Children's Home run by PIC Children’s Services in St Helens

Unique reference number SC022442 Inspection date 18/07/2012 Inspector Pamela Nuckley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/03/2012 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 run by a private organisation and provides care and accommodation for one young person with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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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

Young people benefit from clear care plans which include measurable outcomes specific to each individual’s identified need. They are given a good level of individual support by a competent and committed team of staff and they make excellent progress in the home. Young people confirmed that they enjoy positive relationships with staff, feel safe, happy and settled in the home. They report that their views are clearly listened to and acted upon in all aspects of their care at the home; they can talk to any member of staff about worries or concerns and feel confident that they will be listened to.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people living in this home are supported by an experienced staff group who demonstrate, enthusiastically, their commitment to addressing welfare issues. The staff work closely with other services to meet the range of young people's needs in order to promote positive outcomes for young people. Other safeguarding professionals speak highly of the manager and staff in their ability to report or discuss any concern and in being proactive in initiating relevant meetings. There is a committed approach to enable young people to develop socially, physically and emotionally in relation to their starting points on entering the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is well managed. Staff are properly supported to enable them to carry out their duties effectively. The manager makes good use of established monitoring systems to review the quality of care provided. There is a strong commitment in the home to continuous improvement of the care that is given to young people. Previous requirements and recommendations have been fully addressed and the manager has a development plan in place for the future of the home. In order to develop its services further, the home needs to ensure that Regulation 33 reports are completed monthly and sent, in a timely way, to Ofsted.

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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 visits by the registered provider shall take place at least once a month and may be unannounced. (Regulation 33 (3)) 31/08/2012

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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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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 benefit greatly from the level of individualised support they are given and they make considerable progress overall.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s physical and emotional health needs are promoted well. Their health plans are linked to their care plans and good links are made with community provision. Young people are offered excellent guidance from staff on a wide range of health and social issues. This includes sexual health, healthy eating and exercise and the risks attached to alcohol and substance misuse. Specific and specialist health provision is provided by professionals external to the home and staff support young people to engage positively with them. The looked after children's nurse says, 'the home is excellent at ensuring that young people receive individualised support to ensure that all of their health needs are fully addressed.’ Therefore, young people have an understanding of key health risks and risk taking behaviours such as smoking, drug and alcohol use and sexual health risks are decreasing. Furthermore, young people clearly enjoy planning and cooking their meals and they eat healthily.

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Outcomes for children and young people

They also benefit from taking part in a number of activities that promote exercise. Young people enjoy good health because they receive both routine and specialised healthcare support.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have opportunities to experience a range of activities within the community. They express their preferred hobbies and interests, which are responded to positively by staff. This ensures young people take part in things that interest them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

This home has an excellent track record of ensuring that young people, who have not engaged in education before being placed, receive some form of education. This may be in an alternative provision or college or through being privately tutored. Their educational needs are assessed on admission and the home works in partnership with the young people and education authorities to identify the optimum provision for them. Staff have worked in a determined manner to ensure that appropriate placements are sourced quickly and contact between the home and educational provisions is frequent and effective. As a result, young people's education is disrupted as little as possible. This helps to ensure that, with support, they can continue to attend and achieve.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff support young people to understand their background and they help them to increase their emotional resilience through effective one-to-one work. They also make sure that young people keep memorabilia in order to continue their knowledge of their history in care.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s contact arrangements with their parents and significant others, where appropriate, are promoted and supported. This is sensitively managed and in line with young people’s individual placement plans. Young people say that staff help them to keep in touch with family members and comment that this is very important to them. This contact helps young people to maintain their sense of identity and belonging.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive individualised care and support which helps them grow in confidence. Young people are involved in the daily running of the home, cooking, shopping, cleaning, menu and activity planning. They participate in young people's meetings, staff meetings and give written feedback on new members of staff. These practices enable young people to have control over their own daily lives and contribute to the development of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff encourage young people to learn life skills at an early stage in order to prepare for future independence. Young people help with household tasks such as cooking, washing and keeping their own rooms clean and tidy. In addition, they help to choose the decorations around the home and they help staff to decorate their own rooms.

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Quality of care

Young people thrive in a nurturing environment. Relationships between young people and staff in the home are very good. Young people say they get on well with all of the staff and feel that staff help them. Staff have an excellent understanding of the needs of young people. They spend a lot of time individually with young people and clearly enjoy working with them and doing things together. For example, staff regularly take young people out for walks, support them in their chosen hobbies and offer a wide range of activities.

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Quality of care

Individual placement plans are developed in the home to show how young people's needs are to be met and to ensure consistency of care. Young people contribute to their placement plan and say they are fully involved in all aspects of their care. These plans are up-to-date and are a good working tool which staff implement daily. Young people are supported to attend all reviews and to make their views known; this ensures that they are involved in and influence any decisions that are made about their future.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to express their views and to take responsibility for their behaviour. They are consulted about every aspect of their care and life in the home. They say that staff listen to them and they know that their views matter. As a result, young people's negative behaviour has reduced and young people say this is because staff care about them. Young people benefit from very positive and constructive relationships with staff. Young people behave appropriately and the use of sanctions is low. Young people are encouraged, through regular discussion, to make positive choices and manage their own behaviour. As a consequence, young people respond positively through the trusting relationships that exist; young people commented that this is at the centre of their improving behaviour. This also reflects how settled the young people are in their placement.

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Quality of care

Staff at this home believe that education is important for young people. They have built up several links within the community, so that they have a range of opportunities for young people to access. They contact these agencies quickly when young people are not receiving education and therefore, young people are not out of education for long periods. Staff are proactive and consistent in supporting the educational achievement of young people. They engage with educational provisions successfully and retain all documents, reports and certificates for young people. Staff encourage and support young people to make the best of educational opportunities to maximise their individual potential. They work closely with schools to ensure this. For example, they attend all meetings; take young people to and from school and support out of school activities.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a healthy environment where their physical, emotional and psychological health is promoted and where they are able to access the services to meet their health needs. If necessary, there is access to health agencies and specialised services. Young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their health and lifestyle choices; this leads to a positive impact on young people as they understand the risks the choices that they make involve. Effective policies and procedures concerning the storage, handling, administration and disposal of medication safeguard young people's welfare. All staff have received up-to-date safe medication and first aid training. As a result, young people receive their medication in line with their prescription.

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Quality of care

Young people are informed about how to make a complaint on their admission to the home; details about how to complain are in the young people’s guide and on a notice board. Details of independent advocates, including Children’s Rights and Ofsted's telephone numbers are provided to them. No complaints have been recorded since the home's last inspection. Young people have not needed to make a complaint about their care but are aware of the procedure if they needed to do so. They also demonstrated that they knew several other independent agencies that could assist them if they felt that they needed to speak to someone not connected with the home. This ensures that young people have the opportunity to discuss any elements of their care, if they are unhappy, with someone of their own choosing.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported to pursue their own individual hobbies. They benefit from a range of activities that include individual interests such as shopping, going for walks, cinema trips and accessing local community events with friends. This enables young people to build confidence in their skills and develops their sense of identity.

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Quality of care

The home is suitably located in a residential area where there are good public transport links and access to local facilities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are kept safe and say they are safe at this home. When young people place themselves at risk of significant harm, staff work closely with external agencies to recognise and devise strategies. This ensures young people are protected and assisted to understand why strategies are in place. The Local Area Designated Officer (LADO) says that this home is excellent in sharing concerns, reporting responsibilities and initiating strategy meeting to keep young people safe. Staff are trained in safeguarding procedures. They know how to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and they understand how to manage and report any concerns they identify in order to keep young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a clear policy in respect of whistle blowing and allegations of suspicions of harm; this is clearly understood by staff in the home. This ensures that any allegations are handled fairly, quickly, and consistently in a way that provides effective protection for young people, the person making the allegation, and at the same time supports the person who is the subject of the allegation. Safeguarding young people is at the forefront of practice in the home to ensure that young people's welfare is appropriately safeguarded.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Individual risk assessments address all aspects of young people's care and behaviour. Risk assessments clearly identify how staff will support young people to protect them and keep the home safe. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly to ensure that they continue to be appropriate to the needs of young people. Young people are supported to take risks as a normal part of growing up.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff work well with young people and supervise them appropriately to reduce the risk of them going missing. Staff are clear about the procedure they need to follow should this occur. They work closely with the police and other agencies, to ensure that young people are protected, as far as is possible, if they are away from the home and to promote their safe return. The missing from home co-ordinator says 'this home is excellent in their reporting responsibilities and are always concerned about the welfare of young people. They are proactive in raising safeguarding concerns and initiating strategy meetings. They are very knowledgeable about young people in their care.’ Records show that some young people return to the home after their agreed coming-in time and there are records of contact made with young people. This ensures staff know where young people are within the local vicinity and young people feel safe when they are away from the home. There are clear protocols

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Safeguarding children and young people

in place with the police to follow and to support the safe return of young people. As a consequence young people who have a history of being missing from home, before being placed at this home, have significantly reduced these incidents and they now rarely go missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people generally behave well. They say that they get on well with staff. It was evident from this inspection that relationships between young people and staff are very good. Care staff are trained in methods of care and control and they respond positively to challenging behaviour. Restraint is only ever used as a last resort which is reflected in the fact that there has been no physical intervention since the last inspection. Sanctions are very minimal and young people feel that, when they are given, they are fair. The staff pride themselves on the turnaround of young people's negative behaviours and say this is due to rewarding good behaviour, talking with young people and explaining choices, actions and consequences with them.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a robust recruitment and selection procedure which ensures that all staff are vetted before they begin their employment. Visitors are checked before being allowed into the home. These arrangements protect young people as they prevent unauthorised individuals gaining access to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has established systems and structures in place to maintain safe practices and fulfil health and safety obligations. Fire safety and health and safety checks are regularly carried out and young people confirm they know how to respond in an emergency or during a fire drill. No hazards were identified during the course of the inspection and all associated checks are undertaken on a regular basis. Therefore, young people live in a home that provides physical safety and security.

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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 Registered Manager is an experienced and well respected professional who provides effective and competent leadership. Young people have a close and positive relationship with the home’s manager who knows them well. The manager is enthusiastic and has identified areas of development within the home, is building upon the strengths within the staff team and is working towards implementing improvements in all areas. The manager is also responsible for another two homes within this organisation.

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Leadership and management

Through consultation with other professionals the home has had some excellent feedback on their service. One professional said they were, 'impressed by the high quality service provision….I believe your service is one of the best I have visited.’ They went on to say, 'Your support workers and manager are polite, helpful, and respectful and knew the service user very well and were generally concerned about her future. … The team are professional, efficient and reliable.’ Another professional said about the work carried out with a young person who has left the home, 'I appreciate your staff team’s commitment towards the young person as they no longer have a duty however, they clearly demonstrate their commitment….The young person benefits greatly from this befriending service. This shows an all round picture of staffs professionalism and the care and commitment given to young people.’

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Leadership and management

Care staff are competent and have a good understanding of their responsibilities. All staff are qualified and continue to develop their knowledge through training opportunities. Staff are supervised regularly which means that they are supported in their work with young people and also that their work is monitored. They say that communication within the team is very good. This promotes consistency of care for young people.

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Leadership and management

The service has a clear Statement of Purpose that accurately sets out how the home works and how young people are cared for. It clearly reflects the ethos and values of the home and staff team. The aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose are fully met with staff providing a stable, cohesive and structured environment for young people to grow and develop. The young person's guide gives young people good written information about the home, how they will be looked after and about their rights while in care.

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Leadership and management

The manager is clear about the strengths and weaknesses of the home and produces a written development plan which identifies areas for improvements. There are sufficient funds available to ensure the continuing daily operation of the home. There have been no complaints made since the previous inspection.

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Leadership and management

Visits to young people by their placing authority are regular, as are statutory reviews during which young people actively engage and contribute. This ensures they can influence decisions in relation to their current and future lives.

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Leadership and management

Young people’s records are detailed and well structured; they are held securely and confidentially. Records cover all matters required by regulation. Staff are well aware of the requirement to report significant events to the appropriate authorities and the processes to follow; this further protects young people.

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Leadership and management

The three recommendations that were made at the last inspection have all been acted on. The registered person has a system in place to notify within 24-hours the persons and appropriate authorities of any significant event. The accident book now has all details of any accident that occurs and the home now has documents in place for consulting with others and gaining feedback.

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Leadership and management

There are various systems in place to monitor the care given and the operation of the home and young people's views are sought as part of these visits. However, Regulation 33 visits have not taken place regularly. This does not ensure that there are good effective systems in place to monitor the quality of care.

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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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