Children's Home run by Barnardo’s in Oxfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC013144 1 SC013144 Registered provider: Barnardo’s

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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 residential short-break service caters for up to six children or young people at any time. The service is provided by a national charity in partnership with a local authority and a primary care trust. Most of the children and young people using the service have complex needs, or are on the autistic spectrum and may have associated challenging behaviour.

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Information about this children’s home

The service has a new manager since the last inspection, who was registered with Ofsted in May 2018.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC013144 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2017 Full Good 09/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/09/2016 Full Good 21/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC013144 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

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating: the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to must provide for gaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(1), (2)(a)(b) and (c), and (5)) 09/09/2018

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31 to 33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management 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) Specifically, ensure that people providing a reference on behalf of an organisation are authorised to do so.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

 Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. Inspection report children’s home: SC013144 4 (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) Specifically, ensure that parents’ views about how the home cares for their children are obtained periodically to inform the assessment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are provided with experiences that are highly valued by their families. The visits for the children are planned well in advance and consider how best to meet their complex needs. Parents view the service as a valuable resource of the community that provides their children with a mini-break from their regular routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from nurturing relationships with the staff. The staff are attentive, patient and sensitive to the children’s individual needs. The children are listened to and always treated with dignity and respect. The staff are skilful at obtaining children’s views and acting on them, despite many being non-verbal.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that the centre is equipped with age-appropriate toys, books and games to keep the children occupied. Some children choose to sit quietly and watch films while others draw and paint under the guidance of the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The meeting of the children’s health needs is done exceptionally well. The staff have good knowledge of all pre-existing medical conditions of the children. They pay special attention to all medication that is prescribed. All medication is recorded and administered safely by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Activities play an important role for the children when they visit the service. The staff plan purposeful group activities in the community that promote positive interactions with children of similar needs. In addition, the children are able to explore their own interests. The garden is a great resource that enhances children’s experiences.

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

The children are kept safe and protected by the staff. There have been no significant incidents involving the children since the last inspection. A parent stated, ‘I have no question that my child is safe when staying over at the centre.’

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

The children do not go missing nor are they at risk of exploitation. No notifiable incidents have occurred since the last inspection.

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

The staff identify and assess the individual risks to the children. They complete detailed risk assessments that provide insight into children’s behaviour and staff actions to manage risks. The guidance allows staff to engage well with children however complex their needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC013144 5 Occasionally, the staff have to intervene and positively handle the children. The staff have improved the manner in which they record physical interventions. The views of the children are documented, and if they have trouble expressing themselves this is also documented. This action taken meets the recommendation set at the last inspection.

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

The service provides safety and security to the children. Health and safety checks have been completed in a timely manner. The children have personal evacuation plans in place in the event of fire, and routine fire drills are undertaken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been recent leadership and management changes for the service. A new responsible individual is in post, with the former post-holder taking over the role of manager and successfully registering with Ofsted in May 2018. The changes had only been established for a short period prior to the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is competent, with a clear vision for taking the service forward. She clearly understands the strengths and weaknesses, due to being attached to the service for a considerable number of years in different capacities. The manager was transparent when discussing which requirements and recommendations from the last inspection were met, and which remained outstanding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement in relation to providing Ofsted with a suitable review of the quality of care report is unmet. The report provided was not comprehensive nor evaluative of the service for the months covered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The appointment of a permanent manager has raised the morale of the staff. They had a level of uncertainty around the ‘unknown’, as they were unaware who would take up the post.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff continue to be a major strength of the service. They are suitably qualified, consistent and committed to their roles. There were some gaps in individual supervision for some of the staff because of the interim management arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor undertakes visits to the home on a monthly basis. She completes her reports in a timely manner while assessing the level of care provided to the children. However, her reports lack parental input, their views never being routinely sought.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC013144 6 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: SC013144 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 13A Silver Fox Way, Cobalt Business Park, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, NE27 0QJ

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Inspector(s)

James Harmon, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC013144 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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