Break-away

Unique reference number SC800001 Inspection date 24/10/2014 Inspector Nick Veysey Type of inspection Full

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Registered person Break-away Registered manager Nicholas Loone Responsible individual Hilary Richards Date of last inspection 31/10/2013 Break-away Inspection report for residential holiday schemes for disabled children Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

The residential holiday scheme for disabled children provides a holiday for up to three children and young people for two nights up to six times a year. The scheme is run by a charity specifically for children and young people with complex needs, including learning and physical disability and related health needs. The scheme is commissioned by Suffolk County Council.

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Brief description of the service

The scheme takes place in a property owned by Suffolk County Council.

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Brief description of the service

 Outstanding  Good  Requires improvement  Inadequate

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The overall experiences of children and young people

The overall experiences of children and young people is judged to be good.

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The overall experiences of children and young people

Children have an enjoyable holiday that makes a positive difference on their lives. They benefit from a wide range of positive social and recreational experiences that enriches their lives and promotes their personal development. Children said, ‘I like coming it makes me happy’, ‘I did lots of fun activities’, and the good things about the holiday are ‘the place, food, staff, activities and friends.’ Parents, grandparents and carers are extremely positive about the holiday and how it benefits their children’s lives. They said, ‘We know they are safe, having a good time, trying new things and making friends’, ‘(child) loves it and is so excited (about going)’, and ‘(child) loves it and says he is going to see his friends. He is getting better at mixing with other, developing and learning to share and take turns.’

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The overall experiences of children and young people

Children with a broad range of disabilities and complex health needs have plenty of active, interesting, stimulating, creative, and above all fun things to do. The activities include arts and crafts, swimming, cooking, going to local festivals and cultural events, adventure playgrounds, the cinema, seeing animals at the zoo and on the farm, going to the seaside, an aquarium and the zoo. The activities during the inspection were based on Halloween and included carving pumpkin lanterns and a trip on a Spooky steam train. Children also have the chance to relax, play games and watch films. The wide range of activities enable children and young people to do things they are interested in and already enjoy, as well as trying new things. The holiday provides them with opportunities to build their confidence, independence, and sense of achievement. Many children have experiences that they may not be able to have with their families. Children’s views, wishes and feelings are taken into

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The overall experiences of children and young people

account in all aspects of the holiday, including their care and making choices about what they want to do. A child said, ‘I could choose what activities I did.’

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The overall experiences of children and young people

Children receive a very high quality of care tailored to their individual needs and interests. Their physical and emotional health is suitably protected and promoted. Children and young people feel safe and happy. The extremely friendly and inclusive atmosphere has built a strong sense of community, irrespective of children and young people’s background, abilities and how they communicate. Children make friends and build positive relationships with the staff. They are protected by safe care practices that promote children and young people’s safety and reduce the risk of harm.

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The overall experiences of children and young people

The managers and staff have developed strong links and relationships with parents, grandparents and other people involved in the lives of children and young people, including teachers and health professionals. This has enabled them to develop an excellent understanding of each child and young person’s needs, including complex health needs, and manage their care effectively while they are away from home. The managers also have established strong links with local health and safeguarding agencies to ensure that the children and young people holiday are able to get the appropriate support they may need.

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The overall experiences of children and young people

The leadership and management arrangements are very effective in making sure that children have a good time and receive high quality care in a safe environment. The holiday is very well-planned to meet the needs of a wide range of children and young people with disabilities. The staff are energetic and enthusiastic, and provide children and young people with an excellent support. The leaders and managers have a clear and realistic understanding of the strengths of the holiday and the areas for development and how they plan to improve things.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure the scheme has a clear Statement of Purpose which is available to and understood by staff and which is reflected in any policies, procedures and guidance. In particular it explicitly shows that the scheme is registered as for a holiday scheme. (NMS 7.1)

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protected

The service is good at helping and protecting children and young people.

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protected

Children receive high quality individualised support that meets their needs and enables them to enjoy their holiday. A grandparent said, ‘they are all well looked after and fed and the staff are lovely.’ Managers and staff communicate effectively with children in ways that they easily understand. They have consistently high aspirations for all the children to enjoy their holiday, have new and fulfilling experiences, and become more independent. They effectively challenge barriers to children being able to take part in a full range of activities.

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protected

Children feel safe and are protected from harm. No children have gone missing. They have a strong sense of well-being and that the adults are interested in their welfare. A child said, ‘I felt safe on holiday and I liked the staff who looked after me.’ The managers and staff are knowledgeable and experienced in the care and protection of disabled children. They have good links with local safeguarding agencies. The staff follow excellent safe care practices based on an understanding of safeguarding issues, including child protection procedures and statutory guidance for missing children. They provide children with suitable supervision at all times and know what action to take if they have concerns about children and young people’s safety. Children behaviour is very good. The have a detailed understanding of the potential risks to individual children and consistently use effective strategies to keep them

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protected

safe, including preventing them from going missing and involved in potentially harmful behaviour. Children take suitable risks that challenge them to build their skills and confidence; for example, coping with the noise and chaos of the circus, and spending time with animals.

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protected

Children health needs are actively promoted. The staff have a detailed understanding of individual children’s health needs, including, complex medical conditions, allergies, and dietary needs, and the support needed to promote their health and well-being. Helpers have received suitable guidance and training to provide appropriate care to individual children and young people, including the safe management of epilepsy and use of suction equipment. They follow safe care practices that ensure personal and intimate care respect children’s rights to choice, respect privacy and dignity. Staff encourage and support children to take more responsibility for their own personal care. Clear and detailed plans show how children and young people’s health needs will be met in an emergency or following an accident, including seeking medical advice promptly. Children receive the medication in line with medical advice. The

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protected

staff manage medication safely. They are suitably trained in first aid and managing medication. They follow recommended good practice in relation to the storage, recording and checking of prescribed medications.

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protected

The managers and staff have exceptionally constructive relationships with parents, grandparents and carers. They keep them fully informed about how their children are enjoying their holiday, what activities they have taken part in, and if they are any problems or illnesses. They also welcome families contacting them if they have any concerns, complaints and worries. Grandparents said, ‘we can contact the staff at any time, they are always helpful, supportive and deal with any worries they may have. ’ Staff provide families with support and reassurance. A grandparent said, ‘initially I felt very anxious about (child) coming for a break, it was the first time (child) has been away from us, but it has been very positive experience for (child).’ The holiday takes place in a suitable location with comfortable accommodation and good facilities that takes into full account the safety and welfare needs of disabled

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The effectiveness of leaders and managers is good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

A new manager has been running the scheme since July 2014 and has applied to Ofsted for registration. The new manager has suitable experience and the relevant qualifications for working with children with disabilities and provides passionate and effective leadership. The ethos of the scheme shows a strong committment to delivering high quality care and activities to disabled children. The manager and staff ensure that disabled children are safe and really enjoy their time away from home. The holiday is thoughtfully planned to provide children with positive experiences that make a lasting difference to their lives. The managers and staff work hard to understand children and young people’s specific needs and make sure that they have the expertise, skills and experience to fully meet their needs while they are away from home. The holiday is adequately resourced to meet its aims, and to promote and meet the needs and enjoyment of children and young people. The written

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

statement of purpose provides families and social workers with important information about the scheme, except it does not clearly show that it is registered as a holiday scheme. This does not impact on children’s welfare, but may to confusion the service it provides for disabled children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The leaders and managers work to develop and improve the holiday. Since the last inspection they have made important improvements in relation to risk assessments, recruitment checks, missing from care and behaviour policies that have strengthened the arrangements for keeping children safe and free from potential harm. Leaders and managers effectively monitor and scrutinize the quality of the holiday and the care provided. As a result they have a good understanding of the strengths of the holidays and areas for development to improve holidays for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Strong and effective recruitment and selection practices mean that children are only supported by suitable people. There are a sufficient number of appropriately qualified and experienced staff to meet the diverse needs of disabled children and facilitate a wide range of activities. The staff are supported and supervised effectively to fulfil their roles and understand the needs and circumstances of the children and young people attending the holiday. Staff have access to high quality training relevant to the needs of the children; for example, understanding of epilepsy and autism, use of sensory play and equipment, and moving and handling. The training plan is also informed by the views of parents and carers; for example the manager has arranged for staff to having training in British Sign Language following suggestions from parents and families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Children’s written records and plans are clear, up-to-date and securely stored. The records provide sufficient detail and information to understand children’s needs, circumstances and interests, and how best to support them. The information contained in the records contributes to an understanding of children’s lives, abilities, talents, skills and potential for personal development and independence. The manager and staff monitor and review children’s care plans to ensure that they continue to meet children’s needs and that they get the best possible support and opportunities.

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children and young people

The service is good at working in partnership to improve outcomes for children and young people.

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children and young people

The managers and staff have established strong and effective relationships with children, families, schools and health professionals. As a result they understand and able to meet children’s diverse and specific needs and enable them to enjoy the holiday. They consistently involve all the important people in children’s lives in planning for the holiday, including finding out about children and young people’s health, social, cultural, emotional, communication needs, personal qualities and interests. They visit children and parents at home to let them know about the holiday and get to know the child and about their care. They build up a detailed picture of each child as an individual. This collaborative approach reassures parents and builds trusting working relationships. A grandparent parent said ‘I was impressed that the staff really took on board my views and were interested in the (child’s) favourite

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children and young people

things and made sure she could still enjoy them while she was away as well as trying new things.’ The managers also encourage children, parents and professionals to let them know about their views about the holiday as part of their review.

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children and young people

The managers and staff have effective and constructive relationships with the local community and local services including, recreational facilities, the police, safeguarding and health agencies. They are knowledgeable about the facilities and activities locally and have maximised the use of the wider community to provide children with a wide range of interesting and fun activities that have an enduring impact on their lives.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to inform children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against Residential holiday schemes for disabled children: The inspection framework, evaluation schedule and grade descriptors.

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