Children's home run by Teen-Works Care Limited in Liverpool

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the leadership and management of the home has strengthened. The manager has now more capacity to carry out the day-to-day running of the home, review the quality of care provided, and develop and improve the support that children receive. She has also taken effective action to deal with weaknesses in relation to staffing, care planning, records, sharing concerns about children’s welfare with safeguarding services, and challenging placing authorities to take action to ensure children’s needs are being reviewed and met. She has revised the home’s Statement of Purpose to give clear details of who to contact in the event of a complaint and staff’s qualifications and training.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have had positive experiences and made continuous progress since they first moved into the home. Overall, they are happier, brighter, healthier, and safer from the risks of going missing, sexual exploitation and self-harm. They have made friends in the local area. They have the same opportunities as other children to spend time with their friends, including having sleep-overs, going swimming, out for meals and to the cinema together. They enjoy trusting relationships with the staff and feel confident enough to accept good advice and guidance to help them deal with their feelings and previous experiences. They said that they feel safe and know that staff are interested in their lives, want what is best for them, take their wishes and worries seriously and try to sort things out for them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home now has sufficient experienced, skilled and qualified staff to provide a high quality of care for each child. They work together cohesively to ensure that children live in a friendly and nurturing environment. They receive good quality support and guidance from the manager and the senior staff. They have opportunities to reflect on children’s progress, their performance, and developing their knowledge and skills. This includes professional supervision at least once a month with the manager or deputy manager and thorough appraisals of their suitability to do their job.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are cared for by positive, supportive and skilled staff, who have detailed understanding of each child’s individual needs. The staff work collaboratively to provide the children with the consistent support they need to promote their welfare and protect them from harm. They promote children’s physical and emotional health. They make sure that children have healthy and nutritious diets, and get plenty of exercise. They support and encourage children to attend health appointments, and are currently working with great determination to get a child to go to the dentist. Children’s vaccinations are kept up to date and their health needs are routinely assessed by the placing authority.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff work very closely effectively with the child and adolescent mental health service to ensure that children get the right support to promote their emotional well-being. A psychologist from this service provides staff with high quality training and guidance about how to best support the children they are working with to understand and manage their emotions constructively. The staff and psychologist have adopted a creative ‘time-in’ approach to working with a particular child. Instead of using sanctions when the child is struggling with her feelings that reinforce her sense of being unloved, staff give her a choice of activities, for example, arts and crafts or jobs around the house, that she needs to complete with them. This is developing the child’s relationship with staff and providing her with time and space to reflect on what happened. She said: ‘It really helps me to feel calm, and it helps to talk about what I’m feeling, what’s gone wrong, and to

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff are encouraging and supporting children to build positive relationships and manage their feelings by talking things through and rewarding good behaviour. This is reducing the times they show unacceptable behaviour. Some children continue to struggle to manage their emotions and become aggressive towards staff and other children. The staff have taken suitable action on these occasions, including calling the police for assistance when they were concerned about children’s safety. The staff keep detail records of these incidents, including when they have use restraint with a child, and include the children’s views about what happened. The manager’s monitoring does not always provide an in-depth and thorough review of the serious incidents to identify effective practice and areas for development. For example, the reviews do not fully evaluate the effectiveness of staff’s strategies to resolve serious incidents quickly or take into account how

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

the physical environment and layout of the home may impede the use of certain restraint techniques.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff actively help children see the importance of education in terms of enjoyment and for their future prospects. They work hard to tackle any barriers to children’s learning. They understand the factors that affect children’s participation in education and work with children and education providers to find achievable solutions. Children’s daily routines support their attendance and staff encourage children to follow their interests, including in nature, drama, dance and current affairs, to stimulate learning. Some children’s attendance and cooperation in school has significantly improved. The staff are encouraging and supporting a child, who has been out of school for some time, with introductions to a new school. He said: ‘I’ve missed a lot of school and I need to start to go. Staff are helping me do this.’ They understand that he struggles in groups and are encouraging him to join in more group activities in his spare time doing things he enjoys, as a means of

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

building his social confidence to help him return to school. However, the staff have not sought advice and support from the Virtual School Head to ensure that the children receive sufficient support from education providers to make progress, including access to their individual pupil premium to meet their specific needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff’s understand and prioritise children’s safety. They have detailed knowledge of individual children’s risks and vulnerabilities to abuse and exploitation. They take prompt and decisive action to deal with any concerns about children’s safety. This includes sharing information with the police, safeguarding agencies, and Ofsted about their concerns. They work effectively with the other agencies to manage the risks that the children face and decide on the most appropriate action to protect them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has ensured that the placing authority’s placement plans and health assessments are up to date and that children’s placements are now suitably and regularly reviewed. Children’s placement plans now reflect their current needs and circumstances to ensure they are receiving the best possible support.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager usually makes sure that children are admitted to the home only if she fully satisfied that they can effectively respond to their assessed needs; and where she has thoroughly considered the impact that the children will have on the existing group. However, on one occasion, she agreed to a child moving into the home in an emergency without obtaining all the relevant information about this child’s needs, background and risks. It soon became clear that the level of the child’s aggression was having a negative impact on the welfare of other children and the manager made the decision for him to move on.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and the manager use effective monitoring to review the quality of care provided and measure how well the staff are promoting and safeguarding children’s welfare. As a result, they have a realistic and convincing understanding of what the home does well and the areas for development. The manager uses this intelligence to devise a comprehensive and achievable development plan to improve the standard of care and staff’s skills and knowledge, especially around managing aggressive behaviour and a better understanding of mental health and promoting children’s emotional well-being. She has also clearly identified key priorities for helping the children make more progress in education and a wider range of activities in the community.

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Information about this children's home

This privately run children's home provides care and accommodation for up to three 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

26/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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 (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.

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14: The care planning standard:

In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure – (2)(a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose.

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14: The care planning standard:

In particular, the registered person only accepts children where they have obtained all the relevant information about the children's assessed needs and risks and are fully satisfied that the home can effectively respond to their needs; and where they have thoroughly considered the impact that the children will have on the existing group of children. 06/03/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Seek advice and support from the Virtual School Head to promote children's education achievement and attendance. In particular, where children are experiencing difficulties in education ensure that they receive sufficient support to make progress, in including access to their individual pupil premium to meet their specific needs. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 28, paragraph 5.11)  Ensure that the registered person carries out an in-depth and thorough review of the use of restraint and serious incidents to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child and takes into account the physical environment and layout of the home. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 48, paragraph

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection 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

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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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