Children's Home run by PIC Children’s Services in Sefton

Unique reference number SC040785 Inspection date 05/07/2012 Inspector Maria McGranaghan Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 23/02/2012 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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Brief description of the service

The home is one of 10 owned and managed by a private organisation. The home is registered to care for two young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or a learning disability.

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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 outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people live in a caring and supportive environment where they make exceptional progress in all aspects of their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s safety is well protected. Effective strategies ensure risks are clearly assessed and managed appropriately within the home and community.

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Overall effectiveness

Relationships between staff and young people are exceptional. Dedicated one-to-one support ensures a consistent approach to the planning and management of individual needs. External services work closely with the home to provide additional support and guidance to enhance the overall outcomes for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from a strong, committed and stable staff team that receives regular supervision and training. The outstanding progress young people make in the home demonstrates the calibre of the staff team and their aspirations for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is very well managed with an emphasis on providing exceptional child care practice. Robust monitoring systems are in place to ensure care is reviewed regularly. Young people are safe, happy and thrive in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people have access to the internet via internet café, mobile phones and the local library. However, access is not currently provided within the home. Consequently, young people planning to undertake course work requiring research are unable to do this in the comfort of their own home.

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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 access to a range of educational resources to support their learning; specifically, and where appropriate, internet and intranet access. (NMS 8.2)

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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 make exceptional progress in their education, behaviour, health and developing friendships. Meticulous placement planning ensures individual need is clearly assessed and appropriate steps taken to address them. Young people are central to the planning and review of care. As a result, young people are happy and highly committed to meeting their own goals and aspirations.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people live in a home they have created. The décor of the entire home, including carpets, pictures and photographs, are decided by young people. As a result, young people take pride in their home. They enjoy excellent relationships with staff making consultation highly effective. Individual identity and heritage is represented well with young people saying, ‘It’s like my family, we talk about everything, and it has helped me to be open and helped me to be me.’ Likewise, young people benefit from the service of an independent advocate where they can voice their views or concerns autonomously.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff consistently demonstrate high aspirations for young people. As a result, young people’s educational achievement is outstanding. Awards, such as Goodman’s Law Award for outstanding achievement through adversity, The Complete Award and a school Oscar, clearly demonstrate the accomplishment of young people. Similarly, young people are actively involved within the community. Attendance at the young politicians’ meetings and the young people’s forum provide young people with excellent opportunities to discuss their views regarding community issues and that of residential care.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health and are registered with medical practitioners. Health care plans are in place and work together with external services, such as the children and adolescent mental health services, to suitably address individual health care needs.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from planned and supported contact with family and friends. Excellent partnerships are developed; this ensures family members are consulted in the planning for individual care. Young people have a range of school and local community friends that share similar aspirations and interests. A staff member said, ‘friends visit all the time. Young people are allowed to sleep over at friends’ houses because we know families really well. Their friends are a real positive influence.’ Young people attend a range of physical activities to promote good health and well- being such as snowboarding, gym and skiing. Likewise, short courses, such as graffiti art and graphic design, support young people’s further educational development.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people succeed in a stable, nurturing and supportive environment. Young people aspire to achieve and this is evident in their outstanding accomplishments.

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Quality of care

Young people receive praise and reward for the smallest achievement. Their progress is consistently recognised and serves to promote self-esteem and confidence. Likewise, behaviour management plans and individual risk assessments are in place and identify triggers for negative behaviour and strategies for the suitable management of this. However, as a result of dedicated one-to-one support and exemplary relationships with staff, young people do not exhibit risk taking behaviours and sanctions are minimal.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to complain. Information is provided within the young person’s guide, consultation documents and regular keywork sessions. Young people have access to a telephone pre-programmed with all important contact numbers including, family, friends, social worker and advice lines. Additionally young people benefit from an independent advocate. The range of services available to young people ensures they are able to discuss matters in a way most comfortable for them.

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Quality of care

Young people’s benefit from individually-tailored residential care plans that highlight young people’s needs and how these are to be met. Excellent liaison with external services ensures that young people receive the best support possible to improve their life chances. Likewise, plans are consistently monitored to ensure these are updated in accordance with young people’s changing needs and appropriate steps are taken to address these.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from a staff team that promotes high ambition and aspiration in order for young people to succeed. Accordingly, young people excel in educational attainment, achievement and fulfil important roles within their community.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a homely environment that blends perfectly into the residential environment. Young people say, ‘This is my home this is where I live.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Young people receive a high level of support and guidance from a staff team trained to protect them. Risk assessments, including individual missing from home strategies, are in place and these ensure the correct action is taken should a young person be at risk. Likewise, staff maintain excellent working relationships with external agencies and this supports the work undertaken with young people in managing areas for potential risk. As a result, young people are happy and content and do not exhibit risk-taking behaviours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff focus on de-escalation and redirection techniques in order to defuse potential situations within the home. This has proven successful. There has been no use of physical intervention in 14 months. Comparatively, the home promotes a zero tolerance approach to bullying. Staff receive training to ensure young people are provided with the right information and guidance to protect them from incidents of bullying. Staff demonstrate they are vigilant in monitoring young people in the home, community and school thus ensuring their continued protection.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people have access to the internet and intranet using the local library and internet café. They do not have internet access within the home. A staff member said, ‘The organisation is developing a policy for the use of internet within the home. It will be essential to young people’s educational development, particularly course work and revision when the young people undertake A level examinations.’ Consequently, young people do not yet have direct access to information to further assist their studies.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A dedicated staff team offers one-to-one support within the home. Young people engage well with staff and have developed tremendous relationships, inspiring the confidence and commitment to succeed. Young people are fully engaged within the community and lead by example in their achievements to date.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff promote young people’s ongoing protection by undertaking regular fire drills and service tests, making sure that all faults are efficiently addressed. Clear evidence highlights stringent monitoring of all systems within the home, including the appropriate storage, administration and recording of medication. Health and safety risk assessments are regularly reviewed and internal checks are consistently undertaken in order to maintain the overall safety of the young people living in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home employs a robust recruitment procedure that ensures young people are looked after by staff that are appropriately checked in order to work in the home. Visitors are suitably vetted and this ensures young people are protected within the home. Young people benefit from a dedicated and stable staff team that is highly committed to providing excellent outcomes for young people.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding . Young people live in a home that is managed in their best interests. The home meets the aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose and young people’s social workers and their families are clear about the service and support the home provides.

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Leadership and management

Robust internal and external monitoring systems are in place and serve to ensure the work undertaken within the home is maintained to a high standard. The manager’s action plan highlights areas for development and the action required in order to further improve the service.

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Leadership and management

Staff receive regular supervision from the manager. Supervision suitably identifies training and development needs and these are easily cross-referenced within the staff development plan. The monitoring and evaluation of staff employed within the home ensures that young people are looked after by competent and skilled staff.

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Leadership and management

The manager and staff demonstrate commitment to delivering excellent child care practice tailored to the individual needs of the young people. The effectiveness in this approach is measurable in the outstanding progress young people make.

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Leadership and management

The home has made good progress in addressing the recommendation made at the last inspection. Specifically, Regulation 34 summaries are now presented to Ofsted for review.

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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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