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

Unique reference number SC406636 Inspection date 12/03/2014 Inspector Maria McGranaghan Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 19/04/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making inadequate progress .

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Progress

The purpose of this visit is to assess the progress made since the last inspection and how any progress has improved the quality of care and potential outcomes for young people.

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Progress

At the last inspection on 19 April 2013 the home was judged as good. The Registered Manager was asked to take account of one requirement and four recommendations made to improve the quality of care provided in the home.

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Progress

While the home has made progress in addressing the matters from the last inspection, the home is judged as making inadequate progress.

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Progress

The home is now operating with a new manager who was registered by Ofsted on 9 September 2013.

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Progress

Records of room search are improved. Records now contain a summary of any items removed and where they are stored in the home. Consequently, young people’s belongings are kept safe in the home and this avoids any items being misplaced or lost.

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Progress

The home has been redecorated throughout following a redesign of the floor plans. As a result, young people have additional private space for homework, contact with families and to play video games. The home presented as clean, bright and modern with lots of decorative transfers including verses and poems which are displayed around the home. Consequently, young people live in a spacious and well-presented home.

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Progress

Records of supervision are available in the home and are now reviewed by both the manager and the supervisee. Staff confirm that supervision takes place at regular intervals and state, ‘We feel very supported by the manager. We are always working together to make things better.’

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Progress

All staff have now undertaken cross-contamination medication training. Staff say, ‘The training we now receive is really good. We are all up-to-date and feel valued as a team.’ As a result, young people’s general health is suitably protected by staff that have a better understanding of cross-contamination.

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Progress

Despite this progress there are a number of concerns arising from this inspection.

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Progress

While most young people have educational placements there are some residents who do not. Disputes between educational providers and local authorities’ result in young people’s access to education being significantly delayed. Likewise, daily plans for young people not in receipt of education, do not offer suitable structure to support good routines, in preparation for an education. Consequently, some young people do not receive educational opportunities and experiences that serve to enrich and enhance their future life chances.

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Progress

Some young people do not benefit from planned and personalised care. Essential information such as local authority care plans refer to previous placements and do not serve to highlight the care arrangements for the current placement. Likewise, residential care plans, behaviour management plans, health care plans and keywork sessions are not sufficiently developed in the home. Staff say, "The home has experienced a period of disruption, we have been crisis managing for a while and paper work has not been kept up-to-date.’ Consequently, there are no definitive strategies in place to assess young people’s needs or how they are to be met. As a result, young people do not benefit from appropriately planned care in order to meet their individual needs.

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Progress

Risk assessments are in place for most young people and serve to identify risk taking behaviours that require additional monitoring. However, risk management is not consistent for all young people. For example, referral information is not consistently used to inform risk management. Likewise, staff are unclear about the level of risk some young people present. Consequently, young people with a significant history of risk taking behaviours do not have a suitable assessment of risk in place. As a direct result, young people’s safety if compromised by a lack of understanding, planning and suitable strategy in order to address, monitor and reduce risk taking behaviours. Behaviour management strategies used in the home are inconsistent. For example, financial penalties are used to address most behaviour exhibited by young people however, this fail's to address the significant issues of anger and frustration

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Progress

prevalent within the home. Likewise, episodes of bullying have increased. Although staff attempt to address this behaviour, some young people continue to feel unsafe in the home. Consequently, young people’s personal safety and emotional wellbeing is compromised by staff who do not have the necessary skills and experience to suitably address and manage bullying and intimidating behaviours in the home.

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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 the children's home is conducted so far as to promote and make proper provision for the safeguarding and welfare of children accommodated there with particular regard to the assessment, planning and management of new placements to the home (Regulation 11 (1) (a)) * 17/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the educational achievement of young people is promoted, in particular by ensuring that young people have access to and make use of educational facilities appropriate to their age, aptitude, needs, interests and potential (Regulation 18 (1) (b)) 11/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the children's home is conducted so far as to promote and make proper provision for the safeguarding and welfare of children accommodated there with particular regard to minimising the risk of young people being bullied in the home (Regulation 11 (1) (a)) 11/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure the behaviour management policy is kept under review and revised in accordance with the needs of the young people accommodated in the home (17B) (2) (a)) 11/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure staff receive appropriate training in order to effectively manage and reduce incidents of bullying in the home (Regulation 27 (4) (a)) 11/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the children's home is conducted so far as to promote and make proper provision for the safeguarding and welfare of children accommodated there with particular regard to the prompt completion of risk assessments for new placements (NMS 11 (a)) 11/04/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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