Children's Home run by St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in St Helens

Unique reference number SC063550 Inspection date 09/08/2012 Inspector Sonya Robinson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 23/01/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. The accommodation is for up to six young people who have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

p.3

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

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be adequate .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The operation of this home is managed adequately by this newly Registered Manager. Staff practice delivers a good standard of care and young people achieve and develop their potential with good outcomes. All plans and programmes are implemented very well. Young people make steady progress in relation to their starting points, both socially and educationally. Relationships between staff and the young people are really positive and there is good cooperation by young people, who generally say they feel safe living at this home.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Young people's efforts are rewarded and clear incentives are helping to change behaviours. There is a strong emphasis on gaining important life skills and young people are clear on the arrangements that are in place for them. The promotion of young people's education, health and well-being and the management of contact is well organised. Recreational interests and hobbies are also very well supported.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The home's supportive environment is underpinned by clear boundaries where young people's views are consistently gathered to influence the home's operation and future direction. Many successful outcomes are being celebrated.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Young people are cared for by an experienced and motivated staff team. The Registered Manager clearly understands the home's strengths and areas for future improvement; however, documents regarding, behaviour management, missing from care, staff files, the Statement of Purpose and young people's guide require improvement. Staff training has also been highlighted along with young people's access to appropriate telephone helplines, such as childline would offer further safeguards to young people.

p.3

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.

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, discipline or restraint, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose, which shall include the information listed under this Regulation (Regulation 17B,(3)) 30/09/2012

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure all staff records contain all of the information required under the Regulations (Regulation 26, Schedule 2 (1)) 30/09/2012

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) update and revise the Statement of Purpose and the children’s guide (Regulation 5) 30/09/2012

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all staff receive appropriate training, appropriate to the work they perform. (Regulation 27(4)(a) (b)) 30/09/2012

p.4

Recommendations

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

p.4

Recommendations

 ensure that children have access to independent advice and support from adults they can contact directly and in private about problems or concerns, such as child telephone helplines (NMS 1.5)  ensure that records are kept when a child goes missing detailing action taken by staff and the circumstances of the child's return such as, if the child appears well rested or hungry or tired and unkempt. (NMS 5.10)

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are making good progress in their education, emotional resilience and their trust in the staff who work at the home. They receive support through external services such as psychologists and counsellors when required. This enables them to make sense of their lives and begin to understand their individual circumstances. Regular individual key worker sessions enable young people and their key worker to come together and review their care needs. In addition, staff have weekly meetings in order to effectively support the work undertaken with young people. Young people are supported to develop skills in areas of personal hygiene, budgeting, emotional health and personal requisites. Young people enjoy planning the menu and are skilled in their understanding of healthy food and lifestyle. The staff ensure that each young person is encouraged to undertake appropriate leisure activities including going to the gym, running, playing football, and they enjoy walks

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

on the beach promoting healthy and active lifestyles. Young people benefit from effective and consistent health care. The health care plan provides detailed information and includes a summary of doctors, dentists and other appointments attended by the young people. Young people have access to good health information including smoking cessation, drug awareness and puberty-related issues. This supports young people’s day-to-day learning within the home and addresses age- appropriate development in a positive way.

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are making good progress with their education. The support to young people within the home is really positive, for example, additional individual work when needed. This provides young people with further opportunities to engage, which they do enthusiastically, for example commencing apprenticeships which they take pride in. They comment very positively about education and their achievements.

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are making good progress with regard to their starting points in developing a positive and realistic view of themselves and in working to address their specific needs. Independent Reviewing Officers have commented that staff have supported the young people 'well through school and they work really well with school'. Young people have stated that they 'get on well with all the staff and would score the home 9.5 out of 10, (when asked why a 9.5, the reply was) they get you up in the morning and I don't always want to get up'.

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are in regular contact with family members and significant others which enables them to retain positive relationships with them. Young people say that this is very important to them and as a consequence helps their self-esteem.

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are well supported to become more independent and to learn new skills. Young people routinely carry out tasks such as laundry, assisting with cooking, preparing and clearing away meals appropriate to their age and level of understanding. This has further progressed to older young people making meals for themselves on a regular basis two to three times a week. The strong emphasis on community participation and presence helps young people develop skills that will help them in the future to keep themselves and others safe. Young people who have moved on to adult life have sustained engagement in education.

p.5

Quality of care

Young people receive good quality care that is making a positive difference to their lives. They are living in a stable, caring and supportive environment. Staff provide them with consistency; as a result, young people feel settled and have a sense of belonging. Social workers said, 'can't fault the home for the work they have done with families, the home always follows procedures ,always emails with weekly updates and this is very useful, my young person seems to have very good relationship with all the staff and is able to express herself'.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff place the well-being of individual young people at the centre of their practice. They have a very good knowledge of the young people they work with, ensuring that young people receive individual support and guidance. Staff are interested in young people’s lives. They have consistently high aspirations for young people and are committed to enabling young people to lead happy and fulfilling lives. Young people have positive and trusting relationships with staff, are valued and accepted as individuals. Staff engage with young people appropriately to provide the support and reassurance they need to reduce any anxieties, complaints or worries they may have.

p.6

Quality of care

Young people’s placement plans provide a comprehensive picture of all their personal needs and the support they require. Staff put young people’s plans into practice effectively to ensure young people’s specific needs are met on a day-to-day basis. Care planning and staff’s routine practice recognises young people as individuals with different needs, backgrounds, interests and views. Staff work well in partnership with parents, social workers, health and education professionals to promote young people's welfare.

p.6

Quality of care

Young people live in a healthy environment that actively promotes their physical health and emotional well-being. They are fully supported to develop healthy lifestyles. Staff closely monitor young people to make sure they are healthy, encouraging them to attend routine health checks. Staff effectively plan for any health treatment young people need to reduce young people’s anxieties and prevent them from becoming distressed, for example, enabling young people with a fear of the dentist to have regular check-ups and treatment. The arrangements for dealing with medication are also safe and effective.

p.6

Quality of care

Staff ensure that the daily routine supports young people’s participation in education and school attendance. Young people have easy access to books, computers, games and other educational resources. Staff actively support young people’s learning and development and promote better outcomes; such as providing a tutor to help young people to catch up in mathematics. Young people said that they get all the help they need with their education. Staff have established strong links with schools. They work effectively with teachers to challenge and overcome any barriers to young people’s full participation in education.

p.6

Quality of care

Staff encourage young people to take part in a broad range of activities and follow their individual interests and develop their talents. Young people have every opportunity to fully develop their emotional, intellectual, social, creative and physical skills. Young people said that there is always plenty to do. Staff make every effort to ensure that young people have the same social opportunities as other young people of the same age and have new experiences. This includes going on a summer holiday, days out to the funfair and trips to the theatre.

p.6

Quality of care

Young people live in a suitably designed and comfortable house in a residential neighbourhood. It is close to shops, public transport, schools and community amenities. The house is clean, well maintained, decorated and furnished to a good standard. Young people say that they have everything they need in their bedrooms, which they have personalised to reflect their interests and tastes.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

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

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Most young people say they feel safe living at the home and that they could identify an adult to talk to. There are adequate arrangements in place to safeguard and protect young people. However, young people do not have clear information about children's helplines who they may wish to contact anonymously for support. This would provide additional safeguards for the young people placed. Strong links are in place with local authority social workers and Independent Reviewing Officers who report good levels of communication between themselves and the home. Staff receive safeguarding training that is refreshed and have a good understanding of their duties in promoting young people's welfare. Placement plans, behaviour management plans and risk assessments designed to keep young people safe, provide a sound mechanism for responding to young people's changing needs for safety and protection.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people confirm staff will not allow or tolerate any form of bullying and intervene quickly, they say that they 'get on well together' and that currently there are no issues. This gives young people a feeling of security and well-being in the home.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Strong relationships coupled with agreed working practices with external agencies ensures that staff respond appropriately should a young person go missing. This includes following the agreed multi-agency protocols and practice in place locally. There have been incidents of young people missing since the previous inspection, though for some this has reduced. However, the detail in the missing from care log is not consistently maintained. Such as, the exact efforts undertaken by staff during the period of when the young person is missing and any presenting issues of the young people on their return, for example, being tired or hungry or appears well rested. This would assist in providing a clearer picture of young people's whereabouts. Young people are cared for on their return, rather than automatically sanctioned.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Reward systems take precedence over sanctions and young people are supported to work positively through difficulties. Staff are skilled at diffusing difficult and potentially challenging situations, often with humour when appropriate. Staff 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 are few. However, documentation details regarding behaviour management do not meet what is required under legislation; for example behaviour leading up to the measure is not noted along with the detail of any measures used to avoid that measure. Although this lack of detail has not impacted on the quality of care or outcomes for young people.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people continue to be cared for by an experienced staff team. Appropriate recruitment policies and practice ensure any new staff are suitably cleared prior to taking up their posts. This ensures only suitably checked people have contact with young people. However, not all staff files contain a recent photograph of staff despite all staff being issued with photo identity badges.

p.8

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. This means that young people are adequately safeguarded.

p.8

Leadership and management

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

p.8

Leadership and management

This service is managed by an experienced and qualified Registered Manager who is competent to lead the staff team working at the home. A strong child-focused service is provided that is conducive to young people developing their potential. There is a clear vision on how the home should operate. The Registered Manager is perceptive in identifying the home's strengths and some areas where it could perform better. An accurate business development plan is in place and this will help to support a continually developing service.

p.8

Leadership and management

Records at this home show good clarity in how staff are managed. Induction and foundation training is provided. Detailed training attendance records and certificates are maintained. Staff confirm that supervision is taking place. There is access to National Vocational Qualification training and a high percentage of staff hold relevant qualifications. New staff have accessed the diploma training. Personal development plans are linked to the staff annual appraisals. It is also clear that there is efficient team work and effective communication. Young people's needs are consistently met by a trained and motivated team of staff. However, due to the complex needs of the young people additional training is required such as, training in child sexual exploitation, this will assist staff in the care of the young people placed and for possible future admissions. Young people's spiritual, moral, social and cultural

p.8

Leadership and management

development is being addressed. Rotas demonstrate that staffing levels are maintained and are appropriate so that young people have adequate support for activities and appointments.

p.8

Leadership and management

Internal and external monitoring of the home's operation and practice is coordinated with comprehensive monthly reports being completed. Young people actively contribute to these visits with their comments providing a clear snap shot in time on what it is like to live at the home.

p.8

Leadership and management

The home has a good record in compliance. The home responded positively to the recommendations made at the previous inspection. Improvements were made to the home's Statement of Purpose unfortunately other parts have been omitted and this is also the case with the young person's guide. The records pertaining to behaviour management have also been reviewed and again these do not now meet the regulations in this area due to specific information being omitted, such as information regarding the children's rights department in Ofsted. Child protection training has been undertaken with all staff since the previous inspection and consideration to possible changes to the service is no longer applicable at this time.

p.8

Leadership and management

Staff use guidance to ensure a consistent response to meeting young people's presenting needs and the home is underpinned by clear policies and procedures produced by the local authority. The ethos and working practices of the home clearly meets their identified aims and objectives and this means young people acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures.

p.9

Leadership and management

The home’s written records provide information about individual young people’s needs, development and progress. There are also 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 adequate systems in place to promote the welfare of the young people.

p.9

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.

p.10

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.

p.10