Children's home run by Milton Keynes City Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC052599 1 SC052599 Registered provider: Milton Keynes Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides short-break stays for up to 10 young people who have a learning disability and/or physical disability. The home is owned and managed by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 August to 1 September 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 15 December 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children build good relationships with staff, who care about them. Inspection report children’s home: SC052599 2  Children have fun with staff and each other.  The short-break stays have a positive impact on the progress that children make.  Children are safe when staying in the home.  Staff know each child and their needs well and view each child as an individual.  Staff help each child to succeed and work towards reaching their full potential.  The manager and staff are child focused and determined to maintain a high quality of care.  The manager and staff have good working relationships with other professionals.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers have not kept Ofsted informed about changes in the leadership of management of the home.  The location risk assessment for the home does not include other agencies’ views and is not analytical.  The retained records of the staff recruitment process do not evidence all that was done at the time.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/06/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC052599 3

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Statutory requirements

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.

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Requirement Due date

An organisation may only carry on a home if—the organisation has notified HMCI of the name, address and position in the organisation of the responsible individual. (Regulation 26 (4) (ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, inform Ofsted of the change in responsible individual. 10/10/2017

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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 the review of the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises includes the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that full records are maintained to show recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) In particular, retain evidence of the outcome of the criminal records check and of the documents shown by the applicant verifying their address.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress and this is, in part, due to the quality of care provided to them during their short break.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager takes great care to plan each child’s stay so that the group of children staying each night have compatible needs. The manager also ensures that children’s friendships are encouraged by arranging for children to stay at the same time as their Inspection report children’s home: SC052599 4 friends. A parent said, ‘They get the right mix of children.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build trusted and secure relationships with staff. Staff spend good-quality time with children during their short break and praise them for their achievements, however small. Children’s self-esteem improves, and most look forward to their short-break stays. A child said, ‘I love coming.’ A parent said, ‘Staff work really hard to help them settle,’ and went on to say, ‘She [her child] gets ready to go there herself now.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by adults who are good at communicating with them. Staff are skilful at using various communication aids with children who do not talk. Staff work out what children are trying to communicate, and through this support them to take an active part in decision-making about their stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children tell staff if they are unhappy by using happy and sad symbols, talking to them or by writing their feelings on a postcard and posting it in the letterbox for staff to read. A social worker said that the child she works with has no verbal skills but that ‘staff interpreted his actions and recognised that he was in pain’. During the inspection, a child was concerned about a particular peer coming to stay at the same time as him. He used the letterbox system, and the peer’s stay was arranged for a different day. Children know that they can communicate their concerns to staff and that these will be addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational attainment is supported by staff during their time in the home, and staff ensure that they get to school on time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities during their short break. The high supervision levels enable staff to spend good-quality time with each child. Staff endeavour to ensure that barriers to a child’s involvement in an activity are broken down. Each child gets the same opportunities as their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence despite their complex needs. For example, children develop skills in tending to their personal care or in managing their behaviour more effectively. Although these seem small improvements, they are very significant when considering their complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met during their short break. Children’s dignity and need for privacy, for example in relation to their personal care needs, are understood and respected. The arrangements for medication storage, and routine and emergency administration, are safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work very closely with families and other professionals to ensure that children are getting the support that they need to grow and develop in all areas of their lives. Parents said that they feel that staff listen to their views and act upon them. One parent said that the manager and staff were ‘lifesavers’. Inspection report children’s home: SC052599 5

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

Children trust the staff, who in turn keep them safe. Children communicate their fears to staff, who take appropriate action.

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

Risk management plans are developed, implemented and reviewed. This helps to keep children safe from risks arising from their vulnerabilities. Risks specific to a young person, such as self-harm, are dealt with effectively through risk and behaviour management support plans. The staff are part of a wider support system of professionals who help children develop strategies to manage their feelings more effectively.

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

Routines and boundaries are consistent and appropriate for each child. Staff support each child to manage their behaviour. A social worker said of their child, ‘Staff set good routines, they suit him, he understands them and they are predictable.’ Staff are skilled at recognising when a child may be becoming frustrated and are usually able to defuse situations before they escalate. Incidents are managed effectively so as to safeguard all children and promote their well-being. Patterns and trends of behaviour are identified, and strategies are put in place to address these. Staff respect each child, whatever challenges they may present.

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

Staff are good at identifying potential concerns about a child. They refer anything they are concerned about to the manager or another appropriate professional. A social worker said, ‘Staff are very good at reporting safeguarding concerns.’ If bullying occurs, staff address this by working with the bully and victim. Children who bully are helped to understand how they have made the other person feel, and the victim is helped to understand that this behaviour is not their fault and is not right. Staff help the victim to become more assertive. There is a strong culture of safeguarding children.

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

There is a location risk assessment that is due for review. This would benefit from including the views of other agencies, such as the police, to provide an in-depth analysis of any risks within the location. The physical environment is well maintained and is sufficiently resourced. Children who are able to use the internet are supported by staff to do so safely.

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

Staff recruitment is thorough. However, full records of the process are not maintained. For example, while criminal records checks are completed, it is not recorded whether the check was clear, and copies of documents verifying an applicant’s address are not kept on file.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Work in the home is underpinned by a clear statement of purpose which the leaders and managers implement in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new responsible individual has commenced work. However, the organisation did not Inspection report children’s home: SC052599 6 inform Ofsted of this change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children and their needs well and shows a strong determination to improve their lives. The monitoring arrangements are used effectively to ensure that strategic and practice development remain on the agenda. The manager has ensured that requirements from the last inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have good working relationships with placing social workers and other professionals. This helps to ensure that children’s overall care planning meets their needs. The ways in which the manager and staff work with parents enhances the lives of all within the family.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and well-qualified staff team. Parents have a high regard for the staff team members and are highly confident that they are competent in caring for their child. A parent said, ‘Staff are absolutely amazing with him [her son].’ Staff are child focused in their work and share the manager’s determination to improve the lives of the children and families whom they work with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported to carry out their caring role through supervision and team meetings. Staff said that they have ready access to their managers. The organisation invests in staff training. Training provided to staff is relevant to the work that staff undertake with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care plans are of a good quality. They identify and address each child’s needs and are developed in line with the wishes of children and their parents.

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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 differences 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. Wherever 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.

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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, 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: SC052599 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Milton Keynes Council, Saxon Court, 502 Avebury Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 3HS

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Inspector(s)

Rosie Dancer, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC052599 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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