Children's Home run by New Foundations Care Homes Limited in St Helens

Unique reference number SC406636 Inspection date 26/11/2012 Inspector Maria McGranaghan Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 04/01/2012 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 offers accommodation for up to six young people with emotional and/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 adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people live in a caring and supportive environment that enables them to make adequate progress. Young people are safe and feel protected from significant harm. They are positive about the care they receive and the relationships they have formed with staff. Young people are happy in a home that provides a nurturing, happy and safe foundation.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from planned and personalised care. Placement plans are in place and overall, provide a satisfactory analysis of young people’s care needs. Staff work together with external services and this assists young people to receive the right help, guidance and support in order to reach their full potential.

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Overall effectiveness

Relationships are formed between young people and staff and this demonstrates a growing mutual respect. Suitable staff ratios ensure that young people are afforded the care and attention they need in order to feel safe and secure in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is managed by an acting manager who places an emphasis on developing good child care practice. Monitoring systems are in place to ensure that care is reviewed regularly. Where safety is a concern appropriate measures are taken to minimise risk.

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Overall effectiveness

Despite these strengths there are weaknesses. Placement plans identify achievable targets and goals for young people. However, the quality of records held in relation to keywork sessions does not reflect the level of engagement with young people or how the sessions relate to the individual plan. Likewise, placement plans do not suitably address young people’s individual identity in order to respond effectively to their care needs. Records of restraint are in place and highlight a significant reduction. However, records do not include a section for young people to comment about their experiences or a reference to additional information held regarding each incident. Likewise, issues such as bullying and matters relating to child protection, are not recorded in a suitable log and there is no system to engage young people in reviewing, commenting and signing on the outcomes of these matters. Although young people have up-to-date behaviour management plans to support how their

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Overall effectiveness

behaviour is managed, these are not consistently implemented. Similarly, records of young people’s complaints are held and outcomes recorded. However, information pertaining to the individual investigation is not suitably stored. Furthermore, although Regulation 34 monitoring takes place, it fails to suitably identify shortfalls in practice specifically regarding young people’s involvement in the planning for their care and the quality of some records.

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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 a system is established and maintained monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 and improving the quality of care provided in the children's home. (Regulation 34) 31/12/2012

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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 receive personalised care that promotes all aspects of their individual identity and are treated as an individual (NMS 2.1)  ensure each young person’s placement plan is monitored by a keyworker within the home who ensures that the requirements of the plan are implemented in the day-to-day care of the young person, specifically in relation to planned keywork sessions (NMS 25.2)  ensure where sanctions, disciplinary measures or restraint are used, young people are encouraged to have their views recorded in the records kept in the home (NMS 3.18).  ensure that young people’s emotional and behavioural needs are met in accordance to their plan (NMS 3.7)  ensure young people do not identify bullying as a problem at the home (NMS 3.11)  ensure information about young people is kept confidential, specifically ensure the suitable storage of complaint investigations and their outcomes (NMS 22.3)

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Recommendations

 ensure a proportionate approach is taken to any risk assessment and that young people, where appropriate, are included in its development. (NMS 4.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make adequate progress in their education and in developing their emotional resilience. They develop trust in staff and professionals who offer additional support outside of the home. The multi-agency approach assists young people to understand their personal circumstances in order to make positive changes in their lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are consulted about the running of the home. One young person said, ‘staff talk to us all the time and they listen, we get to choose the colours for the home and what should go on the menu, I really like it here.’ Young people take part in regular meetings that enable them to have their say about their experiences in the home. Similarly, an independent advocate is a frequent visitor to the home and this enables young people to have the opportunity to discuss matters independently from the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff support the educational achievement of young people and work hard to secure school attendance and attainment. As a result, school attendance has significantly increased. Young people enjoy good health and are registered with medical practitioners. Health care plans are in place and include young people’s comments about the services available to them. Plans suitably address individual health care needs.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Planned and unplanned activities take place with young people enjoying swimming, skateboarding, BMX circuit training, boxing and fashion and design. Young people fully engage in activities and this has enabled them to make friends in the community. Consequently, young people have developed a sense a belonging in the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from planned and supported contact with family and friends. Staff maintain close links with families and involve them, where appropriate, in the overall planning of the young people’s care. Detailed contact arrangements ensure that contact only takes place with people identified in contact plans; these are reviewed on a regular basis.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff encourage young people to develop independence skills in accordance with their age while not deterring from the nurturing and caring environment. Tasks such as cooking, menu planning and shopping assist young people to develop essential skills including how to manage their own finances.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a supportive environment. Staff display clear warmth for young people and this is evident in the ambitions they hold for them. Young people are genuinely happy and confident in the company of staff and enjoy appropriate banter in a relaxed atmosphere.

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Quality of care

Young people’s positive behaviour and smallest achievement is celebrated within the home. Praise and rewards are a consistent feature and assist young people to develop an understanding of what is acceptable behaviour and provide them with a useful tool for addressing some negative behaviour.

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Quality of care

Individual behaviour management plans are in place and identify triggers for negative behaviour and strategies for positive behaviour management. However, young people are not involved in the development and review of their plan in order that they begin to identify and manage their own behaviours. Likewise, strategies for managing specific behaviour as detailed within the plan are not consistently implemented. As a result, young people’s behaviour is not consistently managed within the home.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to complain. Information is available in the young people’s guide and the notice board includes contact numbers for external agencies. Likewise young people benefit from regular contact with an independent advocate. This, coupled with the positive relationships between staff and young people, ensures that their views are valued and that they feel confident to raise matters. However, information pertaining to how complaints are investigated is not suitably stored. Consequently, young people’s confidentiality is at risk of being compromised. Comparatively, complaints from external sources are suitably documented and there is good evidence of the home taking appropriate action to address matters. As a result, relationships with neighbours have developed considerably.

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Quality of care

Local authority placement plans are in place and include the appropriate information in order to plan for the care of young people. Residential plans are developed and are regularly reviewed. Young people engage with staff and are encouraged to review their plan and include their personal comments. Likewise regular keyworker sessions take place and provide a supportive forum for young people. However, the quality of records does not clearly capture the work being undertaken with young people in respect of their individual placement plan. As a result, young people are not clear about the goals and targets they are working towards. Similarly, plans do not incorporate young people’s individual identity which is central to ensuring care practice inspires pride in their identity and heritage.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from a staff team who work hard to promote education by developing good relationships with young people and partner agencies. Up-to-date personal education plans assist young people to make consistent progress particularly in their attendance and attainment at school. A social worker said ‘he has really settled down and is doing really well. School was a big issue, but he is now enjoying it and has made new friends.’ The home demonstrates a commitment to ensuring all young people receive the right educational resources in order to improve their future life chances.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a homely environment which blends into the residential area. They are encouraged to choose the décor of their bedroom and personalise it to reflect their personality and interests. As a result young people have developed a sense of ownership of the home and say that it feels like their home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a home where their safety and well-being is protected. Co- ordinated missing from home plans are in place and serve to highlight the risk factors for young people. Likewise, staff work proactively with external agencies to ensure a consistent approach is taken should a young person be missing from home. The acting manager provides returning young people with individual consultation. This process enables young people to begin to understand the choices they make that result in risk taking behaviour. As a result there is a distinct reduction in young people being missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff undertake child protection training in order that they are able to respond to suspicions or allegations of abuse. Risk assessments encapsulate individual risk factors for young people and strategies are in place to reduce potential risk. However, young people are not involved in the development and review of their individual risk assessment. Consequently, young people are not offered the opportunity to evaluate the current strategies in place to manage risk or the effectiveness of these. Similarly, the home does not have a suitable log to record all matters of concern. As a result, there is a lack of clarity on how these matters are effectively monitored.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive training to ensure young people are provided with the right information and guidance to protect them from incidents of bullying. However, some young people have been subject to bullying in the home. Strategies are in place to address this behaviour and reports provide evidence of these being implemented together with good partnership working. However, there is no formal log to record incidents of bullying taking place. Furthermore, there is no system in place to record and review the outcome with young people or for them to comment. Consequently, the current system is deficient and fails to fully address the impact of bullying or how bullying issues are effectively monitored.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive appropriate training in order to safety manage physical intervention within the home. Staff are clear that physical intervention is only used to prevent a young person harming themselves or others and as a result its use is minimal. Where physical intervention has been applied, clear records detail the action taken, the length of time and the debrief offered to young people. A staff member said, ‘We don’t use full restraint, we usually guide young people away in a calm and relaxed way and this helps to calm them down.’ Young people are supported to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others through management consultation. However, a system to enable young people to record their own views and comments is not in place. As a result, young people’s feelings about the restraint do not inform practice, serving to compromise the safe management of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff promote young people’s on-going 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.

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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 before working in the home. Visitors are appropriately vetted and this helps to make sure that young people are protected while in their home. The staff team remains stable which provides consistency for all young people living in the home. There are no volunteers working in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The home is adequately managed by an acting manager. The aims of the Statement of Purpose are met. The acting manager and deputy manager work closely with young people to monitor their overall welfare and develop consistent safe practice within the home. There is a clear development plan in place in order to secure future improvements. This highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

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Leadership and management

Internal and external monitoring systems are in place and highlight areas of progression and some areas for future development. However, Regulation 34 monitoring does not suitably identify deficient records or the lack of young people’s involvement in the planning and review of their care.

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Leadership and management

The home has made good progress in addressing the previous recommendation made at the last inspection. Specifically, Regulation 34 summaries are completed and forwarded to Ofsted for review, and information about neighbours’ complaints is now suitably stored.

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Leadership and management

The home employs a strong committed staff team who are suitably qualified. Staff receive appropriate support from the acting manager. Supervision takes place regularly and serves to identify training needs and personal development targets. Staff receive good quality training and this ensures that young people are looked after by the most suitable staff.

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Leadership and management

The acting manager and staff demonstrate commitment to delivering adequate child care practice tailored to the individual and personal needs of the young people they look after. The effectiveness of this approach is measurable in the progress young people have made such as in their education and social integration.

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Leadership and management

The acting manager is aware of the procedure for notifying Ofsted of incidents under Regulation 30, Schedule 5 and has been consistent in the reporting of all incidents occurring in the home. This practice ensures that information is shared with the regulatory authority in order that the actions and outcomes for young people can be suitably assessed.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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