Children's home run by Worcestershire County Council in Worcester

Inspection report children's home: SC060332 1 SC060332 Registered provider: Worcestershire County Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people who have a learning disability and/or emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children's home: SC060332 2

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Young people develop their confidence and social skills because they live at this home.  Staff provide consistent guidance and boundaries. This helps lower young people’s anxiety and improves their behaviour.  Staff support young people to develop healthy lifestyles. Young people eat healthily and take exercise, promoting their health and general well-being.  Young people are encouraged to share their wishes and feelings.  The registered manager promotes young people’s participation in the community positively.  The staff team works in partnership with parents to make sure that regular communication and contact takes place. This helps young people to maintain their family links.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 There are some areas for development. These include making sure that all staff receive regular supervision. The registered manager should also review physical incidents and speak with young people within the required timescales.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/10/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC060332 3

p.2

Statutory requirement

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that, within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’) has spoken to the user about the measure and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate and, within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3) (b) (i) (ii) (c)) 27/10/2017

p.3

Recommendation

 A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the last inspection, two requirements were made. At the time of this inspection, the manager has taken action to resolve one of these shortfalls. The outstanding work to the bathroom areas now has a timescale for completion. The home is a clean and welcoming place to live. Improvements have been made to the lounge area. The walls are brightly decorated and there are large portraits of young people throughout. The entrance area has activity boards and more photographs of young people. A new wooden floor is to be fitted in the lounge and a new sofa has been ordered. There is a new sensory room that young people enjoy. The garden area is well maintained. There are fruit and vegetable patches that young people are proud of. Some young people also enjoy a water fountain with frogs. Since the last inspection, one young person left the home and one young person arrived at the home. The manager makes sure that transitions are well planned and that tea

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

visits take place before young people move in. All necessary paperwork is provided and Inspection report children's home: SC060332 4 signed in advance from parents, social workers and other professionals. Matching meetings and observations of young people at school assist managers in deciding about new placements. Young people receive a warm welcome. They decorate their bedrooms as they wish, with the support of their families. This helps young people to feel familiar in their surroundings and helps them to settle. Young people make considerable progress from their starting points. This is because the registered manager has high hopes for all young people. Staff help young people to improve their social and independence skills. For example, one young person is now able to use the toilet independently. Another young person has recently learned how to ride a bike. Young people are encouraged to try new activities and are helped to improve their

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

communication and social skills. A social worker told the inspector: The young person’s self-confidence and self-esteem has been boosted massively since being here. He has gained confidence in his own abilities. Lots of things were difficult, like getting him to school for example. In the last twelve months, he has grown and is developing his social and communication skills. Staff have helped him to feel proud of himself and he is much more confident with his social skills and social interaction. Staff do not shy away from activities that may be difficult and provide lots of opportunity. Young people’s files are well organised. Placement plans are written to a high standard. They clearly identify aims and objectives to enable progress. This helps staff and young people to work towards their goals. The staff team uses positive praise, star charts and ‘zone boards’ to reward positive behaviour. A chosen item or treat of choice is then

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

provided as an incentive. Sanctions are rarely used. This is because there is more focus on showing appropriate behaviour and learning from challenging behaviours. Young people are encouraged to repair their relationships with staff and others after incidents. This helps young people to improve their behaviours. One parent told the inspector: We cannot fault them at all, they tell us everything and we think he is really happy. We generally have no concerns whatsoever. All staff are approachable, we feel welcome when we visit and we are part of his life. Staff check things out with us, they listen and really are fabulous. The registered manager is brilliant. There is never a problem at all and we feel welcomed and listened to. The quality of care is brilliant. Young people are provided with a variety of social and physical opportunities. Young people have a choice in what activities they like to do. These include visiting museums,

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

nature reserves and cathedrals, cycling and hiking in the countryside. Managers are creative and do every-day activities such as water play, painting, baking and drawing to keep young people busy. This means that young people are afforded the same opportunities as other young people. As a result, young people develop their confidence and have fun. One parent told the inspector: There is good communication, staff are good at activities and challenge him to do games, such as bingo etc. and he is using a knife and fork. He is out of nappies. I am hoping that if he really wasn’t happy that I would pick up on it. The staff are lovely, the registered manager is lovely… I am very happy, they need a medal and do a wonderful job. Inspection report children's home: SC060332 5

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been no safeguarding incidents since the last inspection. The staff team understands the needs of each young person well. This helps the staff to notice any changes in young people’s behaviour and keep them safe. There have been no missing from home incidents since the last inspection. This is because young people have sufficient staffing levels to meet their needs and are protected from harm by staff. However, the manager makes sure that young people have access to all areas of the home. All doors to exit the house and external gates are open. This is because staff feel strongly that young people should not have their access restricted to any areas of their home. This helps young people, because they can see staff at all times and this reassures them. This also helps young people develop appropriate behaviour. Young people receive an excellent quality of care from staff who understand their

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

complex needs. Staff provide young people with regular and meaningful one-to-one sessions. The sessions are reflective of the overall placement aims and developmental needs of young people. As a result, these sessions assist young people in making improvements with issues such as communication, poor behaviour and seeking practical help anxiety. Physical restraint is only used as a last resort and the number of incidents are relatively low, despite the challenging behaviours of some young people. This is because staff are highly skilled and experienced in working with young people who self-harm and have challenging behaviours as a result of their disability. Staff ensure that incidents of physical restraint are well recorded. Young people are given the opportunity to talk about potential triggers for their behaviour after incidents. This helps reduce behaviour episodes in the future and protects young people from harm. However, the registered

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

manager does not always review these records within the required timescales. This could mean that shortfalls in practice drift and that young people miss opportunities to talk about how they feel. Young people are safe. The manager has improved how staff routinely gather the wishes and feelings of young people. Young people have house meetings and talk to staff on a daily basis about what matters to them. This helps them develop their confidence and means that they feel listened to. The manager promptly responds to activity requests and food choices. Staff meet the individual needs of each young person and take effective action to promote their well-being. There are no incidents of bullying at the home. This is because staff help young people to understand how some of their behaviours can affect other young people. As a result, young people improve their relationships with others. Managers work in partnership with social workers to create detailed and child-centred

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

risk assessments. These risk assessments are regularly reviewed. They help to keep young people safe when displaying challenging behaviours and when taking part in activities. Staff are highly skilled in behaviour management and behaviour management plans are very well written. These plans help staff respond consistently to young people. This helps young people to improve their behaviours and their responses to others. Inspection report children's home: SC060332 6

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very experienced and skilled. This means that young people receive high quality care. The approach to caring for young people is focused on equal opportunities and making progress. This means that young people receive care from staff who have high aspirations for them. This helps young people to improve their confidence and social skills. Partnership working between the manager, staff, placing authority and other professionals is very good. A psychologist told the inspector: My experience of the team was that they were very committed to providing the best care they could for the young people. I was impressed by how well they worked together as a team, providing a high level of support to each other and working hard to parent as consistently as possible within a big staff team. Staff have strong working relationships with education professionals. They share information and support each other at times of crisis. This helps to keep young people in

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

education. Managers make sure that they work closely with the placing authority. They give clear direction to staff and recognise the importance of consistency for young people. Staff work hard to meet the aims and objectives set within young people’s care plans. This helps young people make good progress from their starting points. A social worker told the inspector, ‘I recently placed the young person at the home and have been extremely impressed with how the staff have worked with him to make him feel safe and secure in a very short space of time.’ Staff receive good quality supervision from supportive managers. This means that young people receive a high quality of care from staff who are able to meet their needs. However, some staff are not receiving supervision often enough. The registered manager has completed an excellent review of the quality of care provided. A range of monitoring systems are used, and the manager has identified areas

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

for improvement within the service. Staff feel well supported and listened to by the registered manager. One staff member told the inspector, ‘I have good supervision, am well supported and feel the training has been really good here overall.’ Another staff member told the inspector, ‘We have a very, very good staff team. The registered manager really listens, absolutely he does and if I had a problem I would tell him. There are no issues at all with staff, there is no bullying.’ Staff recruitment processes are vigorous. Managers verify references and qualifications and check that all necessary disclosure and barring checks are in place. This means that young people receive care from appropriately checked adults. This helps to keep young people safe. The majority of the staff team has the necessary qualifications for the role and is experienced within their work. This means that young people are provided with a

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

high quality of care from staff who understand their needs. Inspection report children's home: SC060332 7

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Whenever possible, they talked to children and 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.

p.7

Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children's home: SC060332 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Worcestershire County Council, County Hall, Worcester WR5 2NP

p.8

Inspector

Anna Gravelle, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC060332 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9