Coniston House

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home appears more settled and there have been fewer incidents in the last two months. Two of the young people who were present during the last inspection have now left the home. The first young person has moved into supported accommodation and the second young person has moved onto a different placement because his needs could not be safely met at the home. The manager has identified learning from these placements that includes greater scrutiny around the matching process. There has been one new admission to the home. After an initial challenging period the young person appears more settled and told me, ‘It’s not so bad here. The staff are really nice.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the home’s, last inspection the number of young people missing from care have reduced. Physical restraint is rare because staff focus on de-escalation and distraction techniques. All incidents are monitored and evaluated effectively.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to attend a variety of educational settings dependent on their needs and abilities. Staff are proactive in sourcing educational opportunities for young people struggling to engage in formal education.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager continues to ensure that young people have detailed health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services such as doctors, dentists and opticians. This ensures that their physical health is maintained. Young people have access to the services that they need to promote their emotional and psychological well-being. Medication is stored safely, and records on the administration of medication are appropriately maintained.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager continues to support young people to maintain regular contact with their families which includes regular visits home and telephone calls. This allows young people to maintain their sense of belonging in their families.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff complete regular health and safety checks and follow a range of safety procedures to protect young people from potential hazards. This includes fire drills and emergency evacuations, to ensure that young people know what to do in case of an emergency. In addition, the vetting and recruitment of people working at the home is thorough to make sure that only suitable adults work there.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home continues to be managed by a suitably qualified manager who has been in post since March 2014. Staff receive regular training to help ensure that they have the skills and competencies necessary to meet the diverse needs of the young people. Staff also continue to receive regular formal supervision and appraisal.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has ensured that most of the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection have been met. This is evident in the notifications sent to Ofsted regarding serious incidents, the reduced number of missing from home incidents, the use of return home interviews, improved matching processes and the employment of new regulation 44 visitors. However, there has not been sufficient progress in ensuring that risk assessments are detailed and relevant to young people, and some staff have yet to complete their level 3 diploma, which means they are now outside regulatory timescales. These two requirements are repeated.

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Information about this children's home

The home is one of four within this private organisation. The home offers placements for up to five young people who may have a combination of mental health, psychological, emotional or complex care needs that present challenging behaviour. The service is designed to offer medium- to long-term care placements.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 20/09/2016 Full Requires improvement 26/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/08/2015 Full Good 09/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard with particular reference to risk assessments, the registered provider must ensure that staff— (2)(a)(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (2)(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 28/02/2017

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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 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 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, workbased 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

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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