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

Unique reference number SC042652 Inspection date 17/09/2013 Inspector Graham Robinson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 05/11/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide residential accommodation for up to three looked after young people with 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. They benefit from receiving an outstanding quality of care, underpinned with outstanding leadership and management. This allows young people with troubled histories to settle and progress socially, emotionally and educationally.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from the clear and consistent boundaries put into place, supported by the high quality of care they receive. Their individual needs are identified in a range of high quality planning documents that identify need, assess risk and lay out clear plans and strategies for the future. This allows young people to move forward and lead a more socially acceptable lifestyle to that experienced previously.

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Overall effectiveness

A stable, experienced staff group work collectively to provide young people with a continuity of care. The strong relationships forged between young people and staff allows for difficult and challenging periods to be managed effectively and supportively, in a non-punitive way. This reduces the number of serious management incidents experienced in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has forged strong links with a range of external services charged with keeping young people safe and healthy. The staff team demonstrates a good understanding of, and have the ability to initiate, safe working practices. As a result, young people live in an environment that keeps them safe and promotes their welfare positively. The home is managed by an experienced, dedicated and child-focused manager who has a strong commitment to continued development and is willing to take on new ideas to move the home forward to improve outcomes for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The report does not contain any requirements or formal recommendations for future development. The manager has identified a number of areas for improvement. For example, work is on-going to improve the quality of evaluation for both the external and internal monitoring of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The outcomes for the young people currently living at the home are good. Staff have the ability to develop and maintain meaningful relationships with young people, which helps and supports them to buy-in to a more settled lifestyle than previously experienced. As a result, young people prosper socially, emotionally and educationally.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people recognise and appreciate the high level of support received by staff which helps them to progress, experience achievement and prepare for the future. For example, one young person said: ‘I am preparing to leave Silverdale and I have an idea of what life would be like if I had my own property.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's health needs are well met and promoted positively. Their day-to-day health needs are met effectively by community-based health services. The home maintains strong links with more specialist services, gaining access to them when required. Underpinning health needs are individualised in separate health plans which are current and up-to-date.

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Outcomes for children and young people

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. For example, one young person regularly cooks meals for staff and young people which reflect her cultural background and heritage. Festivals and religious events are celebrated.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to modify certain aspects of their lifestyle with a view to them adopting one that is more conducive for their health. This is with particular reference to smoking cessation, drug and alcohol awareness. This has met with some success with no incidents linked to drug or alcohol taking place since the previous inspection. Local services for these and other health issues are readily available and accessed regularly.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The arrangements to meet statutory and further educational needs are good, with suitable arrangements in place for all young people. The ethos and working practices of the home are geared towards young people engaging positively with their education. This has met with some success regarding attendance and recent educational achievement. For example, two young people with long histories of non- school compliance prior to admission recently completed a series of GCSE exams. Both have identified college places to go to.

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Outcomes for children and young people

No issues or concerns have been raised by young people regarding the arrangements around meeting family members. Contact arrangements can be complex, but staff work flexibly to support and maintain the arrangements in place. Young people confirm they have access to telephones and that the home facilitates and supports visits from appropriate family members and friends. Indeed, one young person was able to describe the improved levels of contact being enjoyed since the previous inspection. As a result, contact arrangements are being well met.

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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, in April 2013, staff and young people donated and planted shrubs at the local railway station. This and other events have enhanced young people's self-worth and self-esteem, as well as allowing them to become more accepted in the local community.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The arrangements for preparing young people for transition and developing skills to promote a more independent lifestyle are good. Staff promote young people's independence and they are encouraged to take acceptable risks and responsibility. Pathway plans, supplemented with the homes own plans for independence, promote and develop young people's skills and competences as they approach adulthood. This results in them gaining greater self-confidence, esteem and resilience, which allows them to look towards their own future with greater positivity.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from receiving an outstanding quality of care. This view is supported by young people, their family members and professionals who deal with the home on a regular basis. For example, the social worker for one young person says: `The placement is effective in meeting the young person's needs.' Another social worker says of the home that it is,`Very homely and provides a calm, nurturing environment.' The parent of one young person says about the placement that they are: `Really happy. My child has turned round and they are a much better person.'

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Quality of care

The home creates a trusting and nurturing environment where young people are supported, even through times of challenge, difficulty and stress. Developing and maintaining meaningful, relationships with young people is the underpinning factor in the home’s current success. These relationships, coupled with the high aspirations staff have for young people, are used positively to reduce tension, unrest and develop trust. This contributes significantly to reducing the number of serious behaviour management incidents that occur in the home, allowing young people to lead a meaningful and positive lifestyle. Young people have access to information which promotes their rights and highlights how the complaints procedures can be accessed if necessary. Young people confirm they understand how to make a complaint and are confident to do so.

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Quality of care

Consultation and on-going communication are a feature of daily life in the home. Young people confirm they are consulted regularly and feel they can influence certain aspects of the home’s daily functioning, such as the choice of food, weekly activities and future leisure breaks. Recently young people individually got together with the manager to devise their own consequences policy. This sets out agreed consequences should they be needed. This is an outstanding example of the levels of on-going consultation and the input young people have into daily life in the home, giving young people a sense of responsibility and feeling of worth.

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Quality of care

Staff and young people actively enjoy each other's company, with both parties speaking well of each other. Young people are the focus of the homes daily routines, which runs for the benefit of them, not staff. This practice contributes significantly to the high quality of care provided being provided.

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Quality of care

The range of documents linked to planning and assessments of risk overlap effectively. When read collectively, they give an excellent insight into the needs a young person has, along with the plans and strategies in place to address those needs. High quality, individualised plans include a young person’s identity, religious and cultural requirements. They are reviewed and updated regularly to keep them current. Young people confirm they are involved in their planning, which gives them a clear sense of direction and input regarding their own progress and future.

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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, with young people engaging in a range of shared activities with staff, as well as pursuing individual interests of their own. For example, one young person attends a street dance club while another enjoys creating ceramics. Many activities are community based, giving young people opportunities to form friendships with others. This helps them to become more integrated and accepted locally.

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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

All young people confirm they feel safe living at the home. Staff work proactively to keep them safe, working cohesively and cooperatively with the external agencies charged with keeping young people safe. Relationships between those agencies and the home remain strong, with positive reports received regarding the levels of communication.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff receive safeguarding training which forms part of the on-going core staff training programme, giving them a good understanding of their responsibilities and duties in protecting and promoting young people's welfare. As a result, young people's welfare is promoted positively in an environment where staff work hard to keep them safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Bullying is not an area for concern to young people who say it is not a concern within the home. They demonstrate confidence in staff, recognising they would be quick to intervene should an incident occur. Staff are sensitive to a young person's ability to bully or be bullied, giving young people a feeling of security and general safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are quick to respond should a young person go missing and work pro-actively to retrieve them. This includes following locally-agreed multi-agency protocols. Very good links exist between the home and the local police missing person/child sexual exploitation coordinator. Multi-agency strategy meetings are triggered should a young person be missing for a set number of occasions.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are supported to work positively through difficulties, with reward systems for good behaviour taking precedence over sanctions. Staff work positively rather than punitively when dealing with behaviour management incidents. The strong relationships developed with young people are used effectively to diffuse difficult and potentially challenging situations. Staff are clear that physical intervention is used only as a last resort, with any incidents that take place being closely monitored to ensure young people’s individual strategies are kept under review and adapted as required. As a result, serious behaviour management incidents are well managed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The management and staff group of the home are stable, with no changes made since January 2013. Young people are being cared for by an experienced and committed staff team who provide them with continuity. Appropriate recruitment policies and practice ensure that any new staff are suitably cleared prior to taking up their posts, with all longer-serving staff being re-checked at regular intervals. This ensures that 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 in an emergency. 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 remains outstanding. An energetic, fully committed, child focused manager enjoys the full support of a staff team who understand their role and responsibilities. There is a commitment to ensuring the ethos, aims and working practices developed by the home remain intact. The manager demonstrates an openness and willingness to review and adapt practice if required.

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Leadership and management

The formal supervision and appraisal of staff takes place consistently and staff acknowledge the high level of support they receive. There is a commitment to professional development, underpinned by a rolling, core staff training programme. Staff regularly attend training sessions which introduces them to new learning as well as revising set knowledge and skill bases. Recently recruited staff follow an appropriate induction programme and all staff have either gained, or are about to gain, an appropriate professional qualification. This ensures staff develop and maintain skills that allow them to meet the diverse needs of the young people in their care.

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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. While some progress has been made since the previous inspection, work continues to improve the evaluative content of monitoring reports. Social workers confirm they receive weekly updates about young people, which were seen to link effectively into the on-going internal monitoring systems in place.

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Leadership and management

The home has a very good record of compliance, with the one requirement and two recommendations made at the previous inspection being addressed. They were linked to the external and internal monitoring of the home, which continues to be an area designated by the manager for continued improvement.

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Leadership and management

The manager is keen to move the home forward and works pro-actively to do so. Since the previous inspection, a number of new initiatives have been introduced. Some examples include the creation and introduction of family contact plans, arranging for extra tuition for young people taking GCSE exams, agreeing monthly objectives with young people and arranging in-house internet access to assist young people with their studies.

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Leadership and management

Young people are looked after by a staff team who collectively work to improve outcomes for young people. There is an energy and balance to the home that allows young people to settle, explore issues and make mistakes from which to learn. They are encouraged towards living an more independent lifestyle, leading them to adopt a more socially acceptable view of life, which is 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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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