Children's Home run by Crossway Services Limited in St Helens

Unique reference number SC063498 Inspection date 02/03/2011 Inspector Sharon Lloyd / Michelle Bacon Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 18/10/2010 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 Crispins, 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.

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About this inspection

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 outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and the relevant National Minimum Standards for the service.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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Brief description of the service

This service is managed by an independent company who provide a number of small children's homes. The house is an end terraced property, situated within two miles of a shopping centre and all required leisure facilities. It provides accommodation for one young person and is staffed in accordance with the young person's assessed needs.

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Brief description of the service

One young person participated in the inspection. The deputy manager and two staff also contributed to the inspection.

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Summary

The overall quality rating is inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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Summary

This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Summary

At this unannounced interim inspection the home was assessed against the staying safe outcome and the recommendations made following the previous inspection were followed up. Young people's privacy and confidentiality is promoted and there is evidence of positive relationships between young people and staff. However, there are several shortfalls that do not ensure young people's safety and well-being is promoted. These relate to the lack of rigorous monitoring systems, recording and notifications. Three actions have been raised two of which are outstanding from the previous inspection. Seven recommendations for good practice are also made.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The provider has taken action to meet only one of the four recommendations made at the last inspection. The missing from home procedure has been updated. The home now ensures children who go missing are visited by a person independent of the home when they return, so that the reason they went missing can be explored.

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Improvements since the last inspection

A further two recommendations made in relation to staying safe have not been met. The home has not ensured serious events are reported to Ofsted in line with Schedule 5 and this has been reissued as an action. Staff personnel files could not be accessed to establish if they included an up to date photograph so this recommendation is repeated.

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Improvements since the last inspection

A recommendation to ensure visits carried out by the provider meet the requirements of Regulation 33 and focus on the aspects of care listed in the national minimum standards has not been addressed. The shortfall has been raised as an action at this inspection.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There are policies and procedures in place to support staff in maintaining young people's privacy and dignity. All confidential information is stored appropriately and adequate staffing levels ensure young people's safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff working in the home have access to the local safeguarding children board procedures and the homes own child protection procedures. All staff receive annual training in safeguarding young people. They understand what action to take in response to any allegations or suspicions of abuse. One serious incident has taken place at the home since the previous inspection. This was notified promptly to Ofsted and to the local authority, and has been investigated. However, the case records do not show how the incident was investigated, and Ofsted has not been informed of the outcome.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The complaints procedure is detailed in the children's guide and is given to young people when they move into the home. There is one recorded complaint since the last inspection. However, records do not demonstrate how this has been responded to. This means the home cannot demonstrate that it takes complaints from young people seriously. Bullying behaviour is discouraged and is not currently an issue. There are adequate procedures in place to safeguard young people who go missing from care.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home encourages and supports young people to develop socially acceptable behaviour. Staff are trained in behaviour management. This includes break-away techniques and distraction methods. However, it is not clear what support is provided to help staff understand the needs of working with younger children. There have been no restraints since the last inspection. There have been several sanctions imposed; not all of them are fair and consistent. Their effectiveness in helping young people to improve their behaviour is not always clearly and accurately evaluated. Incident records do not correlate with records of sanctions so a clear audit trail is not always available. Shortfalls in the management monitoring of these systems means the impact for young people is not measured effectively. This was raised at the previous inspection and has not been addressed.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All reasonable steps are taken to ensure the home is a safe environment for young people and staff. Regular testing and recording takes place of the home's fire alarm system, fire prevention equipment and safe means of escape. Young people and staff take part in regular fire evacuation drills although the times of these are not accurately recorded so the home cannot demonstrate that fire drills are practised at night. Risk assessments identify where there is a risk for young people and others and the strategies to be used to safeguard them and others. However, some of the risk assessments on file are not current and this does not promote safe and consistent practice. The back door is kept locked during the daytime to prevent intruders from accessing the home. This practice also prevents young people from leaving the home and is a potential risk to safety in the event of a fire.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

All visitors to the home are required to show identification but do not sign a visitors' book. Instead, they are logged in by staff. This system is not fully reliable and does not provide the home with an accurate record of who has visited. This puts the safety of young people at risk of coming into contact with potential abusers. The Registered Manager holds the key to the staff files. In the manager's absence, the deputy is not able to gain access to staff personnel files. The staff recruitment records were not available during the inspection so that they could not be checked to assess whether the shortfalls raised at the last inspection have been addressed.

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Statutory Requirements

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

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Std. Action Due date

16 ensure that a written record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of the investigation (Regulation 24 (5)) 28/03/2011

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Std. Action Due date

20 notify without delay the person's indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table, if any of the events listed in Schedule 5 takes place (Regulation 30 (1)) 28/03/2011

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Std. Action Due date

32 ensure that visits carried out by the provider meet the requirements of Regulation 33 and focus on the aspects of care in the national minimum standards. (Regulation 33) 28/03/2011

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure the children's guide is in a form appropriate to the age and understanding of the children in the home (NMS 1.3)  ensure the registered person regularly monitors the record books and young people are encouraged to write or have their views recorded and sign their names against them (NMS 22.11) (22.14)  include up to date photographs of staff in personnel files (NMS 27.1)  ensure there is a system in place to record all visits made to the home (NMS 27.11)  ensure at least four fire drills, including some held at night, take place in a 12 month period and are recorded (NMS 26.8)  ensure staff receive training and development opportunities that equip them with the skills required to meet the needs of the children and the purpose of the home (NMS 31.1)  ensure the home is secure from access by unauthorised persons, without compromising or having an adverse effect on the children and young people in

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