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

Unique reference number SC068206 Inspection date 12/01/2012 Inspector Michelle Moss Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 04/07/2011 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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011).

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Brief description of the service

This service is one of a network of children's homes maintained by an independent children's home provider. The home provides a placement for one young person, supported by a staff team of four.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress.

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Progress

This interim inspection has followed up on the progress made by the home since their last full inspection when they were judged to be outstanding.

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Progress

Young people continue to have tailored care plans that provide detailed assessments on their needs and risks. Young people receive well coordinated health care and school placements from the start of their placement. Staff are quick at forging strong links with schools attended by young people and health professionals. This speed to secure professional engagement means aspects of personal development and health are not compromised as a result of a young person’s new placement.

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Progress

Staff continue to have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and show professional respect towards the young people they support. The home has ensured improvements have been made in the detail captured in the child protection policy, including sending a copy to the local authority for their comments. Staff are better informed about the various routes available to them when raising concerns over the welfare of young people. This includes being more aware that they can go directly to the Local Designated Safeguarding Officer or police.

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Progress

The leadership systematically monitors the quality of care including producing Regulation 33 and 34 reports. These reports provide a good source of evidence about the home’s strengths and shortfalls. However, surveillance of all documents required to be checked is not always rigorously applied. For example, checks made on sanctions imposed have failed to pick up on staffs’ practice when they have restricted young people’s access to a telephone at the home. Furthermore, no one has picked up that the sanction's book is missing some key information. Also, when reviewing incident logs, allegations made by young people are sometimes missed and therefore not followed up. These shortfalls means the rights of young people are not being consistently upheld and child protection procedures are not instigated at an early stage.

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Progress

The premises retain a homely environment and are clean and well maintained. There continues to be a good balance of gender and experience among the staff team, including individual staff holding a range of qualifications, skills and training relevant to caring for children. The rota has been adjusted to include a set time for handovers, so that staff commencing their shift are well prepared to support young people over a 24 hour period.

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Progress

Young people continue to be afforded maximum support to enable them to overcome significant challenges in their lives, including their learning, behaviour and emotional well-being. Support to help young people to remain law abiding is central to practice and means young people are given lots of guidance and advice to help them make informed decisions in relation to their risk taking.

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Progress

The vast majority of the home’s previously raised recommendations have been fully addressed. However, one recommendation has not. This relates to young people's views still not being captured within the bound sanction book. Furthermore, there are three new requirements as a result of this inspection, which reflects the satisfactory progress judgement.

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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 person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that young people accommodated in the home are provided at all reasonable times with access to a telephone which they may use without reference to persons working at the home including making calls in private (Regulation 15(4)(a)) 28/02/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure all matters set out in Schedule 6 are monitored to improve the quality of care, in particular points seven and 12. (Regulation 34(1)(a)(b) and Schedule 6 (7)(12)) 28/02/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure the written record kept in a volume for any measure of control includes a description of the measure used. (Regulation 17B (3)(c)) 28/02/2012

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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 young people have the opportunity to have their views recorded in the record required to be kept by the home where any sanction is used by staff. (NMS 3.18)

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