Children's Home run by PIC Children’s Services in St Helens

SC022438 Unique reference number 5 February 2010 Inspection date Michelle Moss Inspector Random Type of Inspection

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4 November 2009 Date of last inspection .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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You can obtain copies of The Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters and The National Minimum Standards for Children's Services from: The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Cripins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcome for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and relevant National Minimum Standards for the establishment.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is strong Good: this aspect of the provision is sound Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is not good enough Inadequate: 3 of 7 Inspection Report: SC022438

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Brief description of the service

The home provides accommodation for one young person in a two bedroom mid terraced property with a downstairs bathroom, lounge and kitchen. The staff office is located upstairs and is also used as a staff bedroom. There is a good sized back garden. The home is situated within reasonable distance from shops and leisure facilities. The home is staffed on a one to one basis, with one member of the staff team sleeping at the home each night. The home's staff team is managed and supported by a Registered Manager.

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Summary

This was an interim inspection that looked at the progress the home has made in regards to five actions and nine recommendations raised at the last full inspection. All outcomes have been re-inspected to assess the level of improvement. The manager has worked hard to drive forward improvements in the home, in particular the recording systems. As a result of making the necessary improvements, nearly all key national minimum standards are now being met. Young people have better placement plans that capture their health and learning needs as well as informing staff about how to keep them safe. Other improvements mean documentation relating to recruitment, complaints, sanctions and meals are meeting the required standards. Furthermore, the home's own internal quality assurance is more evaluative and is used by the manager to benchmark how well the service is meeting the needs of young people. However,

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Summary

there are two areas of care that required further action. These relate to holding more details in the care plan about day-to-day needs of young people and securing a more consistent staff team that can implement the plan. Nevertheless, the progress made by the home has been good and this positive progress has been reflected in the overall judgement being changed. The overall quality rating is good. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Good progress has been made since the last visit, with the vast majority of previous shortfalls now addressed. Areas of recruitment, staffing and training are all enhanced. These improvements are providing young people with greater protection. This is illustrated through having a more stringent procedure for recruitment of workers and holding essential personnel information on the premises that can be accessed if safeguarding concerns emerge. The organisation's training programme has been extended to include countering bullying and managing complaints. This increased training provides staff with more opportunity to develop their practice to keep young people safe and promote their welfare.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The placement plan has been improved, especially in areas of health care, risk assessment and education. However, there are still shortfalls in demonstrating how young people's day-to-day needs are met. Where improvements have been made, staff have access to more information that can be utilised to keep young people healthy, safe and promote their learning.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The quality assurance system is more rigorously applied. The process enables intelligence to be gathered more effectively to measure how well the home is meeting individual needs. Detailed recording logs for reporting on sanctions and complaints are now in place. These improvements 4 of 7 Inspection Report: SC022438 provide greater transparency in how staff manage complaints and behaviour within the home. These records are also being regularly reviewed as part of the home's quality assurance processes.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Staff have more allocated time for handovers which enables them to be better prepared for supporting young people in their care.

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Improvements since the last inspection

All staff have better access to safeguarding procedures, which help them to apply good practice to promote the welfare of young people. Also, staff are now ensuring a detailed log of the meals served to the young people is maintained. The log shows that young people have access to a good, healthy and enjoyable diet that helps to secure their physical well-being.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Young people's health needs are better identified through the development of health care plans and services are accessed to meet individual health needs. Young people have good access to meals that are varied and nutritious and they can also help in the preparation of meals and snacks. There are good arrangements for storing and monitoring medication to ensure the well-being of young people is not compromised.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Good systems are in place to monitor, record and prevent risks to health and safety both within the home and in securing the welfare of young people. This extends to undertaking regular fire checks and completing risk assessments that ensures the safety of young people is secured.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Regular staff are good at supporting young people to cope with life challenges including bullying that can take place at school. The procedure for countering bullying is rigorous to ensure concerns are reported and investigated at the earliest opportunity. The trust between young people and regular staff is at a level whereby young people are confident to discuss their concerns.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Regular staff are sensitive to the needs of young people and work with them in a calm and consistent way. Regular staff promote positive behaviour and have a clear understanding behind boundary setting that helps to support young people to feel and stay safe. However, the absence of a formal behaviour plan limits less familiar staff in sustaining this same level of consistency to promote a young person's welfare. More positively, sanctions are recorded accurately by all staff and young people are actively encouraged to add their views.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There is an effective complaints procedure in place that enables young people to raise concerns with the knowledge that their feelings will be taken seriously. All prospective staff wishing to work with young people are first required to go through a vetting process to ensure their suitability. In addition, once staff are found suitable, they are required to receive training in their responsibilities to protect vulnerable children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Regular staff have a good awareness about how young people express their feelings. They also encourage educational achievement and work closely with schools to help raise young people's 5 of 7 Inspection Report: SC022438 aspirations. Praising young people's success is common place in the home and this feedback is found recorded in care plans and other documents that can be accessed by young people.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Each young person has a care plan that provides a good overview of their needs and corresponds with plans provided by the placing authority. However, it is not comprehensive enough to show staff how they are to meet all day to day needs, inclusive of behaviour management. This shortfall particularly hinders relief staff having access to information that is important to keeping a young person safe and healthy. More positively, young people are able to participate in a monthly placement review where their opinions and feelings are formally captured.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Procedures for new admissions are in place and include young people being provided with information to help them to settle into their new environment. All young people are supported with contact arrangements that are planned and consistent with the placing authority's care plans. The home contributes to all statutory and other meetings that are important to a young person's welfare. One of the key strengths of the service is the staff team's strong focus on ensuring young people feel engaged in decisions that affect them.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. Young people enjoy living in a home which is clean, tidy and well maintained. The staff team are proactive in encouraging independence, building confidence and promoting self-esteem.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. There is an ongoing programme of training in place to enable staff to obtain appropriate childcare qualifications. All shifts start with a handover to aid staff in receiving a briefing on the care of young people. Regular staff confirm good communication exists between themselves and the Registered Manager. Regular staff are knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities to meet the needs of young people. However, this continuity in care is compromised when there is a drop in cover provided by the core staff team.

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Organisation

Young people are supported by staff that are required to receive regular supervision that reflects their experience within the organisation. This enables young people to be supported by competent and guided staff.

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Organisation

The Registered Manager's self-evaluation demonstrates the welfare of young people remains central to the care the home provides. The Statement of Purpose and children's guide provide all intended readers with a detailed picture about the service. This includes what the function and purpose is and what young people can expect.

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Organisation

Individual case files now contain essential information that can be effectively utilised by all care staff to ensure young people's needs are better met. 6 of 7 Inspection Report: SC022438

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person meets the Care Standards Act 2000, The Childrens Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider must comply with the given timescales.

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Due date Action Standard

1 March 2010 ensure young people receive support of a consistent staff team to meet their needs (Regulation 25.2) 1 March 2010 ensure the placement plan sets out how, on a day to day basis, the welfare of young people will be safeguarded, inclusive of any behaviour management plan. (Regulation 12.1a)

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Recommendations

There are no recommendations. 7 of 7 Inspection Report: SC022438

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