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

Unique reference number SC022442 Inspector Marian Denny Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person PIC Children's Services Limited Registered person address 2 North Street Haydock ST. HELENS Merseyside WA11 0TW Responsible individual Carol Fletcher Registered manager Gemma Ann Dinsmore Date of last inspection 20/12/2013 2 of 10 Inspection date 09/07/2014

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Previous inspection not judged Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people adequate Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

Overall this home provides a good quality of care which is personalised and well- planned and takes into account the individual needs of young people. Staff are experienced and skilled in their work and work hard to promote a positive atmosphere in the home. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home, so enabling her and the staff to strive for improvement.

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Overall effectiveness

The young people in this home have only been accommodated for a short period of time. Consequently, the progress they have made in their lives has been limited. Staff value the views and wishes of the young people and actively consult them about their care and the running of the home. They are also involved in developing and revising their own placement plans. Overall these placement plans are good. Consequently, staff are very clear about the day-to-day care arrangements for the young people. These plans are regularly reviewed to ensure the plans reflect the current needs of the young people and are effective.

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Overall effectiveness

A key strength of this home is the very effective partnerships that develop between staff in the home and all professionals involved with the young people living in the home. 3 of 10 Young people live in a safe place and staff work hard to protect them from harm. Staff are well trained in safeguarding. There are good risk assessments in place to safeguard individual young people’s safety. Staff are very knowledgeable about the vulnerabilities of the young people living in the home. They work effectively with external agencies to promote and protect their welfare.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff promote positive behaviour through effective communication, as well as having clear expectations of young people about their behaviour. Rewards and praise for positive behaviour tend to be used as opposed to the imposition of sanctions. No form of restraint is used in this home.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people live in a safe environment, as a comprehensive range of detailed health and safety procedures, risk assessments and checks are undertaken. There is robust recruitment and selection of staff, which ensures only suitable people work in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager provides good, effective leadership and management of the home. She is increasingly recognising the strengths and areas of development for the home. Both the manager and staff are working hard to secure improvements in the service. There are sufficient staff to meet the needs of the young people living in the home. The manager is eager to develop staff, who are well supported; as a consequence, they feel able to support the young people in their care.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s written records are generally of a good standard and provide a clear picture of young people’s progress and experiences. However, the quality assurance system is not sufficiently robust as there are some minor shortfalls in a few records. These shortfalls do not impact on the outcomes for the children and young people living in the home.

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Overall effectiveness

While the home demonstrates a capacity for continued improvement, there are some areas for further development. These relate to the Statement of Purpose, specifically in providing fuller information regarding the range of needs of the children who are to be cared for within the home. Quality assurance systems are not sufficiently robust, specifically in relation to the home’s records. There were also some issues in relation to the decoration and maintenance of the premises. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

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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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/12/2013 Interim not judged 11/06/2013 Full good 19/02/2013 Interim good progress 18/07/2012 Full good

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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

4 (2001) ensure the Statement of Purpose contains the information required by Regulation, specifically in providing information regarding the range of needs of the children, who are to be cared for within the home (Regulation 4(1)). 31/08/2014

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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 the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well 5 of 10 maintained and decorated, including the immediate outdoor space (NMS 10.3)  ensure there is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping and take action when needed. (NMS 22.1) 6 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people benefit from a child-focused environment provided by a caring and committed staff team. However, since the young people have only been in placement for a relatively short period of time, the progress made in the various areas of their lives is limited. Staff do ensure that their progress is evaluated on a regular basis through daily handovers, staff meetings and supervision. This process works well and, as a result, qualitative information about the children and young people is provided to the placing local authority and in statutory reviews.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are registered with health professionals to ensure that their health needs are met. Staff actively promote a healthy lifestyle, encouraging and supporting young people to take responsibility for their personal care and to enjoy healthy diets and physical exercise. They have good access to a full range of health services, and receive helpful support and information about specific health problems. This enables them to understand the importance of healthy lifestyles and key health risks.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people's wishes and feelings are actively sought. This takes place through general discussions, young people meetings and through individual one-to-one sessions. Staff members routinely consult young people on all aspects of their care including care planning, family contact and day-to-day matters in the home such as menus and activities.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people participate in a number of household tasks, including planning meals, cooking, shopping, washing their clothes and budgeting. This helps young people to develop their life skills and take greater responsibility for themselves in readiness for their transition to adult life.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people benefit from seeing their families. This enables them to maintain and improve their relationships with the people who are important in their lives. They look forward to seeing their family and spending time with them. Staff work really hard to ensure that young people find seeing their families a positive and enjoyable experience.

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Quality of care good

Young people benefit from highly individualised care to address their unique needs and personal preferences. Staff are experienced and skilled in their work and work hard to promote a positive atmosphere in the home.

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Quality of care good

Staff value the views and wishes of the young people and actively consult them 7 of 10 about their care and the running of the home. They are involved in developing and revising their own placement plans. This enables them to understand why they are currently living at the home and to have an input into their care arrangements and future plans. Young people are aware of how to make a complaint and are able to talk to staff if they have any worries or concerns.

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Quality of care good

Overall placement plans are good. Staff are very clear about the day to day care arrangements for young people. Regular meetings are organised to review the effectiveness of care plans. Young people regularly attend these meetings and can give their views directly to the social care professionals involved in meeting their care needs.

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Quality of care good

Staff are good at working in partnership with social workers and other professionals, such as those in health teams. This helps to ensure young people’s needs are known and addressed in their individual care arrangements. Professionals confirmed staff work well with them. Where appropriate, staff also work constructively with parents. This helps to ensure continuity of care as well as good outcomes for young people.

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Quality of care good

Young people’s good health is encouraged by staff and health promotion agencies. They are provided with healthy meals although some choose to eat less healthy alternatives. Young people are able to plan their meals, prepare and cook them in the home’s kitchen.

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Quality of care good

Staff work hard to support and encourage young people to develop independence skills in preparation for them leaving care. They also do their best to encourage young people to develop socially acceptable behaviour. However, some young people choose not to take advantage of staff’s help and support and, consequently, do not make the most of the opportunities available to them.

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Quality of care good

The home is comfortable and has a homely atmosphere. Overall, the quality of the furnishing and decoration at the home is good. However, there are some areas that need attention, for example on a small area of the bathroom ceiling the emulsion is peeling and some of the bathroom tiles are also in need of attention. The cushions on the settee in the dining room are also beginning to wear and need either to be repaired or replaced. The location of the home provides young people with access to a broad range of local community facilities and recreational opportunities.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people live in a safe place and staff work hard to protect them from harm. Staff are caring, knowledgeable and well trained in safeguarding. They are able to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse, including issues in relation to young people’s personal circumstances, and know what they need to do to protect young people. 8 of 10 Young people’s plans clearly identify the risks to an individual young person’s safety and the protective measures required in managing them. Staff fully understand the risks and the action to take in minimising them. Plans are regularly reviewed and always updated after any serious incidents. Staff ensure plans for young people’s safety are consistently put into practice to address their needs. Staff work effectively with parents, social workers, the police and Ofsted to safeguard and promote young people’s welfare.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff promote positive behaviour through effective communication and clear expectations of young people about their behaviour. They consistently apply rewards and praise for positive behaviour. Young people receive significantly more rewards than sanctions andno sanctions have been imposed on the young people currently living in this home. No form of restraint is used in this home. Instead, staff use effective interpersonal skills to reduce the risk of potentially aggressive behaviour.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are protected from any hazards by a comprehensive range of detailed health and safety procedures, risk assessments and checks. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks, including fire drills, to ensure the premises are safe and young people know what to do in case of an emergency. There are suitable systems in place to ensure that visitors to the home are suitably checked and supervised to protect young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The recruitment and selection of people working at the home is very thorough. This ensures that only suitable people with the appropriate experience and competencies work at the home and children and young people are protected. There are also suitable systems in place to ensure that visitors to the home are checked and supervised.

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Leadership and management good

The manager has been in charge of the home since March 2014 and was registered with Ofsted in July 2014. She is suitably experienced and qualified to carry out her responsibilities. She has over eight years’ experience in the residential care field and has been a Registered Manager of children’s homes for children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. She has achieved National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3 in health and social care for children and young people. She has an NVQ level 4 in leadership and management for care services. She has applied to commence her level 5 in management and will begin this shortly. She demonstrates a real commitment to her continued professional development and very much wishes to improve her skills and knowledge through training.

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Leadership and management good

This is the first inspection of this service since the manager’s registration with Ofsted. At the time of the last interim inspection there were no children living in the home, therefore no judgement could be made regarding the progress that the home had made since the last inspection. No requirements or recommendations were made at 9 of 10 that time. The organisation was keen to take remedial action on shortfalls found during this inspection and to move forward to improve the service. This indicates that the capacity for continuous improvement for this home is good.

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Leadership and management good

The manager provides good, effective leadership and management. She is increasingly using monitoring systems to understand the strengths of the service and areas for development, and is working hard to secure improvements. The staff team are well supported and are doing their utmost to support the young people in their care. The manager is not complacent and is keen to develop the expertise of the staff, the quality of care and young people’s outcomes.

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Leadership and management good

The numbers of staff on duty are sufficient to meet the needs of young people. The deployment of staff promotes continuity of care and provides opportunities for young people to form positive attachments with staff. Staff feel very well supported by the manager through regular professional supervision and team meetings. This provides staff with the chance to review and reflect upon young people’s progress and needs, as well as their own performance and development needs. It also enables them to consider the running of the home and how best to develop and improve the standard of care and support. Staff have suitable opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge through relevant training. This allows them to develop professionally, including taking on additional responsibilitiesand gaining relevant child care qualifications.

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Leadership and management good

The home has recently revised its Statement of Purpose to address the requirements of the relevant regulations. However, it does not fully address the range of needs of the children who are to be cared for within the home. The home is operated in line with the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose and children’s guide. Young people’s written records are generally of a good standard and provide a clear picture of young people’s progress and experiences. The records provide a narrative for young people’s daily lives, observations about young people’s moods and behaviours, and analysis of their progress in achieving positive outcomes.

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Leadership and management good

Staff keep detailed accounts of their direct work with young people and provide a clear picture of young people’s views and feelings about their lives, the progress they make and areas for further work. However, quality assurance systems are not sufficiently robust. For example, in some of the records one or two sections had not been completed, albeit minor sections. In addition, some records were not dated. However, these omissions would have no impact on the outcomes for the young people. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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