Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Knowsley

Unique reference number SC405448 Inspector Nick Veysey Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Quality Protects Children Ltd Registered person address Hill House Archway Road Huyton Liverpool L36 9XB Responsible individual Anthony Nolan Registered manager POST VACANT Date of last inspection 19/01/2015 2 of 8 Inspection date 20/03/2015

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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 declined in effectiveness .

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This inspection

The children’s home has declined in effectiveness because it has not had a Registered Manager since May 2014. The provider re-appointed the previous Registered Manager to be the permanent manager in January 2015. This manager is currently applying to be registered with Ofsted. She has suitable experience and qualifications to run a children’s home and is currently providing effective leadership and management that supports and enables young people to continue to make progress and achieve better outcomes.

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This inspection

Young people live in a nurturing and supportive home and continue to make good progress in in education, training, employment, personal relationships, independence skills, health, behaviour and emotional well-being. Parents and social workers are positive about young people's progress, the quality of care and the support provided by the home. Young people feel safe and know that staff are interested in their welfare. Since the last inspection things have not always gone smoothly, with each of the young people experiencing difficult and stressful situations. However, they have shown emotional resilience in dealing with these challenges and with staff’s support are sorting them out constructively. Staff listen to them and take their views seriously. Consequently they feel confident talking to staff about their worries, and to let them know when they are having a tough time. They have positive and trusting relationships with staff and good relationships with other young people.

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This inspection

They show empathy and warmth towards each other and are keen to help to work through problems together; for example helping out a young person after she had an operation. They are also very welcoming to new young people, showing them the ropes, including them in activities, and letting them know it is a good place to live where staff will help you. Usually everyone gets on well, but like in families, they sometimes fall out. However, they are good at sorting out disagreements. They show maturity in taking responsibilities for their actions and apologise to each other; often taking the initiative; for example one young person let everybody know that 3 of 8 she was fed up with the arguments and that they need to sit down and talk and sort things out and they did.

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This inspection

Staff follow detailed care plans to ensures that young people get personalised help and guidance that is tailored to meet their individual needs. The 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. The manager and staff work effectively with young people, their families and social workers to plan young people’s care and meet their individual needs. They planned a young person’s recent move into the home exceedingly well by taking every opportunity to make sure it is the right place for them to live. They gathered accurate information about the young person to enable them make the decision about the suitability of the placement and staff’s expertise and competence to meet her needs and manage risks to her safety. The manager also used this information to consider the young person’s compatibility with the existing group of young people. The young person’s

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This inspection

introduction to the home has gone well. Before moving in the manager and key staff visited her where she was living and she visited the home on three occasions, including staying overnight. During her visits to the home she met staff and spent time with the other young people, including going out for a meal and enjoying a pamper night when she stayed over. This careful planning and introduction means that she felt welcomed into the home, everyone had the chance to start to get to know each other, and the manager assessed the dynamic of the group. The arrangements for her education and support with her emotional health were already in place before she moved in.

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This inspection

Things have not always being straightforward since she moved in, but the staff had anticipated the issues and are working hard with her to tackle any problems together. Her social worker said, ‘the manager and staff worked very well with us planning her move; we shared information effectively and it was a good transition; everyone knew what to expect and were prepared. The staff have clear vision of the work and have not been fazed by her behaviour.’ Since moving in she has made very pleasing progress; she is forming positive attachments with staff and making friends. The other girls have included her and show her that people care about her. She is responding well to staff’s expectations and their consistent approach to any challenging behaviour; for example demanding her reward when she has not being in school on time. She has come to realise that the only way she will get the reward is by getting to school on time. Her involvement in self-harm, aggression and going

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This inspection

Young people are well-prepared for the opportunities and challenges of adult life. They are well-supported and have every opportunity to build confidence in their skills and abilities. They have strong practical skills, including cooking, shopping, running a home and managing their money. They are making good progress in education, employment and training, and also developing some key life skills, including learning to drive. The staff contribute to the development of young people’s pathway plans and liaise with social workers and independent reviewing 4 of 8 officers about their progress and readiness to move on into their own accommodation. The manager and staff listen to how young people feel about moving on. They are currently support a young person who does not feel emotionally ready and anxious about her future. They are helping the young person get the support she needs to feel more confident about living independently.

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This inspection

Staff consistently apply effective safe caring practices to promote young people’s welfare. They do not going missing from home or experience bullying. They feel that staff care about them and want them to be safe. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding issues, including the risks associated with child sexual exploitation, self-harm and online safety. They know exactly what they need to do when they have concerns and act decisively to protect young people. The manager and staff have effective relationships with safeguarding agencies and the police and report serious incidents that may impact on young people’s safety.

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This inspection

The staff have a very good understanding of the risks associated with individual young people. They use risk assessments and plans effectively to keep individual young people safe. They work effectively and sensitively with young people to promote their personal safety and relationships. They have a very clear understanding of young people’s particular vulnerabilities relating to their level of understanding and emotional maturity. This enables them to ensure young people are safe at home and in the community. They 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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This inspection

The culture and ethos of the home actively promotes socially acceptable behaviour. Young people’s behaviour is exceptionally good and aggressive behaviour is rare. Staff have a good understanding of the factors affecting young people’s behaviour and follow their wishes about how they want to be helped when they are upset. The sanctions records now include young people’s views about what happened and their feelings about the punishment. 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. Only one restraint has been used since the last inspection. It was used appropriately to protect a young person’s welfare. However, the restraint record did not show the effectiveness of keeping the young person safe, if she was injured and needed medical attention, and the discussions with her and the staff involved about what at happened.

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This inspection

The home is efficiently managed in the best interests of young people. The provider and manager use the monitoring of the home to understand the strengths and key areas for development. Their assessment of the benefits and potential risks of the home’s location now show a detailed analysis on how the risks are managed and how it is a good place for young people to live. However, monitoring by an independent visitor is not taking place at least once a month, therefore is not providing regular detailed scrutiny of the running of the home. The internal monitoring completed by the manager still does not provide a detailed analysis of 5 of 8 the quality of the care. This does not help the managers to identify and understand the areas for further development. 6 of 8

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children's home is registered to care for up to five children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It also provides education for children at school on the premises.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/01/2015 Full good 27/02/2014 Interim good progress 16/10/2013 Full good 09/01/2013 Interim good 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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of restraint a written record is made of: the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; description of any injury to the child and any medical treatment; confirmation that the child has been spoken to about the use of the measure; and the signature of the person making the record (Regulation 17B(3)(f)(g)(h)(i)) 20/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that visits by an independent person take place at least once a month and they may be unannounced. (Regulation 33(7)) 20/03/2015

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Recommendations

7 of 8 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 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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