Children's Home run by New Foundations Care Homes Limited in St Helens

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people live in a caring and supportive home where they are encouraged to make positive progress in all aspects of their development. Since their admission to the home, they have made significant progress in managing their behaviour, keeping safe and engaging in education.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The atmosphere in the home is warm and nurturing and young people feel well cared for, valued and respected. One young person said: ‘The staff look after me really well and have helped me with lots of stuff.’

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff encourage young people to build positive relationships with them. Clear consistent boundaries have resulted in stability and security which has helped them develop good relationships with other people and increase self- confidence.  Staff work effectively with a range of professionals to ensure young people’s needs are met and their risks and vulnerabilities are well managed. This culminates in the delivery of well thought out strategies which help young people effectively manage and reduce their risk taking behaviour.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff prioritise young people’s safety and their practice is underpinned by good safeguarding procedures and considered risk management plans, which ensure that young people are protected from harm.  The Registered Manager has a clear understanding of the progress young people make in respect of their individual plans. Comprehensive plans address young people’s individual needs and experiences and are consistently put into practice.  The manager is highly motivated and committed to promoting optimum life chances for children and young people. She is a strong leader and holds high aspirations for her staff team. She is focused on driving improvement to ensure that young people receive highly individualised care and support.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Weekly meetings provide a forum for young people to discuss a variety of topics, such as choice of menus and recreational activities. Managers recognise that the frequency of gaining young people’s views on the care they receive could be improved and a recommendation has been made to this effect.

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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

Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home's care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 22 Paragraph 4.11)

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Information about this children's home

The home is run by a private organisation and offers accommodation for up to five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

26/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12/03/2014 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

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good

Young people receive good quality care that is making a difference to their lives. Staff provide young people with clear, consistent and age appropriate boundaries which helps them develop positive relationships. Staff use these effectively in managing young people’s challenging and risk taking behaviours such as going missing from the home; which has considerably improved. A parent said: ‘I’m so happy with the home. They do more than they need to, they are very supportive. I can go to bed at night and not worry about X.’

p.6

good

Staff support young people in all aspects of their development and help them to feel secure. They encourage young people to make positive decisions about their daily lives and futures, consistently providing structure and stability which drives young people to reach their individual goals and achieve.

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good

Since their starting points young people have made considerable progress in education and attendance for some is now 100%. This is because staff value young people’s education highly. They identify barriers to learning and work closely with the organisation’s tutor. Young people are supported and encouraged to achieve their individual educational goals. This proactive approach means that young people are learning to value their education and want to succeed and gain good job opportunities. A young person said: ‘I want to work hard and go to University. I want to be a social worker when I’m older.’

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good

Staff offer young people a range of activities which widens their recreational experiences. They encourage and support young people who lack in confidence and help them to overcome this. They identify individual strengths and provide young people with the right environment in which to develop these. For example, staff have sourced an agriculture and fishery course for a young person who has a passion for fishing.

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good

Young people have carefully assessed and supported contact with their families, and other people who are important to them. Staff recognise the potential impact contact may have on individual young people and group living. They identify when contact is unsafe and work with placing authorities and families to ensure that there is an adequate level of supervision. This enables young people to be integrated into life outside of the home and affords consistent care experiences.

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good

Staff work proactively with placing social workers and safeguarding agencies to develop strategies to reduce the number of incidents of young people going missing from the home. They encourage young people to keep themselves occupied and make positive choices about keeping themselves safe. On the few occasions when young people have gone missing, staff have attempted to locate them and have kept the relevant agencies informed, including the police and safeguarding agencies. A young person stated: ‘Staff have put me on the straight and narrow. I love it here, I’m much safer.’

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good

Staff understand the triggers to behaviour and identify how individual frustrations and anxieties may impact on them. Staff work sensitively with young people to ensure that they have ample opportunity to discuss issues which may worry them. They pre-empt situations which could cause a change in behaviour and develop plans with young people to help manage these more effectively. A parent said: ‘X has totally changed and is more settled. She isn’t running off and has really calmed down.’

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good

Staff demonstrate a commitment to overcoming difficult and challenging behaviour. Clear, consistent and age-appropriate boundaries provide stability, and contribute to young people’s well-being and security. Staff have good insight into young people’s specific emotional needs and develop behaviour management plans designed to meet their individual needs and are implemented in practice. Young people learn what is acceptable behaviour and this has resulted in them making good choices. There has been one incident of physical restraint which was of a low level and used to ensure young people and staff were safe. A young person said: ‘Staff know when I’m upset and talk to me about my problems and that helps me to calm down.’ The managers and staff work closely with external safeguarding agencies and professionals to keep young people safe. Important information relating to young people’s risks is shared: promoting a multi-agency approach to helping young

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good

people manage their behaviour, risks and vulnerabilities. Young people say that staff keep them safe and teach them how to keep themselves safe. A young person confirmed: ‘Staff keep in contact with me when I’m out and I ring them to let them know where I am and that I’m okay. I love that, it means they care about me.’

p.8

good

The home has effective links with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and the local authority where the home is located. Staff work in partnership with these and other safeguarding professionals, who provide guidance and support and help promote a robust and clear response when matters of concern arise.

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good

The Registered Manager is due to retire. A new manager was appointed in January 2016. She is currently supported by the Registered Manager and has the necessary skills and experience to provide clear leadership and management to a committed staff team. The home has a deputy manager who has worked for the organisation for a number of years. They each have an excellent understanding of the individual needs of their young people and collectively they promote a child-centred ethos of care.

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good

The manager is child-focused and effectively prioritises young people’s needs. She keeps up-to-date with their day-to-day care by regularly spending time with them. She has strong relationships with them and demonstrates a strong commitment to their individual development, safety and care. She has high aspirations and ensures that staff have the skills and knowledge to provide the right level of care for each young person in the home.

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good

Staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of young people. They invest time with them, taking an interest in their daily activities. They value and respect young people and support them to express their views on the care they receive. Young people are encouraged to contribute to their care, such as choosing menus and exploring recreational activities. The frequency of this could be improved and this is the reason for the recommendation raised at this inspection. The managers are planning to improve this aspect of their practice and have identified that this would be beneficial for young people.

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good

The home is well staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the young people. The staff team is stable, suitably qualified and competent in the delivery of good quality care and support for young people and their families. Staff have a positive relationship with the manager and receive regular supervision and appraisal. They confirm that they find it helpful to reflect on their practise and discuss their professional development options. A staff member commented: ‘The managers are very supportive. We have regular supervision and discuss the young people and our development needs.’

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good

The manager is innovative and has identified a number of improvements which will enhance the care of the young people. A review of the home’s annual development plan has raised a number of improvements which are due to be implemented. For example, each member of staff has been set specific targets in relation to exploring the quality standards and relating this to practice. Keywork sessions will be more reflective and planned in accordance with the needs of the young people. These improvements are intended to further enhance staff skills and knowledge and make them better equipped to meet young people’s diverse range of needs.

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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.

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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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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

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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

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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 .

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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,

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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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

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