Forrest Street Residential Children's House Care Home Service Children and Young People 30 Forrest Street Airdrie ML6 7AG Telephone:

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1 Forrest Street Residential Children's House Care Home Service Children and Young People 30 Forrest Street Airdrie ML6 7AG Telephone: Inspected by: Lynne Thow Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 6 October 2011

2 Contents Page No Summary 3 1 About the service we inspected 5 2 How we inspected this service 6 3 The inspection 10 4 Other information 18 5 Summary of grades 19 6 Inspection and grading history 19 Service provided by: North Lanarkshire Council Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS Contact details for the inspector who inspected this service: Lynne Thow Telephone enquiries@scswis.com Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 2 of 21

3 Summary This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change after this inspection following other regulatory activity. For example, if we have to take enforcement action to make the service improve, or if we investigate and agree with a complaint someone makes about the service. We gave the service these grades Quality of Care and Support 5 Very Good Quality of Environment N/A Quality of Staffing 5 Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership N/A What the service does well Forrest Street provides a caring and stimulating environment for children and young people where they feel able to build relationships and self confidence. The young people have active lives and are achieving well in education and sports activities. The manager and staff team have been particularly good at developing a respectful environment and an open and healthy culture. Both of which the young people are befitting from and contributing to. Staff are providing a very good quality of care in sometimes difficult circumstances. What the service could do better The service is good at identifying areas for development and did so in their self assessment. They are actively working to evidence their strengths, including in involving the young people in assessing the quality of the service and recording where this has taken place. What the service has done since the last inspection The house was very settled and the children and young people were benefiting from a caring approach with firm boundaries. All of the young people had been on a very successful foreign holiday with staff and spoke enthusiastically about it. The service was actively working on developing their participations processes, including developing a self assessment process specifically for the young people. Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 3 of 21

4 Conclusion Inspection report continued We found this service to be very good at supporting young people to be the best they can be, in education and socially. The young g people spoke highly of staff and the manager and presented as well cared for, happy and involved. Who did this inspection Lynne Thow Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 4 of 21

5 1 About the service we inspected Before 1 April 2011 this service was registered with the Care Commission. On this date the new scrutiny body, Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS), took over the work of the Care Commission, including the registration of care services. This means that from 1 April 2011 this service continued its registration under the new body, SCSWIS, known as the Care Inspectorate. Forrest Street Children's house is a service provided by North Lanarkshire Council. It is based in a residential area of Airdrie. It is a single storey, split-level building with six single bedrooms, with en-suite facilities. It is an open plan design with ample living space including sitting areas, study area, quiet room and dining area. There is also a room that can be used by visitors near the entrance to maximise residents' privacy. It has an attractive enclosed garden area and a door entry system to ensure appropriate security. It aims to meet the individual needs of young people in a safe and inclusive environment. It statement of aims includes being committed to working in partnership with families and professional agencies. On the day of inspection six children and young people were accommodated. Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded the following grades: Quality of Care and Support - Grade 5 - Very Good Quality of Environment - N/A Quality of Staffing - Grade 5 - Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership - N/A This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change following other regulatory activity. You can find the most up-to-date grades for this service by visiting our website or by calling us on or visiting one of our offices. Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 5 of 21

6 2 How we inspected this service The level of inspection we carried out In this service we carried out a low intensity inspection. We carry out these inspections when we are satisfied that services are working hard to provide consistently high standards of care. What we did during the inspection This report was written following an unannounced inspection which was concluded on 6 October 2011.Feedback was given to the manager and the service manager at the end of the day. The inspection was carried out by Inspector Lynne Thow. During the inspection evidence was gathered from a number of sources including: * The most recent self assessment and annual return *Care plans, risk assessments, Individual Crisis Management Plans and daily notes * Staff communication log *LAAC paperwork * Incident records. * History of Notifications *Staff training records *Participation evidence *Feedback within the Care Standards Questionnaires and from Social work *A walk around the home to check the environment We spoke with 5 young people and received 6 completed Care Standard Questionnaires. We spent time observing the interaction between staff and young people. We spoke with the Manager, the Depute, Care staff and others. We also sought the views of involved professionals and a parent. Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 6 of 21

7 Grading the service against quality themes and statements We inspect and grade elements of care that we call 'quality themes'. For example, one of the quality themes we might look at is 'Quality of care and support'. Under each quality theme are 'quality statements' which describe what a service should be doing well for that theme. We grade how the service performs against the quality themes and statements. Details of what we found are in Section 3: The inspection Inspection report continued Inspection Focus Areas (IFAs) In any year we may decide on specific aspects of care to focus on during our inspections. These are extra checks we make on top of all the normal ones we make during inspection. We do this to gather information about the quality of these aspects of care on a national basis. Where we have examined an inspection focus area we will clearly identify it under the relevant quality statement. Fire safety issues We do not regulate fire safety. Local fire and rescue services are responsible for checking services. However, where significant fire safety issues become apparent, we will alert the relevant fire and rescue services so they may consider what action to take. You can find out more about care services' responsibilities for fire safety at Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 7 of 21

8 The annual return Every year all care services must complete an 'annual return' form to make sure the information we hold is up to date. We also use annual returns to decide how we will inspect the service. Annual Return Received: Yes - Electronic Comments on Self Assessment Every year all care services must complete a 'self assessment' form telling us how their service is performing. We check to make sure this assessment is accurate. A fully completed self-assessment document was submitted by the service. This was completed to a high standard. This gave information for each of the Quality Themes and Statements. The service identified its strengths and areas for future development and gave some evidence of service user involvement. Taking the views of people using the care service into account We received 6 completed questionnaires from children and young people and the Inspector spoke with one young person individually and 3 on return from school during evening meal. All children responded in the CSQs that they 'strongly agreed' that they were happy with the quality of care. The content of the Care Standard Questionnaires was without exception positive and one young person stated: "I like living in Forrest Street and it is a good place to stay and the staff and young people are really good." There were many more comments of this type throughout the inspection. The response from young people was very positive about the quality of the care, staffing, accommodation and management. All young people spoken with described feeling safe and secure at the children's house. Taking carers' views into account We sought views from a carer and five Social Workers. We received feedback from 3 Social Workers. We saw feedback from relatives within records and in participation and involvement systems. Feedback was on the whole positive with relatives clearly involved in the care planning and review processes where possible. A Social Worker Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 8 of 21

9 described the service as having 'nurtured' the child in their care and communicating very well with her throughout the placement. Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 9 of 21

10 3 The inspection We looked at how the service performs against the following quality themes and statements. Here are the details of what we found. Quality Theme 1: Quality of Care and Support Overall grade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the care and support provided by the service. Service strengths During the examination of relevant records and our discussions with young people,staff, the management team and other professionals, it was evident that the service has maintained the very good performance in this area of care. The very good improvements evident at the last inspection have been sustained. In discussion with young people it is very clear that they feel listened to, their opinions valued and their ideas acted upon, where appropriate. This conclusion was reached by considering the following:- - Young people participate in discussions about all aspects of their care and told us they felt fully consulted and involved in the decisions regarding their wellbeing. - Minutes of meetings reflect the full involvement of the young people - A consequences policy and practice was in place and the rationale for the sanction was evidenced. Equally there was regular and consistent reinforcement of positive behaviour - There is pictorial evidence of young people being fully involved - Use of questionnaires. - Involvement in activity plans. - Young people involved in the staff recruitment process. Staff are providing a good quality of care in sometimes difficult circumstances. The manager has a positive presence within the home and knows the young people well. Areas for improvement The management and staff team were very committed to involving the children and young people and were continuing to develop participation processes further. They were aware of the benefits to the children of maintaining relationships out with the home and were supporting the children well in this area. Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 10 of 21

11 Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Statement 3 We ensure that service user's health and wellbeing needs are met. Service strengths Inspection report continued Staff were experienced and knowledgeable about accessing information and support for the young people for good physical and mental health. We looked at two of the young people's care plans in details. They contained positive examples of how the young people are encouraged to make individual choices that support their health and well being. It was encouraging to see the emphasis staff were putting on the individual character, strengths and aspirations of the young people. Young people described being supported to attend health appointments and staff seeking out services for them if a need was identified. Young people interviewed confirmed they were able to discuss their personal health concerns with staff both formally and informally. We found the children and young people to be very well supported in all areas of their lives. There were effective routines in place and individual care plans which detailed the strengths and support needs of each young person. Age appropriate consequences for negative behaviour were being used and the young people were able to appreciate the reason for consequences being applied. The emotional health needs of the young people was being given a good focus as well as their physical health. The young people were active and consciouses of healthy choices for living. There was a clear sense of the service being 'home' to the young people and every effort had gone into creating routines conducive to the comfort of the young people and the sharing of experiences. The young people for example were encouraged to settle down in the evening to enjoy television and a snack together with staff. Staff had developed good relationships with each of the young people and the manager had a positive presence within the home and knew each of the young people well. All of the young people were in education and achieving well. A member of night staff had written a house pantomime. This was planned for Christmas when family and friends would be invited for a special evening. Areas for improvement This service is good at evaluating their progress to achieve ongoing improvements. The challenge of some of the young people smoking and the health concerns Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 11 of 21

12 attached is being addressed by the service with the assistance of external professionals. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 12 of 21

13 Quality Theme 2: Quality of Environment - NOT ASSESSED Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 13 of 21

14 Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing Grade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of staffing in the service. Service strengths See findings in Quality Statement 1.1. The service uses various means to obtain the views of the children and young people regarding the quality of staffing. These included one to one discussions, surveys, LAAC reviews and young people's meetings. As stated previously participation is a particular strength of this service. The young people are actively encouraged to play a part in the recruitment of new staff and had done so in the most recent appointment of the Depute Manager. One to one time with the young people was being used well and there were examples where this had been used very well to engage the young person and explore and help resolve issues causing them concern.the staff team are an able and committed group and there was evidence that young people are routinely being asked their views about the support they received from staff. A particular strength of this service is the relationships staff have developed with the young people. This was encouraging the young people to feel valued and to openly express their opinions. Comments from the young people included: "I like the staff in the house and I like living here." "I don't see them as staff, this is my home." "The manager is great, she is firm but fair" "They talk to me about what they can we do to help, they say it how it is." "They care about us you can tell, its not always like that" Areas for improvement The service was actively working on developing their participations processes, including developing a self assessment process specifically for the young people. Forrest Street have planned further parents evening as part of the ongoing development of their participation strategy. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 14 of 21

15 Statement 4 We ensure that everyone working in the service has an ethos of respect towards service users and each other. Service strengths Inspection report continued There was evidence that the skills and experience in the staff team was recognised and encouraged. Staff presented as motivated and competent and expressed confidence in their manager and senior team. The manager was investing time in developing the staff group and staff were taking responsibility for their continuing professional development. It was evident that staff are functioning well as a team and that the manager has been successful in fostering a sense of involvement and appreciation of staff. Regular staff meetings were in place and shift handover meetings were encouraging an effective team approach and good communication. There was a respect for staff at all levels. The staff team have developed positive therapeutic relationships with the young people and this is aiding the development and well being of the young people. The Manager and staff team are clear about boundaries of behaviour and demonstrate to the young people that they care about them. A photo of each of the children was in the lounge area and there was a real sense of home. This had been helped by any written information or notices being posted within the computer area for the young people, the way one might do in an office at home. This separated this material from the day to day living areas and demonstrated a thoughtful and respectful approach. The young people described staff as caring, thoughtful and fun and presented as feeling safe and secure with them. We received feedback from a Social Worker who described the staff team as motivated and caring and as being particularly good at supporting the education of the children. Their success in creating a respectful environment that children and young people can thrive in is a particular strength of Forrest Street. In discussion with the manager and staff their commitment to the young people's achievements were evident as was their pride in them as individuals. Comments from the young people included: "It's really good, there's nothing that isn't good." "The manager is really enthusiastic." "We had an amazing holiday, it was brilliant." "...I was part of seeing Forrest Street get built. Forrest Street is and always will be my home." "The staff are great, we do a lot of activities." "I like the staff in the house and I like living here." "The manager is really enthusiastic." Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 15 of 21

16 "I like living in Forrest Street, it is a good place to stay and the staff and young people are really good." Areas for improvement When we spoke with the young people they described feeling respected and being encouraged to respect one another, staff and their environment. We saw staff interact with the young people in a caring, respectful manner and equally we saw the young people react well to the warmth and interest of the staff team. This service works hard to create a respectful environment and is very successful at doing so. Grade awarded for this statement: 6 - Excellent Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 16 of 21

17 Quality Theme 4: Quality of Management and Leadership - NOT ASSESSED Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 17 of 21

18 4 Other information Complaints No complaints have been upheld, or partially upheld, since the last inspection. Enforcements We have taken no enforcement action against this care service since the last inspection. Additional Information There were no recommendations or requirements outstanding. Action Plan Failure to submit an appropriate action plan within the required timescale, including any agreed extension, where requirements and recommendations have been made, will result in SCSWIS re-grading the Quality Statement within the Management and Leadership Theme as unsatisfactory (1). This will result in the Quality Theme for Management and Leadership being re-graded as Unsatisfactory (1). Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 18 of 21

19 5 Summary of grades Quality of Care and Support Very Good Statement 1 Statement Very Good 5 - Very Good Quality of Environment - Not Assessed Quality of Staffing Very Good Statement 1 Statement Very Good 6 - Excellent Quality of Management and Leadership - Not Assessed 6 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 13 Dec 2010 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing Not Assessed Management and Leadership Not Assessed 7 Sep 2010 Announced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing Not Assessed Management and Leadership Not Assessed 25 Nov 2009 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment Not Assessed Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership Not Assessed 7 Sep 2009 Announced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership 4 - Good Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 19 of 21

20 24 Mar 2009 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership 3 - Adequate All inspections and grades before 1 April 2011 are those reported by the former regulator of care services, the Care Commission. Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 20 of 21

21 To find out more about our inspections and inspection reports Read our leaflet 'How we inspect'. You can download it from our website or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning us on This inspection report is published by SCSWIS. You can get more copies of this report and others by downloading it from our website: or by telephoning Translations and alternative formats This inspection report is available in other languages and formats on request. Telephone: enquiries@scswis.com Web: Forrest Street Residential Children's House, page 21 of 21