Contact:

Steve Fallowfield, County Service Manager Residential Care Telephone 01962 845738 [email protected]

Glenn Parkinson, Strategic Planning Officer. Telephone 01962 846664 [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide details of the major refurbishment to Cypress Lodge children's home in Basingstoke.

2 Recommendations

· That the Executive Member for Children & Families endorses the refurbishment plans for Cypress lodge

· That the completed survey report and longer term strategic capital development plan with regard to the current provision within the children's homes and respite care units is presented to the Executive Member for Children and Families by the end of the year.

3 Cypress Lodge

3.1 Cypress Lodge is a large detached domestic property in Basingstoke that is registered with Ofsted as a 5 bed children's home. The environment has deteriorated over the recent past and is no longer felt to be appropriate for children as it is felt it no longer meets registration standards. The number of children placed within the home has been reduced to 4 in order to provide children and staff with greater amounts of individual space and flexibility within the available space.

3.2 Lessons learned from regulatory visits and work undertaken across other children's homes has provided an opportunity to significantly improve the environment and ensure ongoing compliance with registration standards. It was, decided that as a result of a permanent reduction in occupancy to 4 children there would be greater scope for the overall improvements. Children have been relocated to Corner House in Aldershot whilst the building works are undertaken.

3.3 Over a number of years the needs of children placed within our children's homes have become more complex and this in turn has seen an increase in the levels of challenging behaviour presented by those children.

3.4 The refurbishment of Cypress Lodge presents an opportunity to review how the home could meet the needs of a small group of children with particularly complex needs for whom living within a larger group of children is not regarded as appropriate. For this particular group of children there is a need to provide the opportunities for carefully managed and supported group living within an environment that permits individual activity whilst continuing to support children to function within a small group.

3.5 In order to meet Ofsted registration requirements the Statement of Purpose for the home will be changed to reflect the change in bed numbers and the service provided. Discussions have already taken place with the linked Ofsted inspector who is aware of the projected time scales for the work and has indicated that a full registration will take place within 2 months of the home re-opening.

3.6 The agreed strategy is to provide accommodation for a maximum of four children, improved communal areas, a dedicated study area for children not accessing full time education and more appropriate staff "areas" with regard to office accommodation and sleep in rooms. Improvements to the fixtures and fittings will also be undertaken and general refurbishment such as decoration together with improvements to the heating and electrical services. Upgrades will also be undertaken to the fire precautions system and the installation of a staff alarm system. The opportunity will be taken to install more robust fittings and fixtures such as new doors. Whilst the overall emphasis will be to provide a domestic and homely environment, the refurbishment will allow consideration of more robust fittings that will in turn reduce the level of ongoing maintenance required within the home.

3.7 The project is estimated to cost £240,000 including fees and will start on site in July and be complete in early October. The intention is that children will move back in to Cypress Lodge during the school half-term in late October.

4 Future capital investment strategy

4.1 The capital investment strategy will include all of residential and respite provision currently provided for children by Hampshire's Children's Service:-

Children's Homes

The Mead, Odiham

Crossways, Old Basing

Cypress Lodge, Basingstoke

Milesdown, Winchester

The Green House, Chandlers Ford

Glendalyn, New Milton

Godbey House, Hayling Island

Swanwick Lodge Secure Unit, Swanwick

Respite Care Units

Merrydale, Kingsworthy

Sunbeams, Aldershot

Firvale, Basingstoke

4.2 It is intended to undertake an assessment of the suitability of existing children's homes against an ideal accommodation brief to identify where shortfalls in accommodation and facilities exist. This will be linked with the work undertaken by Property Services on the condition of the buildings. This work will take place in the autumn this year and will be used to inform the future strategic direction for capital investment. It is proposed that a strategy is developed which identifies where significant improvements are required and establishes a priority for a rolling programme of capital investment.

4.3 In addition it is intended to continue to undertake the roll out of improvements across all children's homes where appropriate, such as installation of the staff alarm system. It is also necessary to ensure funding remains available to undertake capital works arising through OFSTED inspections or to respond to damage within homes. Damage within the homes occurs through normal wear and tear of group living but also as a result of challenging or distressed behaviour. It is important to maintain an environment where children feel valued and where there is an underlying culture of promoting positive group living experiences.

4.4 The planned review of the existing children's homes will be reported through a report jointly presented by the Strategic Planning and Children and Families services.

5 Corporate Priorities

5.1 The proposals in this report will be in support of the County Council's corporate priorities through the provision of a safe and positive environment for children, encouraging them to engage positively with educational opportunities and support them to develop positive links with their local community.

5.2 The proposals will also support the key Every Child Matters Outcomes and Hampshire's Children's Plan through the provision of a high quality environment in which personal growth and achievement is promoted and celebrated.

6 Consultation

6.1 Consultation on future capital investment takes place with staff in children's homes as part of the discussions regarding priorities for capital spending. As the refurbishment work progresses to the choice of internal decoration, fittings and furnishings the young people currently in placement will be encouraged to become involved in this process and assist in making those choices .

7 Legal implications

7.1 None.

8 Financial implications

8.1 None other than agreed within current capital investment programme

9 Personnel implications

9.1 None.

10 Impact assessment

10.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified. The home will provide increased opportunities for individualised care for the children placed.

11 Crime prevention issues

11.1 Consideration of crime prevention issues will be undertaken in developing the capital investment strategy.

11.2 The development of restorative approaches and participation of children living within the home will provide greater opportunities for addressing unacceptable behaviour in an agreed and more positive manner.

12 Views of the Local County Councillor

13.1 Consultations will take place with local County Councillors on major capital investment where appropriate as the wider strategy is developed. As the Statement of Purpose for the refurbished home is confirmed, briefings will be arranged with the local County Councillor, local police and also District Management Teams who may wish to make referrals for placements.

14 Conclusion

14.1 The capital investment at Cypress Lodge supports the current review of residential care for children. It is necessary to develop a longer term strategic plan for capital investment.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

None.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the
Act.