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

Unique reference number SC042652 Inspection date 26/06/2012 Inspector Graham Robinson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 24/02/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Overall, young people are making good progress in relation to their starting points, both socially and educationally. They settle well into a home that provides them with a supportive environment, underpinned with clear and consistent boundaries.

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Overall effectiveness

The quality of care they experience is outstanding, provided by a dedicated staff group who have high aspirations for the young people they care for. Once settled, young people have an opportunity to live a lifestyle that is age appropriate and socially acceptable.

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Overall effectiveness

The individual needs of young people are identified, with plans and strategies put into place to meet them. Their progress and development are closely monitored and appropriate changes are made to plans which reflect the progress made. The relationships developed between staff and young people are strong. These are used effectively by staff, who work positively with young people through troubled times. This reduces the number of serious management incidents experienced in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team have a good understanding of, and have the ability to initiate, safe working practices. These are dictated by young people's individual needs. As a result, young people live in an environment that keeps them safe and promotes their welfare positively.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall organisation and management of the home are outstanding. An experienced and child-centred manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has a strong commitment towards continued development.

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Overall effectiveness

One area has been identified for further development. This links to improving the level of analysis and evaluation that appears in both internal and external monitoring reports.

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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

 improve the analysis and evaluation contained in the reports produced following the home's monitoring processes. (Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraphs 3.12 - 3.14)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are achieving good outcomes in all areas of their lives. They receive high levels of support that allow them to stabilise their lifestyle with a view to going on to prosper socially and educationally. This support is particularly strong when young people flounder or regress, with the eventual outcome being they re-stabilise their behaviour and attitudes, allowing them to move forward again.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home is stable and this is reflected in young people's placements. The ethos and practices of the home support and encourage young people towards setting and achieving personal goals. Their individual needs are identified and any difficult or challenging periods experienced are dealt with sensitively and positively. This allows young people to grow in confidence and develop strong relationships, which in turn, enhances their ability to form attachments and develop their resilience.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from contact with family, friends and other appropriate adults. Although contact arrangements can be complex, young people confirm they feel well supported by a staff team who encourage and facilitate appropriate contact. As a result, young people’s needs are well met.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Compared with their starting points, young people's educational outcomes are good. The home works proactively with other agencies to promote and support their educational needs. This is reflected in the current community-based education arrangements in place for all young people who once rejected any educational arrangements made for them. The ethos and working practices of the home are geared towards young people engaging positively with their education. Periods of rejection or regression are well managed, with young people being given every encouragement and support to turn those periods around positively. Young people enjoy good health and their health needs are positively promoted. Good health plans ensure individual needs are assessed and met. All young people are registered with community-based health services to access day-to-day health support. The home has good links with more specialised services, which are available

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Outcomes for children and young people

for young people when required. Young people are encouraged to improve their lifestyles through diet and exercise. They are provided with information and given every encouragement and practical support to modify certain aspects of their lifestyle, such as tobacco, drugs and alcohol. As a result, they enjoy improvements to their general health and fitness levels.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home is well established within the community and actively encourages young people to take full advantage of the resources available, as well as making a contribution to the wider community they live in. For example, young people accompany staff to monthly community meetings held in the local library. Individual activities, as well as those shared with staff and other young people, form part of the evening and weekend routines. Photographs are displayed and give an insight into the range of activities taking place.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff promote young people's independence and they are encouraged to take acceptable risks and responsibility. Informal preparation for independence commences early, with young people being actively involved in the daily running of the home. They participate in young people's meetings and in regular individual work sessions with staff, giving them a platform to contribute their views for change and improvement. These practices empower young people to have control over their own daily lives.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

The quality of care afforded to young people is outstanding. Staff excel at developing and maintaining positive relationships with young people, which encourages them to settle and develop trust. This view is fully supported by a social worker for one young person, who prior to admission to the home was being considered for a secure order. Within a short timescale, staff have developed strong relationships with the young person, who has not attempted to recreate the lifestyle or behaviour patterns exhibited in previous placements. The strong relationships formed between staff and young people are used positively by staff as a tool to reduce tension and unrest. This contributes significantly to reducing the number of serious behaviour management incidents that occur.

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Quality of care

Staff use a range of planned strategies to support young people through difficult periods. They are used purposely to reduce the number of sanctions imposed, resulting in minimising the number of stressful experiences for young people. For example, a current strategy in use with one young person who, at times, impacts negatively on others in the home, is to ensure the young person is fully occupied. To achieve this, staff are identified to work directly with the young person. Strategies vary from being activity based, such as fishing, through to involving the young person in daily tasks such as shopping. This not only gives the young person a feeling of worth and a sense of belonging, but gives staff time with the other young people to ensure their needs are not neglected.

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Quality of care

Young people confirm their views, wishes and feelings are actively sought by staff. Since the previous inspection, the manager has introduced personalised invitations for young people to attend young people’s meetings. Young people confirm they use these meetings to influence certain aspects of the home’s daily functioning, for example, in the choice of food, weekly activities and future leisure breaks. This provides young people with a feeling of worth and a sense that their opinions and views do matter.

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Quality of care

However, the excellent relationships that exist within the home mean young people are confident and relaxed enough to approach staff and consult with them individually. For example, one young person recently received a notice from their placing authority which was both a surprise and a worry to them. Following consultation with staff, who provided immediate support and advice, the young person referred the matter to their children’s rights officer, who has taken up the case.

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Quality of care

Young people and staff actively enjoy being in each other’s company. The well-being of young people creates the hub of the home’s daily functioning, which fosters and enhances the excellent levels of daily communication. This encourages and supports young people towards making appropriate relationships with others, allowing them to take more informed decisions about themselves and their future. They understand how they can make a complaint and are confident to do so. Complaints are taken seriously and responded to quickly.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit and thrive in a warm and supportive environment. Their individual needs are clearly identified in care plans and individual risk assessments. This includes identity, religious and cultural needs. For example, staff are working with young people to develop their own life-story books, giving young people a strong sense of identity and a greater understanding of their cultural background. This is viewed as an excellent example of some of the individual work being conducted with young people. Regular review of the plans and strategies ensures young people’s needs are current and well met. Young people have a good insight into the plans in place for them, confirming they have input into them. This gives them a sense of direction, along with agreed and achievable targets to aim for.

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Quality of care

This home is modern, welcoming and homely. There is a calm, relaxed atmosphere, giving a good impression of the home and the people living in it. It is well kept, with good standards of repair, equipment, fixtures, furnishings and décor. Young people have their own bedrooms, which are personalised to suit the tastes and interests of the occupant. Photographs and mementos on display reflect young people’s positive experiences.

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Quality of care

Staff promote healthy lifestyles in a variety of ways. Young people actively engage in a wide range of shared activities with staff, as well as pursuing individual interests of their own. For example, the home provides passes to the local sports centre and gymnasium where staff and young people share activities. However, young people are encouraged to develop and follow their own interests and leisure pursuits, which are community based. This allows young people to form friendships with others in the community, helping them to become more integrated and accepted locally. Young people benefit from healthy meals and take an active role in shopping and planning menus. They are encouraged to try unfamiliar foods, appreciate different cultures and try international cuisine. Festivals and religious events are celebrated.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people confirm they feel safe and that the home is a safe place to live. The arrangements in place to safeguard and protect young people are good. There are strong links in place with external agencies, who report excellent levels of communication between themselves and the home. Staff receive safeguarding training that is refreshed regularly, and they understand their responsibilities and duties in promoting young people's welfare. Individual knowledge of young people's needs, coupled with strong links to external agencies, provide a sound mechanism for responding to young people's changing needs for safety and protection.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people say that bullying is not an area for concern and confirm staff quickly intervene should an incident occur. Staff are sensitive to a young person's ability to bully or be bullied. This gives young people a feeling of security and general safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are focused and work hard to stop young people from going missing. Close links and excellent working practices have been developed with the police missing from home co-ordinator, and this ensures staff respond appropriately to any incidents that do occur. This multi-agency response to missing young people minimises situations where they can become vulnerable or put themselves at risk. Young people are cared for on their return, rather than automatically sanctioned, and have the opportunity to speak with someone independent of the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Sanctions imposed are minimal, with a preference to work through difficulties positively rather than punitively. Young people feel staff are fair and recognise they are rewarded for good behaviour. Staff are skilled at diffusing difficult and potentially challenging situations, without relying on sanctions. They are clear that physical intervention is used only as a last resort, with few incidents having taken place since the previous inspection. The monitoring of incidents ensures young people’s individual strategies are kept under review and adapted as required. As a result, serious behaviour management incidents while rare, are safely managed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

While some changes to the staff group have occurred since the previous inspection, young people continue to be cared for by a relatively experienced staff team who are known to them. Appropriate recruitment policies and practice ensure any new staff are suitably cleared prior to taking up their post. Longer-serving staff are being re- checked at regular intervals. This ensures only suitably checked people have contact with young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected through a range of risk assessments. They participate in regular fire drills and can safely exit the home if needed. Safety checks to maintain a safe environment are regularly undertaken. Individual risk assessments, coupled with coping strategies, promote a safe environment for all young people. Individual strategies are updated in light of reviews of young people’s risks and progress.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The organisation and management of the home are outstanding. Young people benefit from having an enthusiastic, experienced, child-centred manager who has a clear vision, coupled with an energy and desire to continue developing the home. The manager is well supported by a child-focused staff team who are fully committed to the ethos, aims and working practices being developed by the home. They understand their role and responsibilities and work with the support of the manager to address young people’s needs positively.

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Leadership and management

Staff confirm they receive excellent support and receive regular supervision and appraisal, helping to improve their knowledge and working practices. The two staff new to the home since the previous inspection are well known to the young people. The organisation demonstrates a commitment to professional development, and all staff have gained, or are about to gain, an appropriate professional qualification. They regularly update their core training to refresh their knowledge and skills. This ensures they possess the competences and skills to effectively meet young people’s diverse needs.

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Leadership and management

Both the internal and external monitoring of the home are taking place regularly, with reports from monitoring visits in place. Following recommendations made at previous inspections, the organisation has updated and revised the report formats used to reflect the internal and external monitoring processes that take place monthly. The revised format provides greater evaluation along with the ability to reflect the views of others. They are ready for use and due to be introduced with immediate effect.

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Leadership and management

The previous formats, although detailed and factual, were felt to be lacking in analysis and evaluation. However, the manager compensates for this when reporting her own internal findings, ensuring her own analysis of the home’s functioning is presented. This includes young people’s contributions made through discussions at monthly one-to-one meetings held between the manager and each young person.

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Leadership and management

The manager has introduced a number of new initiatives since the previous inspection. For example, she has introduced a new contact file which records all contact with young people’s social workers, independent reviewing officers, parents and other professionals. She has also extended the written progress reports produced for each young person, which include photographs celebrating their achievements. These and other areas developed since the previous inspection evidence the determination of the manager to push practice further in an effort to continually improve the outcomes for young people. This is underpinned by a realistic and detailed written development plan which targets and identifies areas for change and development within specified timescales.

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Leadership and management

The home has a good record of compliance. The recommendation carried forward from the previous inspection has been addressed, with the manager making available a recently acquired laptop computer so young people can enhance their educational abilities.

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Leadership and management

Young people live in an environment where their needs are clearly identified, with suitable plans and strategies in place to meet them. They are looked after by an enthusiastic, well-trained staff team who demonstrate a genuine desire and commitment to improving the outcomes for young people. As a result, young people are re-introduced to a more age-appropriate lifestyle from the one they experienced prior to admission. As they settle and progress, they form more socially acceptable views of life, which are reflected in their plans and aspirations for the future.

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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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