Children's home run by PIC Children’s Services in St. Helens

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person’s progress and experience remains steady overall with improvements in education, family contact and behaviour management.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

They are placed in a suitable educational establishment and attendance and attainment is good. The home ensures young people have additional support where necessary; there are plans to obtain computers and internet access in the home, this will ensure that young people are further supported with homework and projects. However, this has not happened in a timely manner.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home works well with partner agencies, which provide extra support and direction to young people. This alliance helps them to modify their previous lifestyle; for example, the young person has achieved much improved attendance at school and is making good progress both educationally and socially. As a result their independence skills and self-confidence have developed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff in the home place great importance upon making and maintaining contact with the young person’s family; for example, contact has now been established with older siblings which has resulted in the young person spending Christmas with their family. This is good because important links are promoted and the young person can retain a sense of belonging and identity..

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team is relatively experienced and if they do not hold the recognised qualification, they are currently working towards it. They are well managed by an experienced management team who have looked to move the home forward despite the tests created at times by some challenging behaviour. It is notable that episodes of such incidents has decreased. There has been police involvement, the young person was not charged with an offence and has engaged in restorative justice as a form of reparation. This is approach has meant that the young person is not criminalised and is subsequently learning about taking responsibility for their actions.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the last inspection four requirements were made and progress has been made in some areas such as; compiling a Statement of Purpose that complies with regulation and staff rotas have improved. However, insufficient progress has been made in ensuring staff received training in maintaining young people’s files in line with regulation and obtaining access to a computer for the young person. That being said this is having little impact upon them currently.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two recommendations were made to improve practice and improvements have been made in respect of repairs; however, the internal and external monitoring of the records and the quality of care in the home remains insufficiently robust. There are also gaps in the manager’s monitoring of incident records.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent visit reports lack sufficient information to demonstrate vigorous monitoring which will lead to a pro-active approach to the further development of the home. Again, this appears to be having no impact upon the young person resident.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The Registered Manager has made good progress in addressing some of these matters; however, it is also the organisation’s responsibility to address others in a timely way.

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Information about this children's home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to one young person with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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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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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality standard the registered provider must:

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Requirement Due date

2 (b) ensure that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child's learning, in particular access to computers and the internet. 29/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain all of the records which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child, in particular they records are sufficiently detailed, and are up-to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry, records are held in a secure place when the young person has ceased to be accommodated. (Regulation 36 (1) (a)(b) (c)(2) (d)) 29/04/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure the registered manager makes best use of the independent and internal monitoring of the home to ensure continuous improvement with particular regard to the scrutiny of incidents, identifying shortfalls and the action taken to address these. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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

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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