Children's home run by Nugent Care 2019 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

The home has made significant, good progress in meeting the high number of requirements and recommendations set at the last inspection. This has led to an overall improvement in the quality of care to children. While further improvement is needed, the home’s capacity to improve is good. This is because the manager knows the home’s strengths and weaknesses and is taking action to address shortfalls in practice. The provider recognises that the leadership and management of the home needs to be strengthened. A new responsible individual has been appointed and additional senior roles have been established. The provider is currently recruiting house managers and team leaders to provide better leadership within individual houses. Sixteen children currently live in the home, across five houses. The home has made changes to the day-to-day management of rotas that involve less movement of staff between houses. This has enabled a very positive reduction in the use of

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

agency and relief staff. Where agency staff are used, the home ensures as far as possible, that the agency staff member is someone children know well. Consequently, children are more settled and are receiving more consistent care from staff who know them well and with whom they are building stronger bonds. A member of staff explained: ‘We went through a period of having less staff due to maternity leave and sickness and I think that had a big impact on our consistency. It is much better now as we have good consistent staff, and one bank staff. We don’t use agency staff now.’ Greater emphasis has been placed on ensuring staff receive training that equips them to support children more effectively. An audit of training needs has been completed alongside staff appraisals and has been fed into the organisation’s training development plan. Changes are being made within the organisation to improve the quality of the training delivered to staff. Most staff have completed

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

mandatory training and since the last inspection, most staff have completed refresher training in safeguarding. Some have completed training in supporting children at risk of sexual exploitation. This has increased their level of understanding about the importance of following procedures aimed at protecting children. Further training on supporting children to use computers safely has been scheduled for the near future. The home’s attempts to change staff rotas so it can introduce regular staff meetings which involve all staff, has met with resistance from the trade union representing the staff group. Discussions are currently underway and the home is working in partnership with the union. The management team recognises the value of regular full-team discussions in ensuring a consistent approach to delivering high quality care. In the meantime, it has organised partial team meetings on a rolling programme. Therapists attached to the home attend the meetings and provide

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

guidance which is helping staff to have a better understanding of children’s needs. Managers also recognise the importance of practice related, one-to-one supervision and are working with the trade union and staff team to develop new rotas that will ensure sufficient time is allocated for this important task. In the meantime, more staff have received line-management supervision; but this is not yet frequent or regular enough to ensure staff are receiving the level of support and performance management they need in order to deliver the best quality care to children. There have been seven complaints from children since the last inspection. This demonstrates children feel able to complain if they are not happy with any aspect of their care. All complaints, even those that are minor, are dealt with formally and effectively. The records are signed by children and show that children are satisfied their complaints have been dealt with fairly. Independent monitoring of complaints

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

has been strengthened by inclusion in the independent visitor’s monthly overview. This scrutiny is effective in ensuring complaints are fully and appropriately addressed. Children raised no concerns with inspectors and said they like living at the home, feel comfortable with the staff team and enjoy the activities on offer. For example one said: ’The staff are good and I have made it my home.’ Changes have been made to children’s care arrangements as a result of listening to concerns raised by children. Bedtimes and the arrangements for free time have been reviewed; and one child has moved to another house, where he is more settled and happy. Decision making relating to changes in children’s care arrangements is not clearly evidenced on their files. This means the records fall short of providing a clear account of care planning decisions, that are helpful to children when accessing their files, now or in the future.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Incidents of bullying have been addressed. Consequently, children feel listened to and safe. A member of staff explained: ’The senior managers have really invested in the service and are creating changes that are far better for the young people. We are including them more and trying to create a normal environment. For example, the young people now have contracts to be able to go out in the community for a period of time without supervision. We have extended in-times for special occasions and encourage more relationships to be built outside of the home.’ The home has developed an admissions and discharge register that clearly shows where children have moved from and where they are discharged to at the end of their placement. This record is enhanced by a photograph of the child and is a useful tool in helping children and young adults who have moved on, to trace their history. Placement moves are notified to the local authority so that local services

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

can be set up, as required and the safeguarding agencies are aware of children moving into the area whose safety may be at risk. The home has developed a new smoking area for staff that is well away from the children’s houses. It is accessed via a gate which is routinely kept locked. This is the only place that staff are allowed to smoke on the premises. The new arrangement protects children from accessing and using discarded cigarette butts. In addition, the groundsmen are vigilant in clearing up any smoking debris found in the grounds. This appears to be successful and the manager reports that smoking is less of a concern than previously. There has been a substantial reduction in the use of restraint and a significant improvement in the records relating to restraint. Records clearly identify the reason for a restraint and demonstrate it is used only where appropriate. Each incident of restraint is carefully and quickly evaluated so that lessons are learned from

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

incidents. For example, the manager has identified in one instance, that a restraint became necessary because an incident was not effectively managed. In response to this, arrangements are in place for some staff to do refresher training in behaviour management and restraint, with a view to strengthening their ability to deal with challenging situations more effectively. In another situation, where a child was having frequent restraints, the home initiated a review of the young person’s medication. The subsequent change in dosage has been successful in improving the child’s mood and reducing the need for restraint. Because there is a stable staff team in each house, there has been an improvement in the way staff support children’s health needs. For example, staff are familiar with children’s particular dietary needs and take action to better promote healthy eating and reduce children’s reliance on sugary drinks. A short

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

health summary has been devised and is shortly to be placed on every file, outlining children’s individual health needs so that any staff not familiar with the child, can see at a glance what their needs are. The home has made some progress in reducing children’s negative behaviours and there has been a reduction in the number of serious incidents and the level of violence. There have been no complaints from neighbours. The home responds robustly to allegations against staff, which are appropriately reported to the local authority designated officer and dealt with in a way that protects children. Transition planning is good. Children are admitted in a planned way after visiting the home. The pace of the transition is based on the child’s individual needs. On arrival at the home, children receive a copy of the children’s guide which is a useful document that is written in a child-friendly way. Care is taken to match children

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

with other children and staff they are likely to get on with. This is kept under review and they are able to move to another house if they do not feel settled and comfortable, after a settling-in period. This shows children are listened to and the home takes steps to ensure they are settled, happy and well-matched. Transitions from the home are equally well-planned, wherever possible. Three children have left since the last inspection. Staff have supported them to be positive about the move, even though their plans have changed at short notice, in some instances. Staff have arranged visits with new carers and have escorted children to their new placements. They maintain contact with children and young adults where this is helpful to them. This supports children’s self-esteem by letting them know they are not forgotten and that staff continue to care about them. Most, but not all children have a personal mobile phone which they use to maintain

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

contact with families and friends. Some children continue to have restricted access to a phone as they still have to seek permission from staff to use it, even though there are no safety concerns about them having contact with family and friends. The home has taken steps to address this. It is in the process of installing phones in every house which will accept calls from children’s friends and families and from which children can call helplines such as ChildLine, the children’s commissioner, the police and Ofsted. While this is a commendable improvement, it does not fully address the matter. The home needs to do more to ensure that children who have no restrictions on contact, have the opportunity to phone their families and friends in accordance with contact arrangements set out in their placement plans. There have been nineteen incidents of children going missing from care since the last inspection. In many instances, children have returned before night fall. The

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

home’s procedures protect children in that staff appropriately search the local area and report children missing when there are concerns for their safety and wellbeing. However, procedures are not individually tailored. This means that the response is not person-centred to suit the child’s particular needs. In most circumstances, children receive visits from an independent person on their return from being missing. However, missing from care records do not demonstrate that the home routinely challenges placing authorities when these visits are not arranged. This does not fully protect children as they do not always have the opportunity to speak with someone independent of the home about why they went missing or why they failed to return from a visit home. Oversight and monitoring of care plans is not yet good. Care planning needs improvement to ensure each plan is person-centred. Not all plans clearly identify

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

how staff should support children to make progress and improve their outcomes. Children are not involved in developing their own plans or risk assessments. This does not ensure children fully understand and buy into the methods used to manage their behaviour and keep them safe. Clear, individual targets are not always set and this makes it difficult for the home to demonstrate how it is helping children to improve their lives. Care plans do not show how partner agencies that provide specialist services, including health and identity promotion services are to be included in improving children’s outcomes. This means that children may not be accessing services that could support their development. Risk assessments are individualised but lack detail. Some do not show how assessed risks are to be mitigated. This does not ensure that staff know how to respond effectively to children’s dangerous behaviour. Although staff have done

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

some work with children to address their dangerous, risk-taking behaviour, this is often reactionary and not well planned, in advance. Children do not currently have access to computers outside of school or the library. This does not support their learning and development and in particular, does not enable staff to help children learn how to use the internet and social media safely.

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned and run by a voluntary organisation and comprises eight large detached houses in the grounds of a special school. The home provides care and accommodation for up to 36 children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, learning disabilities and mental illness.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

28/10/2015 CH - Full Requires improvement

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Recent inspection history

28/01/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed needs on a day to day basis. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 42 para 9.5)  Be more specific in supporting children who are missing by ensuring there is a Missing From Care protocol that is tailored to each child and reviewed after each incident of a child going missing to ensure everything possible is done to support that child's safety and promote their well-being. (The Guide, page 45 para 9.24)  Ensure the home contributes fully to the relevant plans for each child's care on

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Recommendations

an ongoing basis. In particular, improve placement planning through clear identification of individual targets and goals across all areas of a child's development and set out how staff will support children to meet those goals and measure their progress. (The Guide, page 56, para 11.3)  Ensure that children have unrestricted access to a phone that they can use without reference to staff to maintain contact with family and friends unless restrictions are necessary to promote their safety or welfare. Ensure also that arrangements for using the phone are clearly agreed with the placing authority and set out in each child's placement plan. (The Guide, page 58 para 11.16; 11.17)  Ensure children have access to a computer to support their learning and development and support them to use it safely by ensuring they understand how to stay safe on-line. (The Guide, page 29 para 5.19)  Ensure that children’s case records are kept up to date so that their records

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Recommendations

represent a significant contribution to their life history. In particular, show clear and robust decision-making in relation to changes in children's living arrangements, their behaviour management strategies and aspects of their care. (The Guide, page 62, para 14.3; 14.5)  Ensure that the registered manager has sufficient capacity to ensure the Quality Standards are met for each child in the home. In particular, continue to improve the leadership and management of the home through the recruitment of more senior staff. (The Guide, page 52, para 10.7)  Ensure that all staff know how to actively support each child to achieve their potential and that staff understand and can meet each child's needs, in line with their responsibilities. To enable this, strengthen the arrangements for practice related supervision of staff through regular, individual staff supervision and team meetings where children's progress is discussed and behaviour management

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Recommendations

strategies are reviewed to ensure a consistent and well planned approach to working with each child. (The Guide page 52 para 10.5)  Ensure the home develops effective working relationships with partner agencies, including mainstream and specialist agencies whose aim is to support children's physical, sexual, emotional and psychological health and development. Deliver the care planning standards by using expertise from other agencies, where needed. (The Guide, page 52 para 10.3)  Encourage children to see the home's records as 'living documents' and support them to be involved in planning their individual care by contributing to their individual plans, including their risk assessments, placement plans and missing from care protocols. (The Guide, page 58, para 11.19)

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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

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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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