Children's home run by Plymouth 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:

 This children’s home is managed by a dynamic and skilful registered manager who, along with her staff team, is committed to providing the best service that she can to the children and young people who visit for short breaks. The provider and manager are currently giving consideration to how the service can be developed further to provide young people with additional opportunities, apart from overnight stays, to benefit from the staff team that knows them so well.  Children and young people receive a very child-centred and personalised service. Excellent consideration is given to how they can have a positive experience at the home and how this adds to the quality of their life. One parent commented: ‘I know all the staff and feel very confident in them taking great care of my son. He really, really enjoys it and all the benefits it gives him, such as one-to-one care and constant attention, which he just

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The children’s home provision is good because:

loves.’  The service aims to provide a ‘home from home’ experience where children and young people are cared for by a team of staff who understand their complex behaviours and vulnerabilities. Staff benefit from thorough safeguarding training and demonstrate excellent insight into the particular vulnerabilities of children and young people with disabilities.  Staff receive very good training. All staff have achieved a level 3 diploma for residential childcare and the manager has a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. In addition, staff benefit from ongoing training opportunities and regular supervision, team meetings and annual appraisal.

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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

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, a chronological record must be maintained of all child protection concerns. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(vi)) 30/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this regulation, the registered person must ensure that— within five days of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(c)) 21/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care.

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Recommendations

The skills, experience and professional background of the independent person, for example in undertaking work of a similar nature, will also be a relevant factor in assessing their ability to reach a rigorous and impartial judgement. ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.5 & 15.9)

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Information about this children’s home

This short-break service is run by the local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have a learning disability, physical disability or sensory impairment. As well as overnight stays, the service provides evening- and daytime-only sessions.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 10/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/07/2015 Full Good 13/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/07/2014 Full Adequate

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Good

Children and young people very much enjoy their visits to this short-break service. They see it as ‘home from home’, and their experiences there make a positive contribution to their lives.

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Good

Children and young people benefit from a careful and considered assessment of their needs and effective planning around their mix. While there is a flexible approach, swift action is also taken to make changes to ensure that all children and young people are equally considered. Good staff ratios ensure that each young person has a dedicated carer, with additional support available where required, for example when trips are made outside of the home. Care plans are comprehensive, personalised and up to date, which means that staff are clear about what they need to do to take good care of each young person.

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Good

Staff know the children and young people very well. Staff retention is excellent, and staff and children have the opportunity to develop sustained attachments. This means that staff understand and are able to respond effectively to the diverse and complex behaviours that all the children and young people have. The manager and staff work in partnership with parents and other professionals to ensure that children and young people receive consistently good care and support. When staff help young people to achieve targets, their approach, such as through social stories, is shared with parents. Parents are highly appreciative of the service, not only of the benefits that it has for them and the rest of their family, but specifically because of the positive outcomes that they see for their child. One parent said that her son ‘absolutely loves attending and is always full of smiles’, and she appreciates the recreational opportunities that he has, which she cannot provide.

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Good

When appropriate, children and young people are supported to develop independent skills, such as taking more responsibility for their personal care and simple domestic tasks.

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Good

Good social, recreational and education opportunities are provided both in and outside of the home. Children and young people go swimming, surfing and rock climbing. They also have opportunities to go shopping and eat out. Very good attention is also given to allowing time for children and young people to relax and have a quiet time, to play in the garden and to maintain personal hobbies. Staff are very creative and enjoy helping children and young people to make themed displays. A Halloween display, affording lots of lovely textures, was being developed at the time of this inspection.

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Good

Staff place the well-being of individual children and young people at the centre of their practice. One parent described the staff as ‘patient and kind’. These qualities, combined with good training and strong leadership, mean that children and young people enjoy nurturing, child-centred and enjoyable experiences which contribute to the quality of their lives. Children and young people are treated with dignity and respect. Personal care needs are met sensitively. Their individuality and personal achievements are celebrated and, in turn, they learn confidence and build emotional resilience.

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Good

The manager and staff team fully understand the particular vulnerabilities of children and young people with disabilities. They benefit from a wide variety of safeguarding training, including specialist training. Good, open communication is maintained with parents and other professionals, and any child protection concerns are quickly followed up.

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Good

Staff are proactive in their safeguarding responsibilities. For example, they record and report all concerns, such as any injuries or bruising that a child may have. Good recording systems are in place, for example body maps, which are signed off by senior leaders to provide an extra layer of oversight. The manager and staff are fully aware of the procedure to follow, should they have any concerns about the safety of a child or young person in their care. While detailed records are maintained, a chronological record of all child protection concerns was not in place. This means that not all child protection concerns are captured in one area. The inspector clarified the importance of such a record and the manager agreed to implement one with immediate effect.

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Good

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Within the past year, the manager and staff have benefited from a different type of training in how to manage challenging behaviour from children and young people with complex needs, such as autism and learning disabilities. This approach, based on de-escalation and responding positively to the young person’s needs, has been fully embraced by the staff team and has led to a significant reduction in the number of physical restraints. Staff feel that they have a greater understanding and feel more confident of their skill to manage complex challenging behaviour more positively. Detailed records are maintained, although sometimes the handwriting is difficult to read and the young person’s views are not always captured. The manager is aware of these shortfalls, which are being addressed.

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Good

Medication, including periodic and emergency medication, is well managed and suitably administered. Written protocols and consents are in place, and staff receive regular refresher training. Staff and parents are clear about expectations to ensure that children and young people receive their medication safely. Robust recruitment procedures ensure that new staff are carefully selected and vetted. Most staff have worked at this setting for several years and only one new appointment has been made since the last full inspection in July 2015. The inspector ascertained that not all references are verbally verified, specifically if they are received through an official company email address. During this inspection, the manager acknowledged that to follow up all references does contribute to minimising potential risks to children and young people, and agreed to develop this as consistent good practice.

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Good

The home is effectively managed by the registered manager, who has been in post for nearly three years. Without exception, all comments received about the manager were very positive, with particular emphasis on the many improvements that have been introduced under her leadership.

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Good

The manager is appropriately qualified and supported by an experienced and consistent staff team. Every member of the care team has achieved a level 3 diploma. Staff feel well supported through additional training, regular supervision, team meetings and annual appraisal. The responsible individual for the home is actively involved, too. She conducts regular practice-related supervisions with the manager, as well as visiting the service at other times.

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Good

Leaders and managers know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They take decisive action to benefit young people. A review of the service, based on current capacity, is being undertaken to identify ways in which children and young people can further benefit from the team of staff who know them so well.

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Good

Parents and professionals connected with this short-break service feel confident about the care and support that children and young people receive. A social worker complimented the ‘fantastic relationships’ between staff and young people, and how supportive the staff are of families.

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Good

The arrangements for independent visits to the home each week are currently being reviewed. Discussions took place during this inspection about the importance of a more rigorous approach to make an informed assessment that children are appropriately safeguarded and their welfare promoted.

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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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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