Children's home run by Milton Keynes Council

Inspection report children‟s home: SC383187 1 SC383187 Registered provider: Milton Keynes Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a residential special school registered with Ofsted as a children‟s home. The home provides 52-week placements for up to 24 young people who have learning disabilities. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 December 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

Date of last inspection: 4 September 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted issued three compliance notices on 12 September 2018 in relation to Regulation 12 the protection of children standard, Regulation 25 fire precautions and Regulation 28 fitness of manager. A monitoring visit took place on 31 October 2018 and all compliance notices were judged to have been met. A separate report is available for this visit. Inspection report children‟s home: SC383187 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2018 Full Inadequate 05/02/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 21/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC383187 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 maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children‟s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, complete the additional remedial works that have been identified. 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which— is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children‟s home from abuse or neglect; and sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the arrangements for dealing with allegations about other professionals work consistently in practice. 31/03/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC383187 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, paragraph 10.5, page 52) This especially means skills in writing risk assessments reflecting that all the available information is considered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are conversant with each young person‟s individual communication needs. Young people enjoy engaging with staff who are fluent in their bespoke method of communication. For example, young people can tell jokes. They express joy as staff understand their humour. A carer said, „They understand the young people and advocate well for them.‟ Young people know how to use the formal complaints systems if necessary and are confident that staff take their concerns seriously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has introduced target books where staff record progress against the targets in the placement plans. These are of good quality and clearly demonstrate good progress, for example in young people‟s self-management competencies, communication and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has improved the arrangements for managing medication such as relocating the medication cabinet and improving the medication administration records. She has rewritten the medication policy and has ensured that staff have had additional training. The chance of a medication error is minimised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been a reduction in the level of staffing for the provision of meals and domestic chores. Consequently, young people are now learning independent living skills. They say that they enjoy making their lunch or evening meal or cleaning their bedroom, with staff support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a range of activities in the community such as bowling, shopping and going to a youth group. They develop key skills. One example was a young person with social integration difficulties who was able to consider another young person‟s preferences for a secret Santa gift.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person has left the service since the last inspection. This has been a successful move into foster care. Staff spoke positively of the transition and how the young person describes his new placement as his new home. Inspection report children‟s home: SC383187 5

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

Senior leaders within the local authority have comprehensively addressed the concerns about fire precautions. They have contracted specialists to give advice. This has identified that further work is needed. The requirement is repeated to allow time for this additional work to be completed.

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

The amended safeguarding procedure has now been adopted into practice. The manager has ensured that staff have received further safeguarding training and support. Staff are confident in using the new systems to report any concerns. In one case, the manager did not receive a written notification concerning another professional due to a system fault. This resulted in a delay in consulting with other professionals. The manager recognises the shortfall and has clear plans to prevent a recurrence.

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

The manager has been successful in working closely with the school so there is a joined- up approach. For example, staff share behaviour support plans. Care staff write risk assessments that are clear on the control measures to keep children safe. In some cases, it is not evident how staff concluded that there was minimal risk such as a young person‟s reaction to dogs or how much supervision is needed in the community.

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

Staff support young people to express themselves, de-escalating behaviour when necessary. Staff rarely have to resort to physical intervention to manage behaviour. In one case, a member of staff sustained an injury when helping a young person who was distressed. She spoke positively of the support received after the incident. The manager did not update the incident report, following a debrief, to clearly explain how the staff member sustained the injury.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is currently absent and an experienced and qualified interim manager has been appointed in the short term. The manager has been successful in developing internal and external professional relationships. There is much improved joint working with the school, so there is a consistent approach to care. Communication is much improved, so education and care professionals are aware of the immediate individual needs of each young person. Night staff attend the same training as day staff and attend team meetings. They say that they feel valued and are part of the team. The manager has arranged for other professionals, for example independent review officers and child with disability team social workers, to provide training and clarification of their roles to the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is demonstrating good leadership. She has brought the team together, providing the necessary support and training to focus on each individual young person‟s needs. Communication channels are open, so staff can engage in professional dialogue to ensure that there is consistent practice across the different shifts as well as the different disciplines. The manager has increased the vision that staff have for each young person. Staff provide a greater level of stimulation most appropriate for each Inspection report children‟s home: SC383187 6 young person‟s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has undertaken a training needs analysis for staff. This clearly shows the training that is due and details the level of training that staff need to promote the welfare of the children accommodated. Key training such as understanding the role of the local authority designated officer for safeguarding and supervision training are complete. A staff member said, „It was really good training. An open forum where we could ask questions.‟ The manager has identified that some staff need training in infection control and a refresher on autistic spectrum disorder.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that supervision is improved. They can reflect on their practice and discuss any concerns in a supportive environment. They discuss the targets for their key child and the progress made. A staff member said, „The supervisions are really helpful. My supervisor is really responsive.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has reformatted the placement plans so they are succinct and provide staff with the necessary information. Some updates are hand written and are not signed or dated by the author. Staff no longer use a strategy of time out to manage behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the need to submit the statutory six-monthly report to Ofsted and has systems in place to collate the information. Senior leaders are working with the independent visitor to improve their level of scrutiny given the recent inspection history.

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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: SC383187 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Registered provider:

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

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Inspector

Keith Riley: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC383187 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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