Children's Home run by Inspire Children’s Services Limited in St Helens

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Both young people are very happy and settled at this home and feel extremely safe and secure. Consequently, they have expressed their wish to remain here until they feel ready to live independently.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people benefit from highly individualised care and receive timely and appropriate specialist services that best meet their more complex needs.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Overall, young people are making extremely good progress from their individual starting points in respect of improved behaviours within school and in their preparation for employment.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people benefit from healthy lifestyles. To their credit, none of them smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol or take illicit drugs.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people enjoy a wide range of stimulating and challenging group and individual activities, which continually develops their confidences and competences.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 This stable staff team have an excellent understanding of the young people’s individual risks and vulnerabilities and effective strategies are in place to keep everyone safe.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 The confidence and competence of the staff enable particularly vulnerable young people to take age appropriate risks as part of the development into adulthood.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

To continue to improve, the home must demonstrate that: staff help young people to achieve their specific educational targets; they receive feedback following independent return home interviews and take account of this information when re- assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect the child. In addition, every member of staff completes all the required training courses in a timely manner; and, manager’s reports on the quality of care provided in the home details and evaluates the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

p.3

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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

To meet the education standard the registered person must demonstrate that staff help each child to achieve their education and training targets and support their learning and development, including helping them complete their independent studies (Regulation 8(2)(i)and(ii)) 31/12/2015

p.4

Requirement Due date

Ensure that every member of staff has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that they are to perform. (Regulation 32(3)(b)) 29/02/2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

Ensure that the six monthly manager’s report on the quality of care provided in the home details and evaluates the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45) 30/04/2016

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.5

Recommendations

 The home must ensure that they receive feedback following independent return home interviews and take account of this information when re-assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect the child. (The Guide , page 45, paragraph 9.30)

p.5

Information about this children's home

This is a private children’s home registered with Ofsted to provide care and accommodation for up to two children at any given time who may be experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or a learning disability.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

Recent inspection history

19/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

p.6

good

Both young people are very happy and settled at this home and have expressed their wish to remain here until they feel ready to live independently. They enjoy sound trusting relationships with the staff and enjoy regular constructive contact with their families. This helps them to gain a clearer understanding of their unique identities. One young person has recognised for himself that his relationship with his mum has significantly improved since moving to this home. Comments from young people include, ‘I like living here. My brother visits me and stays for tea and he came out with us for my birthday treat. I really enjoy being with him’ and, ‘I feel happy and safe here and most of the things are good. The staff are great and help me and I get to do lots of fun activities.’

p.7

good

Young people say that the staff look after them really well and spend lots of quality time with them. Their individuality is clearly respected. Staff actively listen to their views and make changes accordingly. If a request cannot happen because it is not deemed to be in their best interest or is a safety issue this is explained sensitively and in a way that is understandable to the young person.

p.7

good

One young person said, ‘I understand all of my daily plans and I am happy with them and I really enjoy one-to-one sessions with staff.’ In sharp contrast, the other young person is reluctant to engage in key worker sessions as he thinks they are institutionalised so they have frequent informal chats that are recorded. This ensures important information is relayed back to him and his views are elicited.

p.7

good

Young people are making extremely good progress from their individual starting points in respect of improved behaviours within school and in their preparation for employment. On admission, for example, staff used to support one young person in school all day to help to manage his complex emotional and behavioural needs so he could reach his full academic potential. He now goes to school every day independently. However, this has resulted in his attendance dropping to 77.4% due to not arriving on time. Moreover, although he says he is revising in his bedroom, staff do not check this out. Consequently, a recent school report reads, ‘In five subjects this pupil has a 50% chance of achieving A’s in his GCSE’s but punctuality and lack of revision and quality is hindering his progress.’ One young person is still very keen to go to military school and now asks staff to help him with exercises to improve his maths. He is showing increased

p.7

good

concentration in his studies to try to achieve this future ambition. This in itself is significant progress for this individual.

p.8

good

Young people benefit from timely health checks, homemade nutritious meals and healthy lifestyles. None of them smoke cigarettes, drinks alcohol or take illicit drugs. Consequently, they are fit and well. For one young person he no longer suffers from asthma. Comments include, ‘I’m not scared of going to the dentist anymore because staff come with me and support me’ and, ‘I know that drugs and alcohol can damage my health so I don’t take them.’

p.8

good

Young people enjoy a wide range of stimulating and challenging group and individual activities, which continually develops their confidences and competences. They also benefit from lots of physical exercise. Comments include, ‘I really enjoyed it when we all went on a long walk on the beach and I loved flying my kite’ and, ‘I like open water swimming, the gym, dog walking and bike riding.’ Recent trips to a zoo and a safari park proved very popular. Comments include, ‘I loved watching the monkeys rip things off peoples cars’ and, ‘I loved the birds of prey show and I gave some of my pocket money to the charity.’ One young person went on a five-day camp with cadets over the summer holidays. This was a huge personal achievement and he found it very challenging. He said, ‘I didn’t like the food and I found it hard to sleep.’ One young person is a talented footballer and is now a keen fisherman and has enjoyed several sea fishing trips. He said, ‘I caught

p.8

good

three whiting and then I cooked them for tea.’

p.8

good

This home offers all the young people age and ability appropriate opportunities to continually develop the practical, emotional and social skills necessary for future successful independent living. Clear individualised targets and positive incentives are in place to help them build on these skills. Comments from young people include, ‘I take my medication when I get up in a morning. I still need help from staff but now I sign the records as part of getting ready for independence’, ‘I love cooking and I cook lots of meals like pies, stews, curries, lasagne and cakes. I like to go and choose my own ingredients’, ‘I have helped to redecorate my bedroom. I now need to try and keep my room clean and tidy myself so staff won’t need to come into my room’ and, ‘I love caring for my hamster.’

p.8

good

One young person is thrilled to have secured part-time paid employment. The other young person is currently really enjoying a work placement with a horticultural company and then writes up what he has learned. In fact, he asks to do extra days. He wrote, ‘I am happy in my new job. I like working outside. The family where we were working were really nice to me and made me a brew. On my first day I had a great time flagging and I learned how to mix cement and my job was to put the sand down. I had another fun day digging and putting the soil in the skip and I learned about health and safety, so I was careful not to dig near wires and water pipes.’

p.8

good

Feedback from parents and social workers on the quality of care provided at this home and the progress young people are making is consistently very positive. Recent examples include, ‘I am extremely pleased with my son’s placement. I find the staff extremely helpful and supportive’ and, ‘My son has come on in leaps and bounds in this placement. Our contact arrangements are fine. The staff are very flexible.’

p.9

good

A social worker said, ‘The staff continue to provide consistent support to a high level. Communication with me is excellent. I am particularly impressed with the staff’s ability to adapt to his ever changing needs and to enable him to enjoy increased independence in the community despite his vulnerabilities.’

p.9

good

When one young person was asked about his achievements he replied, ‘I caught a dog fish. I can make an amazing cheese cake. I have become a prefect at school. I have grown two inches and I am feeling great.’

p.9

outstanding

Both young people feel extremely safe in this home and particularly secure in the knowledge that it is a long-term placement until they feel ready to move on into independence. One young person has lived here for over four years so has an extremely strong sense of belonging. This is his longest and most settled placement to date.

p.9

outstanding

They enjoy excellent open relationships with the staff and therefore feel comfortable talking to them about any concerns they may have. Consequently, they have never needed to make a formal complaint. Should the need ever arise an excellent simplified process is in place for one young person. One young person now feels secure enough to start talking and opening up to staff about his traumatic past. This is a huge step forward for him.

p.9

outstanding

Incidents of self-harm and inappropriate sexualised behaviours have ceased in this placement.

p.9

outstanding

One young person’s confidence and self-esteem has significantly increased. This is clearly apparent in his physical appearance and demeanour. His personality now comes shining through. When he was first admitted 12 months ago, he spent all of his time in his bedroom and was isolated at school too. He gradually made and sustained friends in school and now he has many friends in the local community. He said, ‘At first my plan was to return home but I really like it here and feel safe so I now want to stay but continue to see my mum.’

p.10

outstanding

The young people generally get on very well with each other, but realistically, as in most group/family settings, sometimes they annoy each other. Most importantly, there is no imbalance of power or bullying. One young person explained, ‘I get on well with the other young person but we fall out sometimes. I do like him though and we do lots of things together.’ There is lots of evidence of creative key worker sessions to develop good social skills and the importance of showing respect to others. This is proving to be highly effective. For example, one young person regularly goes to play at his friend’s house who lives locally and his parents have specifically commented on how well-mannered and polite he always is.

p.10

outstanding

Initially one young person was on two-to-one staffing; for nearly twelve months now this has been reduced to one-to-one staffing. Now they enjoy an excellent relationship with him and are highly skilled at calming his agitations. To his credit, he can manage his own emotions much better despite his individual needs.

p.10

outstanding

This stable staff team have an excellent understanding of the young people’s individual risks and vulnerabilities and effective strategies are in place to keep everyone safe. In particular, they ensure very clear and consistent boundaries at all times which effectively safeguards and promotes the welfare of the young people. Moreover, within this safe and nurturing environment young people have learned to self-regulate some extreme emotions and behaviours. Deep-seated anxieties and fixations have lessened. Consequently, incidents are less frequent and severe and their duration has significantly decreased. As an example, one young person was appropriately refused money to buy fireworks and matches. He challenged this a number of times but staff remained firm. Only six months ago, this would have been a very different scenario resulting in serious threats and possible criminal damage.

p.10

outstanding

The need to restrain is rare. Indeed, the last time was seven months ago. This is outstanding progress from their starting points. Initially, one young person needed to be restrained frequently. This is testimony to the staff’s excellent knowledge of young people’s individual triggers and their proven ability to successfully de- escalate situations.

p.10

outstanding

One young person with learning difficulties particularly struggles with understanding the concept of achieving longer term goals so has a daily incentive chart. This has proven to be highly effective and empowering.

p.11

outstanding

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2014. Since that time, she has significantly improved the systems and quality of recording within the home. In particular, she ensures a more creative use of sanctions and that the few imposed are always relevant and proportionate to the particular misdemeanour. A key strength of this home is the confidence and competence of the staff to enable particularly vulnerable young people to take age appropriate risks as part of the development into adulthood. For one young person this has meant much more independence, but it has resulted in him returning home late on five occasions and being immediately reported to the police due to his vulnerabilities. He was upset by this, arguing that he loves living here and would never run away but wants to stay out with his friends and feels embarrassed coming in early. In response, staff arranged a multi-agency meeting in June and successfully advocated on his behalf.

p.11

outstanding

He is happy that he now has a later time he needs to be home. Moreover, this positive approach has been highly successful, resulting in no further incidents. Independent return interviews have taken place and the home have been assured that there are no safeguarding concerns. However, they have not had any written details of these discussions to aid their reassessment of risks.

p.11

outstanding

All the young people continually explore strategies to protect themselves when online or in the community. Comments from young people include, ‘I now have free time with my friends but I come home after two hours just to let the staff know I am okay then I can go out again. I know I have to answer my phone after an hour’, ‘I understand what bullying is and what to do if it happens and how to keep myself safe on the internet’ and, ‘I don’t do as much activities as I used to with staff because I like going out with my friends. I am getting more confident and now go to different towns with my friends’.

p.11

outstanding

This home benefits from excellent partnership working with the local police officer who has also established a good trusting relationship with the young people. Staff act promptly if they perceive any safeguarding concerns, for example, one young person associating with an older male, and the police will share any local intelligence. The police will also discreetly look out for one particularly vulnerable young person whilst enjoying independence in the community to ensure he remains safe.

p.11

outstanding

Reparation is effective and avoids unnecessary criminalisation. The last incident was in April and of a relatively minor nature, which is outstanding progress from their original starting points.

p.11

outstanding

All the required external health and safety certificates are in place to evidence a safe and well-maintained home. An ongoing redecoration and refurbishment programme ensures a particularly homely environment. At one young person’s request, the utility room now doubles up as a games room, which he is very happy about.

p.12

outstanding

Well-established, robust recruitment and selection processes ensure a safe and competent staff team.

p.12

outstanding

An independent visitor who reports every month on the quality of care provided at this home highlights three key strengths. He wrote, ‘As soon as you enter this home it feels welcoming and comfortable. Both young people have a significant number of professionals involved in their care and there is strong evidence of partnership working. All paperwork evidences that the young people’s voices are heard.’

p.12

good

This home is well managed by a suitably qualified and experienced individual who provides clear direction to her team and leads by example. Staff confirm that she listens to and considers their views about how they can continually improve their service to young people and their families. Consequently, staff morale is high. Comments include, ‘I love it here. The young people are happy. I am part of a good staff team. It’s a good organisation to work for and I feel supported’, ‘There is good communication within the team through the use of the communication book, daily handovers and monthly team meetings’ and, ‘The young people are supported to a very high standard by a good staff team and achieving positive outcomes is paramount.’

p.12

good

Young people are well cared for by a stable and experienced staff team who have an in-depth knowledge of their unique needs and preferences. Moreover, this manager is vigilant in ensuring these are adhered to. This means she will not hesitate to challenge stakeholders if it is in the child’s best interest and a different strategy will ultimately secure more positive outcomes.

p.12

good

The home’s statement of purpose is regularly reviewed to ensure it accurately describes the ethos, practices and staffing structures within the home. The young people also have a highly personalised children’s guide that ensures they fully understand the services available to them and the expectations on them. Moreover, they actively participate in the company's children in care council so they positively influence the continued development of the service as a whole.

p.13

good

The homes development plan is frequently reviewed by all the team so there is a shared sense of responsibility and accountability. This has recently highlighted that the team need more understanding of the theories that underpin their practice.

p.13

good

The staff benefit from regular supervision and timely annual appraisals, which celebrates good practice and appropriately challenges performance thus enabling continued personal development. It is established practice that young people contribute to staff appraisals. One wrote, ‘I like him. He is caring, fun and makes me feel safe.’

p.13

good

There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last interim inspection on 19 March 2015, and this home demonstrates continual improvement.

p.13

good

One positive company development is the appointment of training manager who has produced a more comprehensive training matrix and introduced new courses. One member of staff said, ‘I have attended courses which have progressed my personal development needs for example, mental health awareness and substance misuse.’ However, a few staff have not completed all the courses required of their respective roles. Moreover, this was not identified in monitoring reports.

p.13

good

Moving forward, a new independent visitor has recently been commissioned to ensure a more robust and evaluative process. The manager’s six monthly report on the quality of care provided in the home which is sent to Ofsted, is informed by comprehensive monthly monitoring reports. However, it did not detail and evaluate the opinions of the young people, their parents, placing authorities and staff despite having a wealth of feedback available.

p.13

good

Improvements have recently been made to young people’s placement plans to ensure they are more child-friendly, meaningful and incorporate their views. However, the sections on equality and diversity and sanctions is still somewhat wordy, certainly for the understanding of one young person.

p.13

good

As the practice of feeding back key decisions from staff meetings to young people in a way they each understand is now firmly established, this home has now introduced a similar process in respect to external monitoring reports.

p.13

good

Timely notifications are sent to Ofsted of any significant events and regular updates until a satisfactory outcome is reached. These demonstrate that appropriate action is taken to safeguard and protect young people and strategies are put in place to try to prevent a re-occurrence. This is in full collaboration with relevant agencies. Despite highly complex needs, vulnerabilities and risks, there have been no serious incidents for five months. This is testament to the significant progress both young people continue to make in this home.

p.14

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

p.15

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.15

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.15

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

p.16

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.16

Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.17

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.17

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.17

Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.17