical professionals, and fortunately no child suffered ill effects. The manager and staff are well aware of the potential safeguarding risks to children of medication errors. The manager has taken action to address these issues through professional individual supervision and by reviewing and improving medication arrangements. The building is suitable to meet the needs of the young people. Health and safety

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Requires improvement

arrangements are well managed, with regular servicing of equipment and suitable fire prevention measures in place. Suitable measures are in place to promote good hygiene and infection control. One child, who is new to the service, does not have a personal emergency evacuation plan in place. It is essential that staff have clear guidance on how to support each child to evacuate the home effectively in the event of an emergency. Staff vetting practices are completed in accordance with regulatory requirements. For example, no staff member begins employment until checks on their identity and on central records of suitability to work with children have been completed. However, there is not a consistently implemented approach to verifying and fully scrutinising references to identify potential issues which have the potential to have an impact on suitability. This undermines the otherwise robust recruitment

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Good

The manager, who has many years of experience of working with children with disabilities and complex needs, was registered for this manager post in December 2015. She has completed the level 4 diploma in health and social care with children and young people and is currently undertaking the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. Having previously been deputy manager, she has provided continuity, while bringing her own child-focused approach effectively to the team. The manager leads a committed and skilled staff group by example, ensuring that children’s individual needs are prioritised and inform all decisions made. She knows the children and their families well, and as a consequence she is able to achieve a good balance in maintaining management oversight and responding to children’s and their families’ individual needs. The children make progress relative to their starting points, and the amount of time they spend at the service. Regular reviews

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Good

and individual pictorial records of their achievements document personal growth and opportunities for fun and new experiences. Staffing levels are high, which enables staff to be very responsive to children. Staff receive regular specialist training to ensure that they are able to meet children’s complex needs. Training and professional development are managed stringently to ensure that staff knowledge and skills are regularly updated. All full-time staff who have been employed for more than a year have completed their level 3 training. An effective, practice-based and reflective supervision framework is well established, as is an annual appraisal framework. As a result of these effective mechanisms, staff are consistently supported and are appropriately challenged. The manager’s commitment and aspirations for the service are infectious, and as a result staff are enthused about their role. Staff say that they operate as a ‘tight team’ and value

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Good

both the management and peer support they receive. One said: ‘Everyone is here for the young people, that’s what I love about the place.’ Significant incidents are rare and where accidents or incidents occur these are well managed and the information is shared with parents and appropriate professionals. The manager challenges other services that, in her opinion, are not fulfilling their duties, particularly in relation to reviewing children’s care. Staff are successful in building strong partnerships with parents and professionals who have absolute confidence in the service. Parents say that the staff are: ’Overwhelmingly supportive, they’ve always been there for all of us,’ and: ‘All of them are so lovely.’ The home’s statement of purpose has been recently updated. However, it continues to lack clarity regarding how children placed under arrangements other than short breaks are effectively supported. This has little impact on children, as

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Good

staff work effectively with families to ensure that the children’s needs are met. However, it does mean that information provided is potentially misleading and that Ofsted as a regulator does not have an accurate picture of the services provided. The report of the monthly visit, conducted by the independent person in accordance with regulation 44, does not state the visitor’s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and their well-being promoted. While this does not have a direct impact on the care provided, it does have an impact on the rigour of the review and on independent constructive feedback on driving improvement. The manager has good insight of the strengths of the home and areas which can be further developed to improve the short break experience. For example, plans are under way for a sensory garden to be developed with local volunteers, further enhancing the home’s role as a fundamental local resource for the community.

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Good

Parents and professionals really value the level of care their children receive, consistently using terms such as ‘fabulous’, ‘excellent’ and ‘brilliant’ when describing the service.

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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 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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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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