Children's Home run by After Care (NW) Limited in Sefton

Unique reference number SC042652 Inspection date 01/07/2011 Inspector Julia Toller Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 17/03/2011 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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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 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This service provides residential accommodation for up to three looked after young people, aged between 8 and 17 years old, who have complex emotional and behavioural needs.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The home takes positive steps to meet the diverse and complex needs of the young people placed. The main strengths come from the strong links the home has with schools and the placing authority social workers. This promotes development in all aspects of personal, social and health education and citizenship. Staff ensure that young people receive an individual service designed to meet their personal needs. Staff have good knowledge of the young people they are working with, ensuring their needs are consistently met. The home values the rights of individuals to respect and dignity.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people said that they are able to make their views known and have a say in what happens in the home. They are involved in decisions about what food they eat, what they do in their spare time, how the house is decorated and the plans for their future. Young people said, ‘staff are good at doing activities with us’ and that they feel safe living at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Social workers who have placed young people within the home are very complimentary about the care that their young person has received. They state that ‘young people have come a long way since being placed’; and that staff are ‘quick to pick up on things’. Social workers consistently report that the ‘service is really good at communication, they (the social workers) know what happens when it happens’.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has a friendly atmosphere where everyone usually gets along and young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. Staff value the young people as individuals. They are helpful and they clearly enjoy spending time with the young people. Professional and personal boundaries with young people are clear and are consistent with good childcare.

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Overall effectiveness

As a result of this inspection, three recommendations are made. These relate to standards of decoration at the home, window restrictors and internet access for young people.

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 ensure that the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated (NMS 10.3)  ensure that young people have access to a range of educational resources to support their learning and have opportunities beyond the school day and to engage in activities which promote learning in particular that young people have access to the internet at home (NMS 8.2)  ensure that avoidable hazards are removed as is consistent with a domestic setting. Risk reduction does not lead to an institutional feel. (NMS 10.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have a positive relationship with staff, which is helping them improve poor self-image and build up emotional resilience. Care staff take immense interest in the welfare of young people by listening and supporting them gently through significant events in their lives. Young people receive exceptional help to identify how they feel about what has happened to them and what they want to achieve in the future. They are confident that their views are heard and any decisions made are explained to them including having access to advocates and children’s rights officers. Young people have important relationships preserved by the dedication of the staff who work tirelessly to rebuild fragile family links. This commitment is helping re- establish meaningful contact with people who are important to young people’s lives. Young people, have excellent opportunities to influence decisions that have an

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Outcomes for children and young people

impact on their futures. They speak highly about the staff and describe the home as 'great I can go to any of them'. Social workers also spoke highly of the staff team saying ' I have been very impressed by the whole team - I know when I phone the home, that who ever I speak to they always have a full knowledge of all current issues relating to this young person' and 'I have been impressed with the staff at the home maintaining the current care plan and the level of support offered to not only the young person but also his family'.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are given maximum support to re-engage in education. With the exception of internet access at the home, young people have access to a wide range of opportunities to promote education. The use of creative incentives provides young people with the additional encouragement they need to attend school. With each new milestone in attainment or progress, praise and motivation is never far away. Young people are overcoming some significant barriers in their learning and attainment as a result of this remarkable support. In short periods of time from young people commencing their placements, exceptional progress is noticeable. This level of support goes beyond age 16 to help maximise every opportunity for young people to gain qualifications and vocational skills. This is providing them with both an academic preparation and practical life skills in readiness for adulthood. One young person said 'I am looking forward to starting a new school in September but would

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Outcomes for children and young people

like to have internet access at the home to help with the work.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have substantial help in planning a successful transition to adulthood that takes into account their very complex needs, in which their views are always listened to. Young people have excellent access to multi-agency health care that provides the essential support they need to help safeguard their physical, emotional and psychological health.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding . Young people experience a genuine caring, consistent, stable and secure relationship with staff. This is validated in the positive regard young people hold towards the staff supporting them and is equally ratified by professionals who have involvement with the home. One social worker said 'I have found the home to provide an excellent standard of care'.

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Quality of care

Young people are at the centre of any planning for their futures. They are actively participating in the development of their health and care plans. This includes having their voices heard, individual assessments based on their needs and a very child focused transition plan that takes into account specific emotional and mental health needs. There are excellent links with education services, health care and transitional support that help to co-ordinate a package, reflective of a young person’s needs.

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Quality of care

Young people receive independent support in making decisions including accessing reliable and up-to-date information. The staff recognise the importance of friendships, leisure activities and sexual relationships in young people’s lives. This includes ensuring young people gain access to personal and social educational resources that enable them to learn about positive and safe relationships and understand unsafe abusive relationships. Young people are wonderfully supported to build on already established networks of friends and to engage in facilities available in the local areas. There is a remarkable effort made by staff to gain help from other services so that a collaborative approach is secured to achieve real change in young people’s lives. This support is helping build up confidence so young people feel safe and secure.

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Quality of care

Staff are consistently and effectively challenging barriers to help young people re- engage in education and to be part of their community and wider society. Proactive and imaginative ways are found to help young people make progress in their lives despite facing many uncertainties and challenges relating to their emotional and mental health. This commitment comes from staff who put the safety and welfare of young people at the heart of everything they do; going that extra mile to help young people receive every possible support they need to feel safe.

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Quality of care

The arrangements for dealing with medication are well established and closely monitored. However, some recording is not always clear and means validation on what is being administered requires further investigation. Nevertheless, this is not causing young people to miss receiving medication important to their health.

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Quality of care

Young people are confident that their views are heard. They also know that if they raise a concern or even a complaint, this will be taken very seriously by staff and addressed. Young people recognise sometimes they do cause staff to report them missing from care and understand their concerns about their welfare. The staff work closely with young people to attempt to counter the levels of reported cases of young people going missing by establishing authorised absences.

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Quality of care

Young people have a positive view about the home and get actively involved in decisions about the design and presentation. The home is showing signs of wear and tear, which have been highlighted in Regulation 33 visits to the home. The manager is in conversations with the landlord about the best way to carry out the refurbishment of the home.

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Quality of care

The staff place the well-being of young people at the heart of everything they do irrespective of the challenges and barriers faced by young people, their ethnicity, faith, gender or sexual orientation. The staff work endlessly to help make a difference in a young person’s life by celebrating the smallest achievements. One social worker said 'the care they have provided is consistent, nurturing and empathic - the staff have invested time and effort in this young person and they are responding to this by building trust in the staff and self-esteem in their self'.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Staff demonstrate a good commitment to preserving the confidentiality, dignity and privacy of young people and they have a good understanding of safeguarding issues. The home has a specific named person designated to deal with allegations. Young people say that they feel safe living in this home and that they would speak to staff if they were worried or upset. This ensures that young people are protected from abuse.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home actively takes steps to make sure that young people missing from home are protected. If young people go missing staff will try to find them and keep in touch by mobile telephone to encourage them to return and ensure they are safe. Staff are aware and do not exceed the measures they can take to prevent a child leaving without permission under current legislation and government guidance. The home has developed good links with the local police and follows agreed local protocols regarding young people missing from care. Incidents are recorded appropriately. The local missing from co-ordinator spoke highly of the work that staff carry out to minimise absences from the home and said 'they are doing a brilliant job'. Risk assessments are in place detailing individual needs and agreed strategies to support and protect young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are good monitoring systems in place whereby the management team look at behaviour management to ensure that appropriate action has been taken, that is that it is fair and reasonable. Young people have clear and consistent boundaries and know what is expected of them and what is unacceptable. Staff praise young people when they do well and reward them. They also reassure young people when they are upset and help them deal with their anxieties and frustrations in a positive way. Staff assist young people to learn to manage their behaviour and solve problems. Young people are aware of what is expected of them. Physical intervention is used as a last resort and is not common place. Recording systems for sanctions show that staff are reasonable in their approach when applying consequences, this shows that sanctions are used to help young people understand the consequences of their actions. Incentive schemes are used hand in hand to help young people make the right

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Safeguarding children and young people

choices and enjoy positive outcomes. For example one young person who has found it difficult to attend education but who had done so for an agreed period of time was enjoying a weekend away with staff as a reward for his hard work.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff carry out regular health and safety checks of the premises, including certification for gas, electric and fire safety checks. However, there have been issues with young people absconding from first floor windows, whilst these are risk assessed and restrictors are being replaced, the long term suitability of these arrangements does not ensure the young people concerned are safeguarded.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The vetting of staff and visitors is thorough to make sure young people are protected. The home carries out recruitment checks, including the verification of written references, before staff start work at the home. This helps to safeguard young people. The home has sound policies and procedures for ensuring that young people are safe and operates good systems to reflect how young people's welfare is promoted.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

The home is managed by an experienced, qualified and competent registered manager. The organisation has a business plan in place which includes an improvement agenda and continued staff training. This means that they want to continue to improve their service and the outcomes of young people in their care.

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Leadership and management

The home is monitored by a representative of the organisation. This provides young people and staff with an opportunity to discuss any issues they may have about living at the home. In addition, the manager monitors systems at the home to ensure that the needs of young people are met.

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Leadership and management

At the last inspection, one good practice recommendation was made. This related to risk assessments about the potential for bullying. This has been successfully undertaken and completed.

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Leadership and management

The home has a clear Statement of Purpose and this sets out the aims of the home and how it will operate. Staff are supported by the registered manager and have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities. They know who they contact for support should the registered manager not be available. They confirm that when they need support and guidance the registered manager is always available and helpful. Staff are well supported on a daily basis they are also consistently receiving formal one to one supervision. This monitors their performance, accountability and identifies their individual development needs. Team meetings take place regularly every fortnight to allow the whole staff team to discuss and review individual young people, the running of the home, and look at ways to improve the service they offer.

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Leadership and management

Young people are looked after by a competent staff team who have a range of skills and experience. The skills within the team match the needs of young people living in the home. The staff team reflects cultural backgrounds of the young people and provides both positive male and female role models. The numbers of staff on duty meets the needs of young people, and this includes the support they need for activities, visits and appointments. Staff speak highly of the training that is made available to them and feel confident that should they be able to identify an additional area of training that would help them to do their job better, this will be met.

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Leadership and management

The home’s written records provide a clear picture of individual young people’s needs, development and progress. Young people’s records are well organised and contain up-to-date information about them, including the relevant documents from placing authorities. There are systems in place to notify Ofsted of any significant issues that may occur within the home or with regards to the young people placed. This ensures that there are good systems in place to promote the welfare of the young people. Equality and diversity practice is good .

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