Children's home run by Somerset Council in Somerset

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:

 There is good preparation and planning for children and young people. These plans are effectively reviewed, and needs assessments are modified accordingly. Young people only leave in a planned way.  There is a stable staff group, and this gives children and young people security and consistency of care.  Children and young people are listened to and heard in an effective way.  Children’s and young people’s educational progress is well supported by the home.  The manager and staff are good at preparing young people for their moves on from the home.  The home has all necessary adaptations in place to meet the needs of children and young people who have limited mobility and high personal care needs. Staff are specifically trained in safe methods of care.  Care staff are well trained, managed and supported.

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Information about this children’s home

The home can provide both long-term care and short breaks for up to two children and young people who may have learning and/or physical disabilities. It has specialist facilities to provide for children and young people who have complex care needs. The home is managed by a local authority, and places are funded by both health and social care authorities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

27/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

19/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

The overall experiences and progress made by the children and young people spending short breaks in this home are good. This is achieved by good preparation and planning, with plans being made in consultation with parents, social workers, schools and health professionals. These plans are effectively reviewed, and needs assessments are modified accordingly. There have been few staffing changes over the past few years, and this gives children and young people security and consistency of care. Those children and young people who cannot communicate verbally are assisted by staff in making their wishes and feelings known. Staff are trained in a communication method specifically developed by this local authority. This demonstrates their commitment to the voice of the child and young person being heard. There are regular forum meetings in which the views of children and young people are sought in regard to matters that affect their day-to-day living, such as

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Good

activity and food choices. The home has developed pictorial and symbol-formatted materials to assist children and young people in making these choices. Parents and social workers appreciate the wide range of activities made available to the children and young people. One parent commented, ‘The home is exemplary in their care, and she loves it there. So much going on for her both inside and outside of the home . ’ A social worker commented, ‘Lots going on for the young people. Often getting out and about in the community.’ This enhances children’s and young people’s experiences of life and promotes their feelings of well-being. Staff work with children and young people to ensure that any information given to them can be fully understood. There is a symbol-formatted children’s guide, which contains the contact details of helping agencies, and details how the home’s complaints procedure can be accessed. This enables them to access sources of

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Good

help outside of the home. Children’s and young people’s educational progress is well supported by the staff, and all children and young people living in the home attend school. The staff communicate with the school on a daily basis through a communication book and by telephone. There is a wide variety of learning resources in the home to support children and young people with their education. The staff are good at preparing young people to move on from the home. One social worker commented, ‘Good preparation work has been done for their transition to adult services.’ A parent said, ‘…the arrangements the home have made for the transition have been terrific.’ Many of the children and young people using this short-break care provision have complex and pronounced personal care and healthcare needs. The staff work in close liaison with health services to provide the necessary support in a way that treats children and young people with dignity and respect. Staff receive training

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Good

and practical help and advice from paediatricians and specialist nursing staff. All personal care is provided in a sensitive and respectful way. The manager ensures that medication reviews are carried out within agreed timescales, and examples were seen of the manager having chased health professionals when these reviews were not timely. This demonstrates the manager’s commitment to putting the needs of children and young people first, and is an example of good practice.

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Good

The way that this home helps and protects children and young people is good. The home has all necessary adaptations in place to meet the needs of children and young people who have limited mobility and high personal care needs. These include lifting hoists and height-adjustable beds, baths and wash basins. Occupational health assessments of the suitability of the home in meeting the needs of any new admission are conducted, and adaptations are made before admission. Staff are specifically trained in safe methods of care, which protect both themselves and the young person. Routine health and safety checks are carried out as required. These include appropriate fire safety measures and evacuation drills. All aspects of the day-to-day living in the home are subject to risk assessments, which have to be read by staff. These include both general risk assessments of the physical environment and individual risk assessments that relate to a particular child or young person. The

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Good

manager also conducts a locality risk assessment, which is reviewed annually. These measures help to reduce the risk of physical harm to children and young people. Although all staff are trained in behaviour management and in methods of restraint, there is no record of this being necessary with the current client group, for whom the use of sanctions would also be inappropriate. Similarly, there is no record of any child or young person going missing. However, the home has prepared for this unlikely event occurring in this context, and has a pen picture and photograph in place of each child and young person, which could be made available to the police at such time. All management and staff are trained in safeguarding children to the level appropriate for their roles, and this training is regularly updated. The staff follow the local authority policies and procedures for safeguarding children, and work

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Good

closely with local safeguarding teams. The safeguarding officer of the local authority reports no safeguarding concerns about this agency. Personnel files of all managers and staff indicate that they are recruited, carefully selected and vetted in an appropriate manner. This helps to prevent unsuitable people from being recruited and having the opportunity to harm children and young people or put them at risk.

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Good

The impact and effectiveness of leaders and managers in this home are good. The registered manager is experienced in children’s residential care and is currently undertaking a management qualification in this regard. The manager is part of the management team that serves the three residential homes in this authority, which provide residential care services for children who have physical disabilities and learning difficulties. As such, she is able to make placement decisions at the point of referral, and this helps to ensure that placements are appropriate and stable. As previously stated, there is a stable staff team that has been suitably vetted, and the majority of the team members have the appropriate qualification for their roles, or are undertaking this award. All staff members undertake additional training, which is specific to the personal care and healthcare of children and young people who have severe disabilities. A comprehensive induction programme is in place for

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Good

new appointees. Supervision is at least monthly, and there are monthly team meetings. Care staff report that they feel well trained, managed and supported. This helps to ensure that children and young people receive a good level of care from skilled professionals. A statement of purpose accurately describes the aims, objectives and ethos of the home, and this statement is reviewed annually. An independent visitor conducts monthly visits to the home and produces reports, which make recommendations for any necessary service improvements. The manager conducts six-monthly reviews of the quality of care and makes recommendations for service improvement. There is evidence that these reviews are carried out in consultation with parents, social workers and other stakeholders and, as far as possible, with the young people living in the home. This internal monitoring helps to develop service improvement. The manager assesses children’s and young people’s needs before they arrive and

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Good

produces an individual support plan, which is appropriately reviewed. The manager ensures that personal education plans and education, health and care plans are kept up to date and reviewed at the correct frequency, and there is evidence that responsible authorities will be reminded by the manager if they do not do so. One social worker commented that there are, ‘really good-quality reports for review.’ Another said, ‘There is wonderful communication and coordination from the home with the various services that support this young person and their family. A really high standard of personal care.’ The home has a system in place, which ensures that the regulatory body will be notified about any significant events occurring in the home, as required by regulation. The home has fully implemented both of the two recommendations made at the previous inspection: the home now gives explanations in its records

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Good

for gaps in employees’ employment histories, and regulation 44 reports are now provided to Ofsted as soon as possible following a monitoring visit. There are no requirements or recommendations made as a result of this 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 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 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 that 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 whom 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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