Children's home run by Central Bedfordshire Council in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 1 SC391464 Registered provider: Central Bedfordshire 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

A local authority owns and operates this setting. The service provides care and accommodation for up to eight children who have a learning difficulty and who may also have a physical disability. Premises are organised into three living areas: short breaks, permanent placements and a self-contained flat. The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in June 2016.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 February 2019

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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: SC391464 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2017 Full Good 12/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/09/2016 Full Good 02/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 22/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 22/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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children are effectively safeguarded; and

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the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (1)(2)(a)(4)(a)(b)) 22/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 4

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Recommendations

 Implement a workforce plan or training plan that details the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding and health and safety and mandatory qualifications). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care. The staff encourage children’s progress in all aspects of their lives. The manager and staff take the time to understand and recognise each child’s preferred communication method. The staff openly celebrate each child’s individual personality. They work in partnership with families and professionals to enable children to flourish. A parent said, ‘We have set targets for [our child’s] progress. The staff have helped him a lot. I was previously told that [my child] would never be able to speak. He was labelled as non-verbal. I believed that he would speak. This home has worked with me, and now he is speaking.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have fully implemented a reporting format to show the progress that each child makes. A monthly report is shared with family members and professionals and a copy is displayed at the home. Each report contains photographs of activities that the children have enjoyed and lists their accomplishments and future targets. Alongside this, staff record a video of each child’s progress and experiences at the home. This ensures that children have a presence at their reviews and are enabled to participate in their care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop good relationships with staff because of the high-quality one-to-one work that staff do with them. Nurturing practice and consistent boundaries help children to understand right from wrong. A parent said, ‘Staff are brilliant with him. He has been very challenging, but he is now getting so much better.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand that children progress through experiences. They work hard to ensure that the children enjoy a wide variety of interesting activities at the home and in the community. The children enjoy day trips out to local parks, swimming pools and the cinema. The home offers a wide range of on-site activities, such as messy play and fun weekly music sessions. These activities give the children new experiences and the opportunity to further develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from the home being situated on the same site as the school that most of them attend. Children’s attendance levels at school are high. Many of the Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 5 children’s social workers are based in an adjacent building. They described the communication with the home as fantastic. Social workers said that the staff are very creative in their ways of working with the children. For example, one of the children did not like having her hair touched. The staff managed, over time, to make this a regular part of her daily routine, therefore reducing the child’s anxiety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers ensure that transitions are well considered and well planned. Parents visit the home with their children. The children are given time to familiarise themselves with the staff and other children prior to commencing overnight stays or living at the home. Parents said that they were fully involved in the transition process.

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

Parents spoken with during the inspection said that their children are safe and happy at this home. A parent said, ‘I have never worried about [my child’s] safety. It’s a fabulous home. I love it. He loves it. If he could have more nights, he would.’ Another parent said, ‘I think that it’s a brilliant home, a godsend really. He is safe here and well looked after.’

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

Since the last inspection, a child went missing for a short time while out in the community with staff. The child was supervised in line with their care plan and staff followed procedures well. The manager has investigated thoroughly in a transparent manner. Parents and the social worker were included, and work has been undertaken with staff following this rare incident. The manager has acted to strengthen practice.

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

Regularly reviewed and updated individual risk assessments identify changes in children’s behaviour and the measures required to manage these risks. This information is incorporated into each child’s individual care plan. Consequently, staff benefit from clear guidance and strategies to manage risks effectively.

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

All of the staff have undertaken physical intervention training. The skilled staff intervene to prevent children from hurting themselves and others. Staff monitor children closely, and are quick to respond to prevent injury. Records checked during this inspection show that staff respond to the children calmly and consistently. Managers monitor the records of each incident to review the effectiveness of actions taken and to provide staff with guidance on reducing the likelihood of further occurrences.

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

The well-maintained home provides a safe physical environment for the children. The manager has implemented a comprehensive location risk assessment. The children benefit from an excellent sensory room, a chill-out area and a messy-play room. The home has a good-sized garden for the children to enjoy. Fencing has been installed to ensure that the children have privacy while playing outside. This addresses the recommendation that was set at the last inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced and knowledgeable manager holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. He leads the home well. A member of staff said, ‘He is a good manager. I like his management style. He is very approachable.’ The manager is well supported by two equally dedicated deputy managers. Together, they manage a good-quality service. The manager has made improvements to the children’s comprehensive care plans. He ensures that staff undertake any actions required to meet children’s needs. All of the staff spoken with have a good understanding of the children’s history and needs. The staff are ambitious for the children and take pride in providing good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes to the staff team. During a period of several months in 2018, the home experienced staffing shortages that resulted in the cancellation of short breaks. Established members of staff worked extra hours to continue to provide consistent care for the children who have permanent placements. This meant that the rota was adequately covered to meet the individual needs of these children. Managers have now implemented a successful recruitment programme. Children who attend for short breaks are now receiving their full package of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager increased the frequency of staff meetings from fortnightly to weekly in order to provide good support to the staff at an uncertain time. The frequency has remained as weekly. The meetings are structured and informative. They provide the staff with opportunities to discuss the children and strategies for working with them effectively. Consequently, staff are consistent in their approach to supporting the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from yearly appraisals and good-quality supervision. However, several of the staff, including the manager, have not received one-to-one supervision at the frequency set out in the home’s own policy. The gaps in supervision mainly related to the period that the home suffered from staffing shortages. This is an area that has since improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive regular in-house training. The manager is proactive in ensuring that staff attend good-quality training courses. The manager is currently in the process of training as a trainer. However, the record of staff training does not include all courses undertaken or clearly prompt when training updates are required. This makes it difficult for each member of staff to track their training or to identify any further courses that may be required for their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring systems review and evaluate the quality of care provided by the home. The independent visitor’s monthly reports provide feedback. However, these reports do not regularly contain feedback from staff, parents and professionals, or state if the children are safeguarded effectively and their well-being is promoted. This reduces the effectiveness of the information provided to the manager as a quality monitoring tool.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has been updated to reflect changes in practice. Recent Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 7 amendments have resulted in updates to the staffing arrangements. These updated versions of the document were not submitted to Ofsted. This does not enable Ofsted to have a current view of the home.

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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: SC391464 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Central Bedfordshire Council, Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, Bedfordshire SG17 5TQ

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Inspector

Lynne Drage, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC391464 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

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Inspector

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