Children's home SC032723

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 judges that it has improved effectiveness . Since the full inspection, improvements have been made in the processes and record systems in the home. The staff team and manager are caring and committed individuals who offer children and young people positive experiences during their short break stay. A parent said: ‘I can’t fault them or the care they give.’ Planning for each episode of care provided to children and young people is thorough. The staff team continues to have a good understanding of the children and young people’s needs when they join the service . This reassures children, young people and their families, ensuring that they all benefit from the stay. Communication between the home, school and parents following each stay is good. A parent said: ‘They keep me up to date with everything.’ Recording in placement plans and risk assessments has improved. This increases

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

their effectiveness to direct staff about how to continue to meet the changing needs of children and young people. The progress has not been achieved for all plans and assessments; this work is planned and ongoing but, due to the large numbers of children and young people using the service, it is not yet complete. Outcomes and achievement plans have also improved, but progress is limited and more work is needed to understand the concept of outcomes and impact in a service such as this. Linked with the monitoring and evaluation of outcomes, staff still do not complete key-worker sessions with individual children and young people who attend on a regular basis. This results in an inability to evaluate progress against the plans from the individual child or young person’s perspective. The children and young people are offered a range of activities, both in the home and in the community, to stimulate and engage them during their stay. There are

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

sufficient staff on each shift to support individual needs and choices in relation to activities. Staff supervision has improved since the last inspection in both quantity and quality. The format incorporates reflective practice and an evaluation by the supervisor of the practice and competency of each member of staff. A member of staff said: ‘Supervisions have improved. They are much more focused.’ Training has now been updated for those staff who were identified as being out of training timescales at the last inspection. There is now a tracker in place to monitor when updates are required. The registered manager’s own monitoring is summarised every three months, but the resulting quality of care report was not forwarded to the regulator as required. In addition, as not all plans and risk assessments are completed and monitored, it is difficult to fully evaluate whether there are improvements in the leadership and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

management of the home across all areas. The home continues to be warm and welcoming. New carpets are in place in the hallways and the minor repairs needed at the last inspection have now been addressed. One of the bathrooms was identified as being in need of refurbishment. This is planned, but has not yet taken place. The resulting damp from the bathroom, which was seen in the corridor at the last inspection, has been addressed and repaired.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides accommodation for up to seven children who have sensory impairment, learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. It is operated by a local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

09/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

17/02/2015 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— supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a)) 10/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  A child’s plans should form the basis of their care, and providers should use their judgement as to what is relevant in each case, taking the plans listed in the definition in the regulations as a starting point rather than a complete list or a tick-box exercise. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.1)  Some records may be kept electronically (regulation 38) provided that this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it

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Recommendations

and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. Electronic records should be held at the individual home in accordance with data protection principles. IT systems should ensure the safe storage of these records and business continuity planning should be in place to prevent loss or damage to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

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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 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 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 Text phone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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