Children's Home run by Nugent Care 2019 in St Helens

Unique reference number SC022447 Inspector Sharon Lloyd Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Nugent Care Registered person address 99 Edge Lane Edge Hill Liverpool L7 2PE

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Responsible individual David Michael Ballard Registered manager Marie Theresa Higgins / Susan Elizabeth Hatton Date of last inspection 12/06/2014 2 of 7 Inspection date 07/01/2015

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection None.

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

The leadership and management of the home has been strengthened by the appointment of a new manager who took up post in October 2014. She is suitably qualified and experienced and has successfully been through a fit person interview for registration with Ofsted. She has worked at the home for 25 years and has 38 years of experience in working with vulnerable young people.

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This inspection

The new manager has been assistant principal at the home for 10 years with line management responsibility in both the open and secure children's homes. As manager, she has responsibility only for this children's home. This enables her to provide a higher level of support to staff and be more accessible to young people than the previous manager.

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This inspection

The home's statement of purpose was updated in November 2014. Further staff changes have been made since then, including a change to the responsible individual. The statement does not accurately reflect the service currently provided. It has not been shared with Ofsted. This means the regulator has not been kept fully up to date with changes to the home. The development plan and statement of purpose are currently under review. One house that forms part of the registration is currently not in use and some staff have been temporarily assigned to other posts within the organisation. Staff no longer move between this and the secure children's home on the same site. This means young people are cared for by a more consistent, stable and dedicated staff team.

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This inspection

Young people benefit from having strong and supportive relationships with suitably qualified and experienced staff. Overall, they have made satisfactory progress in their development and outcomes. For example, young people are increasingly more settled and less volatile than in the past. With increasingly effective behaviour management strategies, they are better able to manage their anger without 3 of 7 resorting to assaulting others. Where assaults have taken place, the home has investigated the incident, updated the young person's risk assessment and taken steps to reduce the likelihood if it happening again.

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This inspection

There has been a decrease in the number of serious incidents that threaten the safety and welfare of young people and others. There has also been a significant decrease in the number of incidents of young people going missing. This means that overall, young people are safer and more emotionally stable than previously. Their sexual and physical health is also better protected.

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This inspection

Young people's daily routines and activities are tailored to meet their individual needs. Young people continue to be fully involved in decisions about their own care. They say they are well cared for and feel safe. They are regularly consulted about their day to day lives and feel their views are important and can influence the way the home works. They engage in purposeful and enjoyable leisure activities both in the home and in the community. This helps them to develop new skills and increases their self-esteem and overall level of health. They also mix with peers through attending community based activities and this increases their social skills and confidence.

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This inspection

Young people continue to develop their independence skills and look forward to future independent living. With support and encouragement from staff, they work towards their goals and aspirations. This helps them to focus on making positive changes to their lives and gives them a sense of achievement that builds their self- confidence. Key worker sessions with young people address a range of topics pertinent to individual young people's safety and well-being. This includes providing guidance about the safe use of the internet and social media, appropriate social and sexual behaviour and challenges to racism and prejudice.

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This inspection

Young people's results in national GCSE examinations were lower than they had hoped and were well below the national average. However, given the level of personal and emotional turmoil the young people were experiencing at the time of their examinations, their achievements are to be commended.

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This inspection

Education arrangements at the home have changed and in-house education is no longer provided. Not all young people over 16 are in employment, education or training despite efforts by the home to secure suitable work and college placements for them. In all circumstances, young people are well supported by the home to overcome barriers to engagement in employment, education and training.

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This inspection

Young people understand the importance of living healthy lifestyles and take increasing responsibility for planning, preparing and cooking their own meals. Staff encourage a healthy diet and promote participation in exercise. Some young people's health flourishes as a result. Where there are concerns for young people's health the home seeks and follows advice from specialist health professionals. In addition, the nurse attached to the home monitors the young people's health and 4 of 7 provides advice and guidance to staff. Despite the home's interventions, some young people do not have a well-balanced diet and this could have a significant impact on their long term health.

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This inspection

The home supports young people with highly complex and challenging emotional and psychological needs. Staff receive some guidance from the organisation's in- house psychologist. Some staff feel out of their depth and ill-equipped to meet the complex emotional needs of some young people. The manager recognises that insufficient time is given to case discussion during team meetings. This does not enable staff to regularly review the effectiveness of behaviour management strategies together or to share their anxieties, experiences and challenges of looking after particular young people.

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This inspection

Comprehensive written risk assessments guide the staff team to be alert to the particular risks associated with each young person's behaviour and lifestyle. These identify and evaluate risks and indicate how risks can be mitigated or eliminated. They provide for young people to take appropriate risks as a normal part of growing up. Not all written risk assessments are fully up to date. As a result some risks are not managed in line with the guidance provided. This does not ensure the home has fully assessed the level of risk associated with some young people's behaviours and does not ensure their safety and wellbeing are fully promoted.

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This inspection

Recommendations made following the last inspection have been partially met. All staff have completed training that better equips them to support young people who self-harm. The home has so far been unsuccessful in sourcing training that meets the particular needs of some young people. To increase staff knowledge and skills, it has purchased books and engaged with voluntary support groups that provide advice and literature helpful to staff. This has given staff some insight and increased understanding of certain aspects of young people's behaviour and emotional needs. Staff are not yet trained to support young people at risk of sexual exploitation or those who misuse drugs.

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This inspection

The home has taken action to improve the quality of recording with staff receiving on-going training.. Some shortfalls remain and the records are not always written in a way that is helpful to young people wishing to access their files.

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This inspection

The home maintains good communication with parents and ensures that they are informed of all serious incidents where appropriate. Placing authorities are also informed of serious incidents. However, not all have been notified to Ofsted and this impedes the assessment of the responses to incidents and the appropriateness of their actions to promote safety and welfare.

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This inspection

Management oversight of the home remains effective. However, three monthly summaries of provider reports are not routinely shared with Ofsted. This impedes the monitoring and assessment of how well the home is being managed and how well it is supporting young people to make progress in their lives. 5 of 7

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a voluntary organisation. It provides accommodation for a maximum of seven young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides transition placements for three young people moving on from the adjacent secure children's home. It also provides longer term care for four young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2014 Full good 13/03/2014 Interim inadequate progress 11/07/2013 Full good 17/10/2012 Interim satisfactory progress

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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 that if, in relation to a children's home, any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table (Regulation 30 (1)) 31/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

5 (2001) keep under review and, where appropriate, revise the Statement of Purpose and the children's guide; notify Ofsted of any such revision within 28 days; and if the children's guide is revised, supply a copy to each child accommodated in the home (Regulation 5) 31/01/2015 6 of 7 (2001) supply to Ofsted a report in respect of any review conducted by the provider for the purposes of monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 at least once in every three months, and make a copy of the report available on request to placing authorities where the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 34 (2)) 31/01/2015

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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 that information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future (NMS 22.5)  provide staff with access to support and advice that enables them to meet the particular and complex needs of young people. In particular, ensure team meetings are forums for case review and include regular guidance and high quality support to staff (NMS 19.4.)  ensure that staff are equipped with the skills required to meet the needs of the children and the purpose of the setting. In particular, ensure staff are fully trained to meet the needs of children and young people who are sexually exploited, those who misuse substances and those with diverse and complex psychological needs. (NMS 18.1) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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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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