Children's Home run by Essex County Council in Essex

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged as 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

The requirements made at the last full inspection have been mostly met. The premises have been upgraded in their design and furnishings. The rooms have been redecorated, new furnishings have been acquired and pictures hung on the walls. The kitchens and bathrooms are clean and bright with colour-coordinated accessories. There is an abundance of photos and artwork of the children enjoying activities, such as Christmas and local activities, and the children’s bedrooms are bright and warm. The work that the manager and the staff have done in improving the home makes it a more pleasant environment for the children to live and grow in.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A recommendation in relation to recording the aims and objectives for the children has not been addressed. These are not always clearly recorded, and so the case records do not routinely show where children are making progress. The manager has no system in place to monitor, review and evaluate how effectively this is working. This limits the effective review of children’s care and identification of ways to improve that care.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All health and safety checks, including gas safety certificates and electrical PAT testing, are informative, easy to read and up to date. Fire drills, evacuation and alarm tests are monitored according to policy and procedure. This ensures that the home is a safe place for the children to live.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A number of the children receive medication during their stay. This inspection did not identify any shortfalls in relation to the process of administration and record- keeping. However, there is no system in place for the appropriate disposal of any refused medication, and this is, therefore, a shortfall. This has no impact on any children, but, to reduce the risk of mistakes, all of the staff should follow an agreed procedure.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The number of physical interventions and sanctions remain low. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Files sampled referring to physical interventions, sanctions and missing from care are fully completed, informative and up to date. The children’s case files are of a good standard. The files include care plans, risk assessments and educational plans, which are personalised and reflect the individual needs of each child. The educational plans include outcomes from reviews, looking back and looking forward in order to monitor the progress and review the effectiveness of the plans in place. The home, parent and educational provision communicate to each other using the child’s ‘home from home’ book. This ensures that all parties are up to date with all information relative to the child’s needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Risk assessments for activities within the local community are robust. They contain individual information regarding equipment required for the trip, stranger danger and where a child is best seated in the car for the journey. All of the children are given a laminated picture of themselves to carry which holds information required if they go missing or in a case of a medical emergency. This reduces to a minimum the risk to children while out of the home, therefore keeping them safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children continue to make good progress and have improved their skills. For example, a chef’s night is held once a month. The children turn the dining room into a restaurant and with the support of the staff cook a meal for invited guests, which include the provider, social workers and parents. These nights have been a great success. The manager said, ‘The children really look forward to chef’s nights. We have one next week.’ This is evidenced by the interaction observed during the inspection between the children and staff while making cakes, preparing their evening meal and unpacking their belongings. One child, with the support of staff using sign language, said that he loved staying at the home and that ‘The staff are really nice.’ All this was conveyed with a beaming smile.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, several new members of staff have joined the home. Files sampled included full recruitment checks, a comprehensive induction programme and ongoing supervision for staff. The files were fully completed and were up to date. New staff are given a mentor and the required training before commencing shifts. The manager is currently awaiting registration interview and is eager to learn from reviews of the service to enhance and improve standards. The staff were very complimentary about the manager and the team. One staff member said, ‘It’s really nice working somewhere where people wanted to be,’ and ‘She is a good manager, ‘I’m loving it, I feel very supported.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a shortfall in practice with regards to internet safety. The staff spoken to were unaware of any policy or procedures around safeguarding children against child sexual exploitation and the safe use of phones or gaming equipment that may be connected to the internet. This has limited impact on the current children who do not have internet access. However, in future the staff may need to be aware of the policies and procedures to protect the children effectively.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been one complaint since the last inspection. This has been dealt with effectively. The evidence shows that the complainant is happy with the outcome and resolution by the manager. There are many compliments, for example a child said: ‘Just to say thank you for all the lovely respites I’ve had, will miss you all.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are tools in place to gather information and feedback from the children and the parents. These are: ‘Tell us about your stay’ and ‘Parents’ feedback’, which gather information that includes changes that the children and parents would like made and what could be done differently. The information gathered from the forms is of good quality and informative, and would enhance the service provided. However, there is nowhere to evaluate or evidence any changes made by staff or the manager.

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is a local authority provision. The home is registered for up to 12 children who have learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/05/2016 Full Good 06/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/07/2015 Full Requires improvement 17/03/2015 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

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must: (2)(a)(ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe. This is related to internet safety. 17/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

45: Review of quality of care In order to meet the review of quality of care standard, the registered person must: (1) Complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every six months. (2) In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating: (a) the quality of care provided for children; (b) the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care that they receive in it; and (c) any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 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:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff involved in the disposal of medication refresh their knowledge of ‘Managing medicines in care homes’ (March 2014). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  Ensure that staff are familiar with particular reference to the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, particularly with reference to information about aims and objectives and progress that children make against these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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

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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