Summary
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- Group verified
Peterborough City Council
- Inspection date verified
16 Jan 2018
- Name on report verified
SC033362
- URN verified
SC033362
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- Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically improve the provision, quality and range of ICT in school so that young people can more adeptly access information and learn new skills. p.5
- Ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to particulate in those activities. p.5
- Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children and the staff caring for them and the wider community. p.5
- In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. p.5
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Anatomy of the report
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- Pages
- 7
- Words of findings
- 1,751
- longer than usual (typical 1387)
- Reading level
- Hard
- Flesch 39, typical 50
- Average sentence
- 18 words
- Next steps
- 4
- typical 4
- Hedged sentences
- 5%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
Inspection report children‟s home: SC033362 1 SC033362 Registered provider: Peterborough City Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework
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Information about this children’s home
This secure children‟s home is owned and operated by a local authority. It is approved by the Department for Education to restrict young people‟s liberty. The children‟s home can accommodate up to 16 young people who are aged between 10 and 17. It provides for young people accommodated under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 and who are placed by local authorities. Admission of any young person under 13 years of age requires the approval of the Secretary of State. The commissioning of health services in this home is the statutory responsibility of NHS England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Education is provided onsite.
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Judgement at last inspection: good
Enforcement action since last inspection: none
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
At the last inspection of the home in July 2017, Ofsted made four statutory requirements and eight recommendations. Three of the recommendations relate to the education provision. Ofsted will assess these recommendations at the next full inspection of the home.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
Since the last inspection, the registered manager has taken sufficient action to address the four requirements. The focus of three of these requirements relates to the provision Inspection report children‟s home: SC033362 2 and delivery of appropriate health services for young people. Previously, partnership working arrangements between health services and care services were ineffectual and disruptive. A lack of clear direction, shared principles and collective goals meant that commissioned services did not meet young people‟s physical, emotional or psychological health needs. Team work between health staff, care staff and education staff was poor, and reporting and review processes fragmented. The registered manager, members of the senior leadership team and senior health professionals now work in partnership to identify, assess and treat young people‟s health needs. There is a „sharing information‟
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
agreement in place between care services and health services. A commissioning review is ongoing. The purpose of this is to evaluate the needs of the service, identify any possible constraints of the health provisions and consider the impact of these on access and positive outcomes for young people.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
Young people now benefit from easy access to a range of health professionals and services. The heath team consists of psychology and psychiatric services, occupational therapy, nursing staff and specialist mental health nurses. Consequently, the home is now able to provide young people with an initial triage service to immediately assess both their physical and emotional health needs. In addition, health staff now deliver key health clinics outside of school hours. This means that young people are able to access these clinics without missing out on their education. The registered manager has worked tirelessly to address healthcare shortfalls, in partnership with other agencies. These significant improvements mean that the home is now better able to meet young people‟s health needs.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
The remaining statutory requirement is also met. The registered manager and case managers now ensure that young people‟s case files include all necessary information and documentation. Staff use this information to devise comprehensive internal care and support plans. Internal plans reflect the overall aims and objectives of the placing authorities and enable the staff to develop robust risk assessments and behaviour plans. These plans identify young people‟s key risk factors, such as self-harm, and detail strategies to manage and reduce these. This approach promotes young people‟s safety and welfare and protects them from harm.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
The recommendation regarding the completion of internal documents and records is partly met. Staff ensure that „single separation‟ records, „managing away‟ documents and room search records now include all relevant information. This improvement allows the registered manager to assess the lawfulness of the use of these measures of control. The use of these restrictive practices are subject to robust assessment and written agreement by senior managers. This means that when staff use these measures to keep young people safe, this is a necessary and proportionate response to their behaviours. However, records relating to the use of physical restraint are incomplete. Staff do not consistently detail antecedents to these incidents. Records do not always include information about de-escalation techniques, the duration of the restraint or feedback from young people. Furthermore, senior managers do not always make sure that they
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
verify these records as accurate. On occasion, managers have signed to say that records are complete when this is not the case. The detrimental impact of this shortfall on young people‟s safety is reduced because the use of physical restraint continues to decline. In Inspection report children‟s home: SC033362 3 addition, the majority of physical restraints are captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV). This enables the registered manager to review these events to make sure that the use of physical restraint was necessary and appropriate.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
Staff create bespoke behaviour management plans for young people and incorporate the internal incentive level scheme into these plans when appropriate. Young people regularly participate in one-to-one key-work sessions. Staff use these sessions to help young people to understand what is expected of them in relation to acceptable behaviours. When it is necessary for staff to use sanctions to address young people‟s challenging or anti-social behaviours, staff make sure that the records are completed in detail. However, as raised at the last inspection, these sanctions are not restorative in nature. This is a missed opportunity for staff to encourage young people to reflect on their actions and take responsibility for their behaviours.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
The registered manager uses a range of monitoring tools to consider the quality of care provided by the service. However, the majority of these systems are ineffectual. This is because they lack cohesion and structure. They do not enable the registered manager to gain a full account of the strengths of the service. Current monitoring systems are descriptive rather than evaluative. Consequently, managers are unable to consistently identify prominent patterns or trends or areas for improvement. This is potentially detrimental to the ongoing development of the service.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
Young people continue to make good progress in all aspects of their lives. Admissions are mostly well planned and managed, taking account of the often limited time that staff have to prepare for the arrival of a young person. All relevant professionals and agencies assess young people‟s needs at the point of admission. This timely response means that staff are able to quickly develop support plans to keep young people safe and meet their needs.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
Young people‟s overall experience of the home is generally positive. The staff continually encourage them to express their views and opinions about their care. The young people re-engage in formal education and take part in regular enrichment activities organised by the teaching team. Furthermore, subject to stringent risk assessments, some young people become eligible for community mobility trips and excursions. These trips help them to develop age-appropriate social interaction skills. During school holidays, care staff devise weekly activity plans to occupy young people and enhance their learning and leisure opportunities. However, the staff do not make similar arrangements to engage young people during evenings or weekends. Young people say that they are often „bored‟ during these periods. The current lack of outdoor space due to extensive building works compounds this continuing shortfall.
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and young people since the most recent full inspection
Since the last inspection, the registered manager has taken action to review complaints procedures. Case managers now have responsibility for initially investigating any complaints that young people make. The inclusion of additional managers in this process means that the majority of complaints are resolved in suitable timescales. The registered manager implements acknowledgment letters to reassure young people that their concerns are being addressed. Inspection report children‟s home: SC033362 4 Some areas of the home require minor repairs and redecoration, and this forms part of the wider development plan. The introduction of cushions, throws and other soft furnishing improves the aesthetics of the environment. This addresses the previous recommendation for staff to personalise communal areas to create a more domestic appearance.
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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement
18/07/2017 Full Good 24/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/04/2016 Full Good 15/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness
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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
The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b)(2)(h)) 30/04/2018
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Requirement Due date
The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes all necessary information and 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, 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)(a)(i–viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 30/04/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC033362 5
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Recommendations
Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically improve the provision, quality and range of ICT in school so that young people can more adeptly access information and learn new skills. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18) Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically develop a whole-unit policy to address the fluctuating and erratic attendance of young people to school. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18) Ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn; specifically improve governance arrangements for education so that curriculum development and performance management information are scrutinised to ensure effective planning for the future. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the
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Recommendations
quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18) Ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to particulate in those activities. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 31, paragraph 6.5) In particular, ensure that care staff consistently provide a wide range of activities during the evenings and weekends. Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children and the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. („Guide to the children‟s homes
p.5
Recommendations
regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.38)
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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
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. Inspection report children‟s home: SC033362 6 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‟.
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Children’s home details
Registered provider address: Peterborough City Council, Chief Executive, Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough PE1 1PJ
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Children’s home details
Responsible individual: Wendi Ogle-Welbourn
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Inspector(s)
Jo Stephenson, social care inspector Paul Scott, social care inspector Cathey Moriarty, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC033362 7 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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