Children, Schools

and Families

Statement of Purpose and Function Children’s Residential Home Stanfield Lemsford Cottage

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE NUMBER: / CSF3629
PUBLICATION DATE: January 2007 / ISSUE NO: 5
AUTHORISING OFFICER: / Ann Domeny
Deputy Director Social Care
AUTHORISING OFFICER’S SIGNATURE: /
AUTHOR OF PUBLICATION: / Lynn Knowles/ Veronica Hart
POST: / Head of Children’s Residential Homes/Registered Manager
UNIT: / Looked after Children
REVIEW DATE: / January 2008
TARGET AUDIENCE: / CSF department staff, Designated Teachers for Looked after Children, Corporate Parenting Panel, CSCI and families.
PUBLISHED BY Children, Schools and Families

CONTENTS

NoDescriptionPage (s)

  1. Introduction – Aims & Objectives4
  1. Facilities & Services6
  1. Registered Provider9
  1. Qualification & Experience10
  1. Details of Staff10
  1. Staffing 11
  1. Organisation Structure12
  1. Definition of Client Group13
  1. Admissions Criteria/Referral Process13
  1. Number of Children Looked After15
  1. Philosophy 15
  1. Arrangements for the Promotion of Health16
  1. Education 17
  1. Promoting Children’s Participation18
  1. Young Person’s Involvement18
  1. Positive Approaches to Care19
  1. Arrangements for the Protection of Children20
  1. Absconding, Unauthorised Absence, Missing Children21
  1. Electronic Surveillance21
  1. Fire and Emergency Precautions21
  1. Religious Observance22
  1. Arrangements for Contact with Parents, Relatives and22

Friends

23.Arrangements for Dealing with Complaints23

24.Arrangements for Reviews/Placement Plans etc24

  1. Accommodation25
  1. Details of any specific therapeutic techniques25

27.Anti-Discriminatory Practice25

Appendix 1Organisation Structure26

1.Introduction – Aims & Objectives

The Children’s Residential Care Service provides residential care for children who are Looked After by Hertfordshire County Council. It is an integral part of Children, Schools & Families and is placed within the Operations Division and is managed by the Head of Children’s Residential Homes and the Manager for Disabled Children’s services where applicable.

There are 8 homes, which make up the residential child care service, with consistent policies and procedures. Each home has a distinct client group and role.

The Residential Service comprises:

  • Brocket Road – a long term 8 bedded home for 11-18 year olds.
  • Burydale – a 6 bedded long term home for 11-16 year olds and a 4 bedded ‘towards independence home’ for 15-18 year olds.
  • Datchworth Turn – a six bedded long term home for 5-11 year olds which provides pre and post placement support and advice.
  • Durrants Hill Road – a short term and assessment home for 13 – 18 year olds.
  • Stanfield – long stay home with two houses, Lilliput for 11-13 year olds and Lemsford Cottage for 13- 18 year olds.
  • Ripon Road – which has a 7 bedded long term home for children with a disability aged 11- 19 and Pennine a 4 bedded respite home.
  • Wilbury Road – a six bedded respite home for children with a disability aged 5-19 which can offer an outreach and support service.
  • Woolmer Drive – a 6 bedded respite home for children with a disability aged 11-18.

Aims

The overall aim of the service is to provide care of the highest quality which allows children to feel safe and nurtured. The Residential Service sets its aims and objectives with reference to Governmental Legislation and Guidance, Hertfordshire County Council’s Policies and Procedures, The Children, Schools and Families Plan, CSF Looked After Strategy, and other relevant documents and guidance’s.

The service aims to meet the five outcomes for children: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic wellbeing by;

  1. Providing children with a positive home environment that creates security, has clear boundaries and structures and encourages growth and belief in themselves to help them achieve their full potential with regard to personal, social, educational and health development.
  2. Providing a consistent approach and giving opportunities for play, leisure activities and positive new experiences using wherever possible local resources.
  3. Providing support for children to understand their past and the impact it has had on them enabling them to make full use of their current opportunities and preparing them for their future.
  4. Involving children wherever possible in the decisions concerning their day to day life and giving them opportunities to contribute to their long term plans.
  5. Offering planned care that meets individual needs.
  6. Assisting children in understanding their feelings and behaviour and coping with the consequences of their actions.
  7. Encouraging children to gain and maintain a positive image of themselves and their heritage by respecting and valuing their religion, culture, ethnicity, language, gender, sexuality and disabilities.
  8. Promoting a positive attitude towards education, training and employment.
  9. Ensuring that children are protected from harm and are kept safe.
  10. Providing children with good role models in order to assist them in forming secure positive attachments and build positive relationships.

Objectives

The service aims will be met by:

  1. a) Providing a safe, secure, well maintained home with appropriate furnishings and decoration.
    b) Ensuring staff meet at all times the child’s need for security, affection, dignity, privacy, respect and stimulation.
    c) Providing children with single rooms which lock and operating a ‘knock and wait’ policy.
  2. a) Staff promoting participation in appropriate groups, clubs and activities making use of local and community resources wherever possible.
    b) Each child having the encouragement and opportunity to pursue suitable hobbies and interests.
  3. a) Expecting staff to listen and talk to children to help them try to make sense of their history and experiences.
    b) Staff working to and promoting daily structures and routines for all children in line with their care plans.
  4. a) Giving each child the opportunity to request an advocate and to have access to support organisations such as ChildLine.
    b) Ensuring that each child has access to information about HCC’s complaints procedure.
    c) Holding weekly children’s meetings which give them space to voice their views and for staff to give them information.
    d) Wherever possible giving children and their families encouragement to contribute and support the individual internal care plan.
  5. a) Writing an internal care plan on admission which will be reviewed regularly and always within 12 weeks.
    b) Giving children a copy of their internal care plan and any other relevant documents.
  6. a) Staff using a range of behaviour management techniques and strategies in line with the child’s internal and LAC care plans.
  7. a) Ensuring that all care plans give consideration to the child’s need for community links, recreational, medical, educational, family, cultural, racial and religious needs.
  8. a) Staff promoting, encouraging and supporting children to attend education and training opportunities.
    b) Staff attending all relevant meetings including Personal Education plan meetings, SEN reviews and pupil progress reviews.
    c) Staff attending school performances and assemblies.
  9. a) Staff working within all policies and procedures especially those covering child protection, bullying and keeping safe.
    b) Promoting a culture where staff can identify and progress opportunities for improvement and change within current policies and procedures.
    c) Ensuring that all relevant pre-employment checks are completed and all efforts are made to ensure the safe recruitment of staff.
    d) Promoting and supporting the use of Responsible Reporting Procedures.
    e) Ensuring good recording, reporting, monitoring and audit procedures are in place.
  10. a) Expecting staff to act as ‘good parents’.
    b) Having a firm commitment to staff support and training.
    c) Ensuring that all staff have supervision and appraisals in line with HCC’s Performance, Management and Development Policy.

2.Facilities & Services

The Manager of Stanfield is directly accountable to the Head of Residential Children’s Homes, based at:

Children, Schools & Families

County Hall

Hertford

SG13 8DF

There will always be a minimum of two staff on duty during the day. At night there always two staff who sleep in. Arrangements can be made to provide a waking night if this is felt appropriate.

Waking night staff are usually employed between the hours of 10.00 pm and 8.00 am. An earlier start time and later finish time can be negotiated depending on the requirements of the home at the time.

The Manager or the Head of Care provide an on-call service to the home on a rota basis outside office hours. The Hertfordshire County Council Emergency Duty Team are also available outside office hours.

It will be the responsibility of the Manager to maintain the most appropriate staff presence within the service as a whole. Staff allocated to particular responsibilities will be expected to work flexibly.

The home consists of a lounge, dining room, children's kitchen, computer games room, quiet room, laundry, staff office, bedrooms and bathrooms.

The home’s appearance is designed to reflect the different cultures that are in our society so that we can be proactive instead of reactive when children from different cultures come to live with us.

Surrounding Stanfield in the community are youth clubs, local parks, woods, library, museums, swimming pools, ice skating, roller skating, use of local activity and resources centre, cinemas, Stanborough Lakes and Gosling Leisure Centre, cadets and sports clubs, such as football and rugby. All our children are encouraged by the staff team and we appreciate the importance of community links as well as religious and cultural needs.

Services Available in the Community

  • Child and Family Clinic
  • Medical (dietician, Community Doctor etc)
  • Family Placement Teams
  • Advisory Teacher/Tutors including Connexion service
  • Youth and Community
  • Community Police Team
  • Independent Visitors
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
  • Interpreters
  • Advocacy Service (Voice in Care).

Services Offered at Stanfield

Our objective is to develop the physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing of the children we look after.

In order to facilitate this we offer help in the following areas:

  • Support in following the culture and religion of ones choice
  • Life and social skills
  • Self-care/personal safety
  • Loss
  • Bereavement
  • Identity/self-esteem
  • Anger management
  • Relationships
  • Group living
  • Inappropriate sexual behaviour
  • Safe expression of feelings
  • Self-responsibility, independence, and training skills.

The following systems are in place to achieve this:

  • Care plans
  • Link working
  • Good primary care
  • Appropriate role models
  • Life story work
  • Group work
  • Individual work
  • Recreational activities, diversion work, crafts
  • Weekly resident’s meetings
  • Joint work with families and/or relevant persons/organisation
  • Clear and factual information on health issues.

All of the above are supported by the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health team {CAMHS). They currently offer fortnightly consultation to the whole staff team plus planned or emergency consultation on individual cases. Each young person also has an Advisory Teacher to support their educational placement, aims and achievements.

The home consists of a lounge, dining room, kitchen, computer/games room, quiet room, laundry, children's telephone room, staff office, bedrooms and bathrooms.

Transport

We have a car provided by the County. However, the staffing level makes it impossible to respond to all requests to transport a young person. All effort will be made to prioritise medical and educational appointments. When appropriate staff will encourage and assist children to use public transport.

Daily Routines

The home keeps a daily record. This records all occurrences, absences, visitors and incidents. It records planned activities, plans, visits, feelings, emotions, progress with education work or work relationships, The aim of the record is to look at patterns of behaviour of each young person, identifying useful and helpful strategies for working with that young person both in the here and now and in the future. The daily record forms the basis of regular and statutory reviews, providing documented information. Alongside this is a weekly plan for each resident.

Handovers

At the end of each shift, staff going off duty will hand over to staff coming on duty. This will involve discussing the last 24 hours and any significant events, discussing each young person’s current situation, checking diaries for appointments for staff and children and to plan for the next shift - what needs doing, who does what, etc.

Reference:Residential Child Care, Standards, Policies and Procedures, Volume 2, Section 8, Care Practice 1.

Link working

All children will have an allocated child care worker who acts as a linkworker. The linkworker is allocated to the young person before admission where possible. This person is responsible for keeping records up to date and focused on the child/young person’s needs. This member of staff ensures that all activities, including liaising with district staff, reports and meetings, relating to the child or young person are sorted out.

The linkworker will have dedicated time to spend with the young person to help them understand what is happening to them, discuss their future, encourage them to maintain a positive image of themselves, fulfil their potential and participate in hobbies, interests and cultural activities, and also assist in helping the young person understand self-responsibility of their actions, all of which is recorded on weekly planners, key worker sessions and key worker reports, as well as the care plan. All link work is supervised regularly. Co-workers are allocated to support the linkworker and deputise in their absence.

Reference:Residential Child Care Standards, Policies and Procedures, Volume 2, Section 7, Care Planning 5.

3.Registered Provider

Hertfordshire County Council’s elected members are the Registered Provider and have appointed John Richards, Head of Placement and Provider Services, Looked after Children as the Responsible Individual acting on their behalf to ensure that the home meets the required standards of care.

The contact address is:Children, Schools & Families

Hertfordshire County Council

Pegs Lane

Hertford

Herts

SG13 8DF

This appointment has taken effect from 1st January 2004.

Registered Manager

Veronica Hart is the Registered Manager of Lemsford Cottage.

The contact address is:Stanfield Children’s Home

Lemsford Cottage

Lemsford Lane

WelwynGarden City,

Herts,

AL8 6YW

4.Qualification and Experience

The registered manager, Veronica Hart, has 36 years experience in social work related professions; of these she has had 16 yrs in management positions, 4 years lecturing in Human Growth and Development and 5 years with the Inspection Registration Unit in Hertfordshire. Veronica came to manage Stanfield in September 2000.

Veronica holds the following qualifications:

Certificate of Residential Care for Children and Young People(CRCCYP – 1974/5)

Certificate of Qualification in Social Work – (CQSW – 1988/90)

Veronica is currently undertaking NVQ 5 in Management

  1. Details of Staff

Number of Care staff in total is 14.35 WTE

Number of Support staff in total is 2.5 WTE

Head of Care – Qualifications and Experience

There is one Head of Care Practice in Lemsford Cottage who holds a minimum of a Diploma in Social Work or equivalent qualification. The Head of Care has a minimum of three years experience in Childcare, with at least one year’s managerial/ supervisory experience. The Head of Care holds in depth knowledge of relevant childcare legislation, procedures and responsibilities.

Assistant Managers – Qualifications and Experience

There are three Assistant Managers the Lemsford Cottage who hold or are working towards a minimum of a NVQ level 3 in Caring for Children and Children or equivalent qualification. Assistant managers have a minimum of two years experience in residential childcare, with knowledge of relevant childcare legislation, procedures and responsibilities.

Shift Leaders – Qualifications and Experience

There are two Shift Leaders in Lemsford Cottage who hold or who are working towards a minimum of a NVQ level 3 in Caring for Children and Children or equivalent qualification.

Child Care Workers – Qualifications and Experience

There are 8.35 WTE child care workers in Lemsford Cottage who hold or who are working towards a minimum of a NVQ level 3 in Caring for Children and Children or equivalent qualification. Child care workers have life and / or work experience of children experiencing difficulties. Some hold previous experience of residential childcare.

Support staff

There is one full time Domestic Bursar in Lemsford Cottage.

There is 0.5 WTE Handyman post attached to Lemsford Cottage

There is 0.5 WTE Domestic Assistant in Lemsford Cottage.

Gender balance of care staff is mixed female to male.

Gender balance of support staff is all female except for the Handy-person.

Detailed information on all the staff including names, qualifications and experience is held on a separate record and is available on request.

6.Staffing

Prior to working in Lemsford Cottage, and in accordance to Hertfordshire’s Selection and Recruitment process, every member of staff undergoes a Criminal Record Bureau check (CRB). The County Medical Officer also receives confidential health and medical information. Two references are also required and verified prior to commencing active duty. Staff appointed to Lemsford Cottage are required to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times.

Lemsford Cottage recognises that staff are our most valued resource. We aim to build on and develop their existing skills and see this as a vital ingredient in the provision of a quality service. We are also aware that adolescence can be a difficult time for teenagers that may bring individual issues to all children. As a team we have the experience to respect this while caring and enabling children to reach their full potential. The staff’s aim is to enable children to develop all self help skills, self-esteem as well as providing a safe place in which children can live. Providing such quality care does not happen by coincidence, it is achieved by:

1)A comprehensive induction programme for new staff.

2)Individual supervision, which takes place once a month. New staff receive one to one supervision fortnightly during the first six months and agency staff receive one to one supervision no less frequently than after each eight shifts worked a month.