Children's home run by Peterborough City Council

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the 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

At the last inspection, one requirement and four recommendations were set. The manager has met two of the recommendations.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The previous inspection highlighted that not all of the staff had completed the level 3 diploma. This requirement now relates to only one member of staff. This member of staff has completed their coursework; however, it has not been assessed and certificated. This requirement is restated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has met two of the recommendations for improvement raised at the last inspection. All of the staff currently working at the home have completed the in-house training in administering medication. The manager and staff record the children’s views and feelings about the activities that they participate in during their short breaks. This provides a better picture of the suitability of activities and the children’s enjoyment and engagement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children benefit from a good range of activities, such as arts and crafts, outdoor play, cooking, visits to the local parks, pantomime trips, bowling, and parties for special events. The staff encourage all of the children to socialise with their peers during their short breaks. The children use their preferred communication methods to make choices about the activities that they would like to undertake. All of the children have memory boxes, which include tickets and programmes of days out along with photographs of the children enjoying themselves. This builds personalised memories of the children’s time in the home, which they can take with them and treasure after they move on.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has not met the recommendation to ensure that all staff understand the behaviour management strategies. She is currently in the process of devising a detailed comprehensive plan with staff for each child. This plan will enable staff to identify and record trigger behaviours and the de-escalation strategies used. Staff spoken with during this inspection are enthusiastic that these plans, once completed, will be a useful tool.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager previously had no impact risk assessments for the children attending a short break. She now has procedures in place and staff are assessing the staffing levels required to meet the individual and group needs of children attending. Work has started on the individual impact risk assessments and those that have been completed are of good quality. However, not all of the children have impact risk assessments at this time. This recommendation is restated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The experienced manager leads a team of well-established and experienced staff. Children benefit from the care that they receive from a familiar and consistent group of adults. This enables the members of staff to build long-term stable and positive relationships with the children. Staff work positively together to ensure that ideas for improvement are acted upon in order to achieve the best outcomes for the children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children’s care plans are of good quality and the daily records of the events for each child are clear and informative. These records give a real sense of the child’s day, including their mood, wishes and feelings.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All of the rooms in the home are child-friendly and equipped to meet the specific needs of the children. The home provides a safe physical environment for children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff and manager are committed to ensuring that the children have an enjoyable time during their stay. Parents say that their children enjoy their short breaks and that they have fun. One parent said, ‘I appreciate the quality of care given by the staff. I know she is looked after well while at the home.’ Another parent said, ‘My child gets very excited and insists on carrying his own suitcase in the morning as he can’t wait to go.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff receive regular in-house training and good-quality supervision. However, there is no clear record of training for each member of staff. The manager has started to work on this but the task is not complete. This makes it difficult to track when training is due or to identify areas for professional development.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent visitor provides a comprehensive report with actions identified to drive improvement. At the suggestion of the visitor, the manager has introduced a personalised record, undertaken in conjunction with parents, to reflect the children’s cultural and ethnic needs. This will help the staff to have a full understanding of the children’s wishes and preferences and enable the children to maintain their cultural identity.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff work well with parents, social workers and education staff to ensure that robust plans are in place when children move on to adulthood. Staff ensure that the end of placements for children are positive and that new admissions are planned well, with introductory visits and assessment undertaken. This work helps to reduce the anxiety that the children and their parents experience about these transitions.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home provides good-quality care. The staff are attentive and committed to delivering a good service to each of the children. This includes meeting the individual communication needs of the children by using a variety of communication tools to achieve inclusion and promote the children’s well-being.

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and operates this provision. The home is registered to provide short breaks and day care for up to eight children aged between six and 18 years. The home provides specialist care for children who have physical disabilities, and/or learning disabilities and/or sensory impairments.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/11/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/12/2015 Full Good 19/02/2015 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 registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. The individual must attain the level 3 diploma for residential childcare (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’) or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the level 3 diploma. The relevant date is, in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls two years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home, or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) 31/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff and is kept under review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  Implement a workforce plan or training plan that details the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications).The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that placements for children are only accepted where managers are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plan and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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, 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

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

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