Children's Home run by Progressive Futures Care Limited in Sefton

Unique reference number SC061924 Inspector Nick Veysey Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Progressive Futures Care Limited Registered person address Unit 13 Victoria House, North Mersey Business Centre Woodward Road LIVERPOOL L33 7UY Responsible individual Zoe Maria Wilkinson Registered manager Justin Edward Pagan / Zoe Maria Wilkinson Date of last inspection 05/08/2014 2 of 6 Inspection date 24/03/2015

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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 improved effectiveness .

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This inspection

This children home has continued to make a positive difference to young people’s lives. It provides a calm and very supportive home environment that enables young people to do well at school, make friends and enjoy a wide range of social experiences, feel good about themselves, and manage their feelings constructively. They have strong and trusting relationships with their staff; they feel safe, staff are interested in their welfare and want them to do well. A young person said ‘staff are good at helping me when I’m upset, they give me time, help me calm down, listen and talk things through with me.’

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Young people’s school and college attendance is excellent. They enjoy school and college, work hard and are making pleasing progress. The staff have a very good understanding of young people’s learning needs and progress. They support them with homework, attend parents’ evenings and work effectively with schools and colleges to manage any problems that may affect their participation in education. The manager and staff have developed strong work relationships with each of the girls’ school or college. This has enabled them to act quickly to make sure that the girls do not miss out on learning opportunities. The manager acted decisively to make sure that one of the girls was able to go on a school trip to London. They enjoy a good life and the same social opportunities as other teenagers, and follow their interests in singing and horse riding. They have made friends at school and college and enjoy spending time with them, including going clothes shopping and to

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the cinema, and socialising in each other’s homes.

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Young people maintain and build important family relationships. They see their families regularly, including on significant celebrations, such as birthdays and Mother’s Day. The manager and staff work effectively with young people, their families and social workers to make sure seeing each other is a safe and positive experience. 3 of 6 The manager and staff have a detailed knowledge of young people’s needs and how best to support them. They ensure that young people get personalised help and guidance that is tailored to meet their individual needs on a daily basis. Their needs and care plans are routinely reviewed and kept up to date to reflect any changes in their needs and circumstances to ensure they continue to get the right support. A young person’s recent move into the home was exceedingly well planned. The manager made sure that it was the right place for her to live. He gathered accurate information about her needs and circumstances to enable him to make the decision

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about the suitability of the placement and staff’s expertise and competence to meet her needs and manage any risks to her safety. He considered her compatibility with the existing group of young people, and she visited before eventually moving in. She has settled in well and the other girls have helped to make her feel at home. The home is providing her with a safe and calm place to live at a difficult time in her live. She has continues to attend the same school and the arrangements for her seeing her family have not changes, which is helping to minimise the level of disruption she experiences.

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Young people feel safe and they are protected from harm. They do not go missing from home, experience exploitation or bullying, and do not show aggressive behaviour. Staff consistently apply effective safe caring practices to promote young people’s welfare. They have a good understanding of safeguarding issues and provide young people with very good guidance around personal safety, the risks of sexual exploitation, relationships, safe use of the internet and social media, and managing their feelings. They know exactly what to do when they have concerns, work effectively with social workers and the police to protect young people. The staff have a very good understanding of the risks associated with individual young people. They use risk assessments and plans effectively to keep young people safe. This involves including young people in assessing the risks they face and thinking about what needs to happen to help to keep them safe. This is helping young people

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to understand and manage risks, build resilience and make good personal choices, and feel safe at home and in the community. The staff effectively balance the need for protection with enabling young people to take reasonable risks as part of their growth and development.

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Young people’s behaviour is exceptionally good. Staff have a good understanding of the factors affecting their behaviour and follow their wishes about how they want to be helped when they are upset. Staff’s calm, clear and consistent approach is helping young people to managing their feelings better and they no longer show aggressive behaviour. The emphasis is on promoting and rewarding positive behaviour; young people know where they stand and trust staff. The manager and staff effectively reflect on how they deal with young people’s behaviour to work out the best ways to help them manage their feelings in difficult situations. This also includes supporting young people to get help from specialist support services with specific issues, including understanding strong emotions and finding ways to manage them. 4 of 6 The home is efficiently and effectively managed in the best interests of young people. A young person said, ‘he is a good manager and reasonable.’ The manager

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has now returned to work full time after an extended leave of absence due to ill health. Since his return he has secured improvements in the quality of the written records. He carefully monitors the quality of care and written information about young people. The written records now provide a detailed and clear picture of young people’s needs, the support they receive, their experiences and progress. Their placement plans now identify all their needs, including sexual health needs and show how these are being met; the outcome of health appointments are clearly recorded. Medication records are accurately completed to show that young people are getting the medicines they need to promote their health. The placement and behaviour management plans now explicitly describe the actual behaviour that staff are trying to change; showing clearly how a young person shows aggression, for example, shouting or banging up the stairs, and the specific things staff need to do in

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response. The records are completed with more care and are signed and dated by the person writing it, and often the young person as well. The records provide detailed information of young people’s experiences and how they are supported, and contribute to an understanding of their lives.

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Young people are supported by a settled, competent and experienced staff team. All the staff have the appropriate child care qualification or are working towards completing it. The manager is still in the process of recruiting an assistant manager to provide additional management support to the home. He is determined to select and appoint the right person with the experience, qualifications, qualities and values to fit in with the ethos of the home. The internal monitoring completed by the manager fully considers all the aspects of the running of the home. But it mainly describes what has happened and does not provide a detailed analysis of the quality of the care to help the manager to identify and understand the areas for further development. 5 of 6

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company and provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/08/2014 Full good 18/03/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 28/11/2013 Full good 05/02/2013 Interim good progress

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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 there are clear arrangements in place for staff to deputise in the Registered Manager absences with particular regards to the appointment of a deputy (NMS 17.4)  ensure that the monitoring reports under regulation 34 and schedule 6 fully evaluate the effectiveness of the quality of care and outcomes for children. (NMS 21) 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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