Children's Home run by Dorset Council in Dorset

Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 1 SC032163 Registered provider: Dorset County 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 home is run by a local authority. The home is registered to accommodate up to nine children who have complex learning difficulties and disabilities. The home provides long-term placements for children in accommodation that comprises four distinct living areas located in the main building. The occupancy levels of each living area are determined by the needs and the mix of the children.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager has managed this home for more than 20 years. He is Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 2 an excellent leader. The registered manager has a wealth of relevant experiences, he is suitably qualified and he has been registered with Ofsted since 2007. He consistently leads this home effectively, and provides good quality of care to the children.  Children’s unique needs are at the centre of the care that staff provide. Children live in their separate living areas, and are looked after by a dedicated team of carers. The quality of care provided is nurturing, sensitive and bespoke to the individualised needs of every child.  Children are looked after by a team of staff who demonstrate genuine care for them. The registered manager and his care teams know and understand children’s individual personalities and needs well.  Achievements, regardless of how small, are recognised and celebrated. For

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Key findings from this inspection

example, one child is now able to walk on a different path to reach the same destination. Another child has met a school friend for dinner at a restaurant of their choice.  Parents are exceptionally pleased with the care and support that are provided to their children. They speak highly of the opportunities that their children have had and the progress they are making.

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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

 The registered manager’s monitoring of records requires improvement to be effective. Currently, the central records of physical interventions, consequences and the management of medication are not well maintained. The monitoring currently undertaken lacks rigour. As a result, these records are not in accordance with regulatory requirements.  The registered manager and practice leaders must ensure that staff supervision sessions and team meetings provide good opportunities for staff to reflect on their work practices.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/11/2016 Full Outstanding 10/11/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/05/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 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

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to:

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Requirement Due date

 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that monitoring of records is effective in identifying weaknesses and improvements that can be made. In addition, ensure that the registered manager reviews the central record of restraint within the required timescales. 31/12/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, ensure that staff refresh mandatory training courses within the correct time scales. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  Ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs and experiences of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 4 understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, this is a good home. The registered manager and his care teams consistently provide children with nurturing and well-planned care. Staff demonstrate genuine care and affection for the children. They know their needs, preferences and individualised characteristics well. Children were observed to be comfortable, relaxed and having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is separated into four separate living areas. Children’s needs are assessed, and decisions are carefully made regarding their ability to live with others, or independently. Children have opportunities to share activities and spend time together, which helps and promotes their social development. All children benefit from receiving continuity of care that is tailored to meet their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a variety of communication methods to ensure that children can make choices and communicate their views. Children choose what activity they would like to do and what they would like eat, and they are helped to express how they are feeling. Relationships between care staff and children are warm and thoughtful. The inspector observed care staff responding to the children in a loving and nurturing way. This approach helps the children to feel safe, and reduces their anxieties and worries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and care teams work closely with the children’s schools, to ensure that communication methods are maintained and behaviour management approaches are consistent for the children while at home and at school. A headteacher said, ‘I cannot speak highly enough of this home. Since our student has lived at the home, his behaviour at school has changed beyond recognition. He is making outstanding progress and his attendance has been exceptional.’ When asked about how the home communicates with the school, she said, ‘Communication is excellent. Key workers always fill in the school-to-home diary and attend all reviews and meetings that they are invited to.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four parents made contact with the inspector during this inspection. They were all eager to share how the registered manager and the care teams have helped their children. One parent said, ‘My son has lived at the home over two years and he loves it. My son has achieved so much in the last year. The care team love him. They really do provide children with good-quality care and support.’ A second parent agreed, and said, ‘I gain some reassurance from the fact that the care team who look after my child know him so well, probably better than me now. That is difficult for me to say because I am his mum, but that is the truth.’ A third parent also agreed, and said, ‘The staff who care for my son go above and beyond. He is doing things we did not think was possible.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 5

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

Children are helped to take safe risks. They are encouraged to try new activities that are not within their ‘special interest’ profiles. For example, one child went to the cinema to watch a film for the first time. This was able to happen because the key worker managed the child’s anxieties exceptionally well. She planned the event with the child, and offered her reassurance prior to and during the activity. This activity was successful, and the child has since asked to go to the cinema to watch another film.

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

The registered manager and practice leaders have recently introduced new care plans and risk assessments. These documents comprehensively detail the needs of each child, and provide staff with clear strategies to meet the child’s needs. Risk assessments are graded in traffic-light colours that boldly identify to the care staff what indicators to look for, and how to respond if a situation should occur that places the child or others at risk.

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

Staff manage behaviour well. On occasions, care staff may hold children to keep them safe. In the main, interventions used redirect and guide children. Sanctions are not typically used for most children. Children are kept safe here; there have been no missing-from-home incidents or complaints since the previous inspection.

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

There has been one referral made to the designated officer since the previous inspection. The outcome of this referral concluded that no further action was required. The registered manager maintained contact with all agencies throughout, and took appropriate action to ensure that the child was safeguarded.

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

Children’s complex healthcare needs are met well. Staff know how to protect a child who has a specific condition that may require emergency intervention. The current systems for the recording and auditing of medication are complex. As a result, audits of balance levels for liquid medication frequently identify errors. In response, the registered manager has liaised with a local pharmacist and made arrangements to meet with another registered manager whose medication systems have been assessed as effective and well maintained.

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

Care staff are provided with a wide range of learning opportunities. These include face- to-face sessions and e-learning. In addition, the care team is supported by external healthcare professionals. These training sessions provide staff with a clear understanding of why children behave in a certain way, and the best ways to manage and respond to their individual behavioural traits.

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

Children live in an environment that is safe and well maintained. The registered manager has established and maintains good working relationships with external agencies, to ensure that regular servicing and repairs are carried out in a timely manner.

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

Children are looked after by care staff who are carefully selected and vetted. The files of recently appointed staff are well organised, and show that appropriate checks have been Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 6 carried out.

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

The registered manager has maintained a positive relationship with the local police. As a result, he has obtained information from the police relating to the risks in the home’s locality. He has also maintained contact with a local building firm which is undertaking extensive building works near the home. This is critical, as children often walk past this building site. The information obtained is understood and considered by the care teams when they are out on activities with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The leadership of the home requires improvement because the registered manager’s monitoring of records maintained by staff is not effective. Omissions, and the use of inaccurate terminology in records, have not been identified or challenged. In addition, the registered manager has failed to monitor the central record of physical interventions for effectiveness, or monitored these records within the required timescales. He has not taken appropriate and timely action when sanctions given to one child have been recognised as ineffective and unimaginative, nor has he taken immediate action when medical stock balance errors have been brought to his attention. To date, these shortfalls have not impacted negatively on the safety and well-being of children, but they do have the potential to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager was fully aware of the weaknesses identified at this inspection, before it took place. He has taken action to improve the records kept by staff by providing them with training courses and supporting aids. He has liaised with other similar services to improve the medication recording systems, and he accepts that his monitoring lacks critical evaluation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The care staff spoken to said training opportunities are good. Despite this feedback, a number of staff have not attended or completed refresher mandatory training courses. The registered manager and those who supervise staff have not taken action to ensure that this training is completed within appropriate time scales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Supervisions and team meetings take place regularly. The registered manager has identified that staff attendance at these meetings needs to improve. He is considering how this can be achieved. Records of team meetings show that staff discuss individual children’s achievements and behavioural incidents. However, records do not show how the staff use these meetings to learn from each other, or reflect on their practice. Neither do the staff explore how they can maximise children’s opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff spoken to said that they receive good support and advice from the registered manager, deputy manager and practice leaders. They also said that they feel listened to and valued. They described themselves as a number of small teams that work exceptionally well together, and when relevant they all come together as one big team. Overall, this view was seen in practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 7

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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: SC032163 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ

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Inspector(s)

Sharron Escott, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC032163 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 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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