Children's Home run by The Rose Road Association in Southampton

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to make good progress while attending the home. Staff are child friendly, nurturing and caring in their approach. They follow detailed practical plans that support them to meet the individual needs of young people. Staff have formulated specific targets for young people which develop their personal and social skills.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff aim to offer each young person an enjoyable, fun time while they attend the home for their short break. Staff offer each young person a variety of activities and experiences which they may not normally have the opportunity to engage in. Staff have good knowledge and insight into each young person’s likes, dislikes and care routines.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff support young people to meet their healthcare needs while at the home. Those with complex needs have specific plans detailing methods of approach that staff follow, when required. However, one young person’s plan did not have a protocol stating what action was required if they had an allergic reaction and required emergency medication.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people attend their education setting while at the home, with staff supporting and facilitating their attendance. Staff support seamless transitions between settings through effective communication and handover with carers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff seek the views of young people several times a day to gauge how they feel about the care that they receive. They are exploring ways to gain views that are more detailed from young people. This work is not yet completed or embedded in practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff support young people to manage and self-regulate their behaviour and emotions. They follow a consistent approach that is also used with young people in their other settings, ensuring consistency. Staff avoid the use of physical intervention, and use a variety of de-escalation strategies and techniques as an alternative. When an incident has occurred, staff record and report details. Records detail the issue and actions taken to support the young person. Staff update and review plans and assessments, if required, following incidents. Managers monitor and evaluate all records, and identify learning and development to improve staff practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Sanctions are rarely used in the home but, when they are, they are linked to the behaviour that led to the sanction being imposed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have developed and improved their approach to risk management and concerns. Staff detail concerns in a chronological format and report and record all concerns, referring to managers as required for review. The outcome of one record is not detailed, so it is unclear what has been actioned.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been no episodes of going missing from care. Following a recent incident in which a young person accessed the front area of the home, managers are reviewing their missing from care policy and procedures.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers complete thorough pre-admission assessments in which they collate information and meet with the young person and their family. Young people then attend the home for visits, enabling all parties to consider if home can meet their needs. The home recently accepted an emergency admission, and followed all of its normal processes and procedures to ensure a safe admission.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has a newly appointed appropriately qualified manager who is managing the home effectively. They have completed a great deal of work in the home to address the previous requirements and recommendations. There continue to be some areas which require further work and embedding into systems and practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has developed systems to assist in the evaluation and monitoring of the quality of care provided in the home. The systems are detailed and explore all required areas, but are in their infancy and so are not embedded fully. The manager is applying robust scrutiny to all logs and records, with issues for learning and improvement highlighted.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home’s development plan is thorough and detailed. It details the aims and goals which leaders aspire to achieve and by when they will occur. Managers regularly update and review the document to ensure that it is current. It reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have completed reviews of practice and medication procedures following errors at the home. Staff use a robust system for managing and administrating medication. When errors have occurred, changes have been made to plans and practice to avoid their recurrence.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are not accessing regular effective supervision, nor have they had their practice appraised this year. Senior leaders in the organisation are introducing a new process for reviewing individual performance and development. This is not yet embedded into systems at the home. Staff access a wide variety of in-house training and learning suitable for their role. They have completed safeguarding training and medication competency training, and there are plans for staff to update their behaviour management training.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff and managers have continued to develop relationships with those outside of the home. This is having a positive impact on young people’s care plans and ensures that all professionals have a more consistent approach. Staff attend reviews and meetings, and their contribution and the information gained have a positive impact.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staffing of the home during the summer period was especially challenging, due to high levels of staff sickness and planned absence. Managers sourced additional known personnel from agencies. On occasions, over 50% of the staff in the home were agency staff. Managers have reviewed this and now apply robust scrutiny to absences, with the aim of reducing the likelihood of any recurrence.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to 12 children and young people aged between four and 18 years of age with a learning and/or physical disability. The home is owned and managed by a charitable organisation. The home provides overnight short breaks on a planned or occasional basis across two areas within the building, known as Oaks and Acorns. The home has a sensory garden area, access to a multi- sensory room and hydrotherapy pool, which are all based on site. The service is also registered with the Care Quality Commission.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 09/05/2016 Full Good 21/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/06/2015 Full Good 19/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard requires the registered person to ensure that staff— (2)(vi) help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review. (Regulation 7(2)(vi)) 01/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must ensure that all employees— (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development; (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience (c) have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)(c)) 01/03/2017

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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 must not automatically use the views of parents as a proxy for children’s views. Children will have their own perspective and arrangements should be in place to engage with them directly. In some cases, the view of a relevant person, such as a social worker or independent reviewing officer, might be included in discussions when the person is interpreting or advocating on behalf of a child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.25)  Staff need knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the home’s workforce plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12) Specifically, ensure that all staff understand what is required of them when they identify a concern and record actions following this.  No more than half the staff on duty at any one time, by day or night, at the home should be from an external agency. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.17)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection, we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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 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

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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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