RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist LearningChildren’s Home Statement of Purpose
Where children and young people with multiple disabilities and complex health needs who are blind or partially sighted live, learn and grow.
Contents
1. Caring for children 3
Our services 3
Admissions criteria 3
Admissions procedure 4
Aims and objectives 4
Ethos and principles 5
Care arrangements 6
Contact with parents, relatives and friends 6
Accommodation 7
Leisure activities 8
Vehicles 8
Religious instruction and observance 8
Intimate care 9
Arrangements for those who are living with us to contribute to the way their home is run 9
Arrangements for dealing with reviews of placement plans 9
Approach to safeguarding 10
Anti-discriminatory practice 10
Fire precautions and associated emergency procedures 11
2. Children’s behaviour 11
Control, restraint and discipline 11
Unauthorised absences 12
3. Contact details 12
Feedback and complaints 13
4. Education 13
School facilities 14
5. Health 14
Service for children with high health and medical needs 15
Therapies 16
6. Staffing matters 16
Relevant qualifications and experience of Registered Manager 17
Arrangements for employee supervision, training and development 18
Staffing structure 20
Dates of update 21
7. Feedback and complaints process ………………………………… 22
1. Caring for children
Our services
For children and young people with multiple disabilities and complex health needs who are blind or partially sighted, we offer:
· up to 52-week residential care
· healthcare and therapies
· nursing care for children with additional medical needs
· education in our specialist school and nursery
· outreach education.
Our children’s home is run by Linda Cope, Registered Manager and the responsible individual is Ginny Tyler, Head of Children’s Health and Care Services. We are registered by Ofsted as a children’s home for 30 children and young people aged 0-19. We are currently rated “overall good” (last inspection Nov 2016).
One of our bungalows (5 Pears Court) provides care and accommodation for up to six children with additional medical needs, and is registered for the provision of nursing care with CQC.
We are not a secure children’s home and we do not take emergency admissions.
There are flexible visiting arrangements for families to visit RNIB Pears Centre and flexible arrangements for young people to visit home.
Admissions criteria
We support children and young people who have learning difficulties and disabilities and are blind or partially sighted. Other needs we cater for include:
· autistic spectrum disorders (ASD)
· physical disabilities
· communication difficulties
· additional sensory impairment (deaf blindness)
· additional healthcare needs, such as epilepsy
· high health and medical needs, including long-term ventilation or life-threatening or life-limiting conditions
· additional behavioural difficulties.
Children and young people will be considered for admission if:
· the placement will be of benefit to the child or young person
· he/she has complex needs and a visual impairment. However, there is no requirement for the child to be formally registered as blind or partially sighted;
· we are able to meet the educational, social, emotional, physical and healthcare needs of the young person;
· the placement does not compromise the wellbeing of other children with regard both to education and care.
We can admit children and young people from any area of the UK or, in exceptional circumstances, from overseas. Day pupils usually come from within easy daily travelling distance of Coventry, where we are located. An offer will be made subject to an initial assessment indicating that we can effectively support an individual child. In the case of our service being full, we maintain a waiting list and a register of interest in placement at RNIB Pears Centre.
Admissions procedure
An initial enquiry will be followed by visits from parents and key professionals. In the case of admission to our care provision, we have a comprehensive three-stage pre-placement assessment process. In addition to our own multi-disciplinary assessment team, this involves the child and his/her parents, as well as education, social care, therapy and healthcare professionals from the home area local authority.
In all cases, parents are advised to keep their home area local authority informed of their interest in RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning.
Children and young people entering our care provision can be admitted at any time during the year, according to the availability of places.
Aims and objectives
We share RNIB’s vision of:
"A world where people who are blind or partially sighted enjoy the same rights, responsibilities, opportunities and quality of life as people who are sighted."
Our primary aim is to enable children and young people who are blind or partially sighted with multiple, complex needs to reach their full personal potential for learning, independence and fulfilment in everyday life. We seek to achieve this by providing a happy and stimulating, yet safe and caring environment.
Our objectives are to:
· provide a smooth and effective transition from the child's previous placement to RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning
· identify and meet the educational, social and healthcare needs of all children and young people at RNIB Pears Centre
· promote the intellectual, social, physical, emotional, cultural, moral and spiritual development of the young people
· encourage young people to grow in confidence and to develop self-esteem, so enabling them to celebrate their individuality
· promote independence, and minimise young people’s dependence, both physically and emotionally
· offer services equally to all children and young people at RNIB Pears Centre, irrespective of their ethnic background, gender, sexuality, disability or religion
· involve families in key decisions relating to their child’s education and care
· provide effective means of communication for children and young people, their families, the professionals who work with them and the agencies who support them
· develop and maintain links with the local community
· support the smooth and effective transition of young people to their next placement by working with parents and carers, all stakeholders and associated agencies.
Ethos and principles
Children and young people’s individual rights and wishes lie at the heart of our ethos. We recognise the right of each young person to make and influence decisions concerning his or her day to day learning and care. The wishes of each young person, and their means of communicating these, are central to our thinking and decision making. We recognise and celebrate individual differences, strengths and areas of need.
We are committed to using the best person-centred approaches in working with children and young people and always meaningfully involve them, their families and carers in everything that affects them. Through this, we seek to minimise the effects of learning and living away from family homes and help young people with multiple disabilities and complex health needs who are blind or partially sighted to take their rightful place in society.
We seek to enable children rather than emphasise the disabling effects of their impairments. We provide an environment which values equally the contribution made to the wellbeing of the young people by all practitioners, whether from therapeutic, educational, care or healthcare backgrounds.
Care arrangements
In our children’s home, all children and young people have a named key worker, either the team leader and/or deputy, who has responsibilities as defined in the Children’s Home regulations including the Care Standards (April 2015). Children have Care Plans, which are co-ordinated where appropriate with Individual Education Plans. In 5 Pears Court, the Team Leader has key worker responsibility for all of the children and young people in that bungalow, supported by a team of registered nurses, who are responsible for planning and monitoring healthcare.
Where children and young people are subject to ‘Children who are looked after review’ (‘CLAR’), these plans are externally reviewed at six-monthly intervals by the Social Services department concerned. All other young people have their plans and progress reviewed on a six-monthly basis, with one review each year being internal, and the other external, as a part of the Education Health Care Plan (ECHP).
Children and young people are continuously assessed to ensure safe and harmonious cohabitation, and, in particular, to ensure the appropriateness of the provision which caters both for children and young adults aged 18 and over.
Contact with parents, relatives and friends
Children and young people are supported primarily by their key workers to keep in touch with their families and significant others by telephone, email, face time and letter. Such contacts are recorded as part of the individual young person’s records. Parents are encouraged to make contact regularly.
A record of family birthdays and other significant dates is maintained so that young people can send greetings at appropriate times.
Accommodation
Our accommodation is arranged in five self-contained bungalows, in a pedestrianised street, called Pears Court. Each of these bungalows caters for up to six children and young people and each has its own dedicated team of staff.
In this way we aim to minimise the effects of living away from home in a larger community and to provide a homely environment that meets the needs of the young people. Bungalows have a mixed age range, but we are mindful of the need to balance the social, emotional and physical needs of children with those of young adults.
Each bungalow includes:
· six single bedrooms with an en-suite bathroom shared between two bedrooms
· kitchen
· dining area
· two lounges
· access to enclosed garden and patio areas
Every child’s bedroom is personalised with his/her own belongings and decor. Children and young people are encouraged and helped to decorate their rooms with personal items, posters and pictures and items relating to family and friends.
Bathrooms are well equipped and overhead tracking for hoists is provided in all areas used by the young people. All the bungalows are accessible for individuals who are wheelchair users or who have restricted mobility.
Leisure activities
Wherever possible, children and young people are supported to use community leisure facilities to extend their experience of the world and their local community.
Children and young people are involved in planning their leisure time activities, and have a range of options available to suit their needs, individually and collectively, within cultural and age-appropriate parameters. The opportunities are comparable to those that they may experience in their own family settings. Examples include attending football matches, going to the cinema and theatre, attending concerts, going bowling, shopping, and dining and drinking at local restaurants and public houses.
Children and young people are also given the opportunity of an annual holiday if it is appropriate and safe for them to do so and are supported by staff who know them well.
Vehicles
We have a number of specially adapted vehicles that enable children and young people to be taken out into the community both on an individual basis and in groups. These are used for visits to services, religious and leisure facilities within the local and wider communities. All drivers of the adapted minibuses are MiDAS (Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme) trained.
Religious instruction and observance
Children and young people are supported and enabled to attend, observe and participate in religious activities according to their own choosing or parental wish. This may involve staff accompanying them to different places of worship.
Children and young people are welcome to keep religious artefacts in their rooms and to observe and practice any rituals or behaviours required by their religion. RNIB’s corporate policy recognises the diverse requirements of different religious, cultural and ethnic groups.
Intimate care
The below section is taken from RNIB Intimate Care Policy
‘RNIB believe there is a positive value in both male and female staff being involved with vulnerable people. Furthermore RNIB makes no assumptions that workers of either gender are any more or less safe to provide intimate care for service users of either gender. Within the policies and practices which we adopt, all staff have the same duties of care and responsibility to safeguard vulnerable children and adults irrespective of their gender. Unless exceptional circumstances apply, all members of staff therefore are regarded as equally capable of conducting all aspects of the role, including intimate care.’
We acknowledge that some of our young people because of personal, religious or cultural needs, prefer to be supported by people of the same gender and in these circumstances same gender support should be provided wherever possible.
Arrangements for those who are living with us to contribute to the way their home is run
At a collective level, staff facilitate meetings at which children and young people can make their needs and wishes known, and, as far as they are able, influence the way services are provided.
At an individual level, it is the responsibility of key workers to ensure that wishes, needs and aspirations are understood and taken into account in daily living and learning. Our speech and language therapist plays a pivotal role in assisting staff to communicate with young people in whichever ways are appropriate.
Young people are involved in both CLAR and EHCP reviews, at levels commensurate with their understanding and willingness to participate.
Arrangements for dealing with reviews of placement plans
Placement plans are formally reviewed through the above processes and more frequently according to need.
We keep a wide range of records for children and young people (paper and electronic). This includes care plans, healthcare plans, risk assessments, activity recordings etc. These records are all confidential and are only viewed by staff and other professionals (such as social workers and representatives from the funding authority, Ofsted, CQC (5PC) and with permission our regulation 44 monitoring officer) on a need to know basis.
All of the full-time care staff working within the bungalow a child lives in will have access to all of this information. Our sessional and agency staff have limited access.
It is our usual practice for care plans to be shared with parents so that they can be continued to be followed up whenever possible, for example when a child visits home. If at any time parents wish to see any records we hold for their son or daughter they need to ask the designated person on duty.