Children's Home run by New Start in Knowsley

Good

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

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are safe and feel safe here. They enjoy positive relationships with staff. They talk confidently with staff about the things that are important to them.  Young people are much more aware of their own health care needs and as a result some have stopped smoking. Others said that the incidents of them self–harming have reduced since living here because they feel safe.  They are more able to talk about issues from the past, reflect upon this and make decisions about the way forward. Consequently for young people who have lived at the home for some time are increasing in emotional resilience and are more able to engage with their education.  Young people relish the opportunities to meet with family members. They are very pleased that they are working towards having overnight stays with them.  Staff’s secure awareness and understanding of each young person’s needs helps keep them safe. They work hard to ensure their needs are fully

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

considered and addressed. As a result, there is a significant decrease in the number of incidents of young people going missing from the home. A young person said, ‘I don’t go missing because, I don’t need to.’  The home has been through a number of changes in management since its registration two years ago. Despite this staff are well supported by the new manager and are getting to ‘grips’ with his style of management. He is an experienced manager and moved from another home within the organisation.  There are some areas for improvement, including the Statement of Purpose, staff training, consolidating the behaviour management strategies, the quality of some young people’s records and the environment.

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

The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) 30/07/2015

p.4

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. (Regulation 36 (1) (a)(b)) 30/07/2015

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure the expectations of behaviour are clear, unambiguous and are consistently applied. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 39, paragraph 8.11)  Ensure the home meets children’s basic day to day needs and physical necessities. In particular enhance further the décor and organisation of the home to provide a warm, homely environment. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 15, paragraph 3.7)  Establish and maintain a workforce plan which includes any new training and qualifications completed by staff and identifies future training opportunities in particular e-safety. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 53 paragraph 10.8)

p.4

Information about this children's home

The home is one of three owned and managed by a private provider. It is registered to care for four young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties, learning difficulties and/or disabilities or mental health issues.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

good

Young people enjoy positive, caring and nurturing relationships with staff. They enjoy spending time with them, for example going shopping or to the farm. Young people said they are listened to and their wishes and feelings are acted upon where possible. For example, a young person’s wish to stay overnight with family members is being addressed.

p.6

good

Young people take ownership for their health needs. One young person has recently attended the dentist. His social worker said this was a massive achievement for them because they usually refuse to attend all medical appointments. Staff have worked well with them to help them to overcome their fears and get the treatment they needed.

p.6

good

Also, a young person has stopped smoking. She said the support and encouragement from staff and the smoking cessation nurse helped them to persevere. Others, are choosing to continue smoking, but are fully aware of the risks to their health. The recording and administration of medication is much improved. This means young people now receive their medication in line with their prescription. As a result they remain fit and well.

p.6

good

A young person new to the home confidently explained how they had not felt the need to self-harm since living here. Something they are rightly proud of.This is because they feel safe and are happy to talk to staff. Young people feel valued and listened to. Young people know how to make a complaint. They say they do not need to as staff listen to them. They said they have others outside of the home, such as advocates, to speak to if they needed to. They are confident to speak at their reviews. A young person said ‘I know I cannot have everything I want, but staff do listen and I get the chance to have my say.’ Consequently, they are increasing in maturity and are more accepting of change as being part of ‘growing up’.

p.6

good

Young people’s education is very well supported. Staff and teaching staff have consistently high aspirations for young people and work well together to improve their educational outcomes. Young people who have lived in the home for some time are making good progress. A headteacher said young people’s progress as ‘aspirational’ and they are stars for what they are achieving.

p.6

good

One young person thoroughly enjoys their placements at the ‘doggie crèche’ and grooming parlour. They talk confidently and enthusiastically about what they are doing. They do not see this as being educational as they are doing something they are passionate about and want to do when they leave school. This ambition is effectively supported at home. Where she looks after the chickens and takes part in a range of activities where she can engage in her passion for animals, including working on the farm.

p.6

good

Other young people’s attendance at school has improved significantly. While they may go to education each day there punctuality is not the best. Their social worker said his engagement in education has improved but, ‘this is a daily battle for him.’ Needless to say, staff work tirelessly with him to encourage him to arrive on time and stay the course by offering various incentives, with varying degrees of success. The new manager is clear that incentives should not be for going to education as this is something all young people have to do. It is more about helping them to be punctual and being prepared to learn. This shift in ethos is currently being embedded.

p.7

good

A headteacher and teachers said staff work well with them and celebrate young people’s achievements and support them well when things do not go well. Effective collaborative working means young people receive consistent messages and are making good, steady progress.

p.7

good

New young people said they felt happy here. They like the staff and are getting to know the other young people. They felt it was good that they were able to meet some staff before moving in, and are looking forward to going shopping for more items for their room.

p.7

good

Young people benefit from personalised care planning which carefully considers their individual needs and the support needed to move forward in their lives. However, placement plan are not always completed to a high standard. This results in a lack of clarity in the health sections and risk assessments. This does not impact upon the care provided because staff have a very good understanding of each young person’s needs and are meeting them well.

p.7

good

The home is well maintained. Repairs are carried out quickly by the in-house maintenance team, for example the banister has been made safe. Young people’s bedrooms are personalised and clearly reflect their individual tastes and interests. Having said that, communal areas of the home lack any real warmth and personality. Consequently, they do not feel as homely as other areas in the home.

p.7

good

Young people are safeguarded because their safety and well-being are of paramount importance to staff. Effective multi-agency working helps keep young people safe. As a result the number of incidents of young people going missing has significantly decreased. Staff know what action they need to take when they have a concern about a young person. They ensure they get the right support when they need it most.

p.8

good

Young people’s risk assessments do not always provide sufficient information about how high the perceived risk is for them and the action taken to reduce this. This is a recording issue as discussions with staff demonstrate that they have a secure understanding of the individual risks associated with each young person and the action they are taking to reduce this. Young people are aware of the dangers around child sexual exploitation and about protecting their data when on the internet. Although they do not always follow their own advice. Staff talk to the young people about this, but they have yet to attend training about e-safety.

p.8

good

Staff use humour effectively to diffuse difficult situations and as a result the use of physical interventions is minimal. Restorative justice works well for these young people. This provides them with the opportunity to make good on their misdemeanours, such as devising their own consequences. Staff agreed to a young person’s request that staff not remove his television for the night, but his games console instead as the television helped him to settle at night.

p.8

good

Young people are instrumental in helping to devise the behaviour management strategies. Their views are sought about how they can best manage their behaviour and the support that they need. Staff are proud that one young person has identified other strategies to reduce his anxieties, such as sitting outside on his bench. They said this has led to a decrease in aggressive behaviour.

p.8

good

Staff are generally quick to respond to inappropriate behaviour such as swearing. But are not consistent in their approach to addressing some issues, for example some young people are allowed in the office and others not. This leads young people to think on some occasions that they have been dealt with unfairly due to the different strategies in place.

p.8

good

Young people’s safety is enhanced by secure recruitment procedures which ensure all staff are fully vetted prior to starting working at the home. Their safety is further enhanced due to the robust vetting of visitors to the home. All of whom are required to sign in and out of the home and are supervised well during their visit.

p.8

requires improvement

The home has recently appointed a new manager. He is known to the organisation having been the Registered Manager of another home for over four years. This will be the home’s third manager in two years. The children’s director is very aware of this and the impact this instability has had. The new manager is starting to make improvements in the running of the home and quality of care

p.9

requires improvement

Staff said the feel supported by the manager. Sufficient staff are on duty to help young people can engage in their chosen activities. Training records and plans are not clear. One new member of staff has not completed their mandatory training and others have not been trained in e-safety. The manager is taking immediate steps to address this.

p.9

requires improvement

The recording in children’s records has improved. The new manager has initiated work to enhance further the information held in young people’s case records. But there remains a lack of clarity in some health care plans, and behaviour management in relation to sexting and homophobic or racially abusive language.

p.9

requires improvement

Staff actively chase reports from young people’s review meetings and the information is used effectively to support young people. Young people are able to record their views in the sanctions book. This may not always be positive, but allows young people an outlet and enables staff to discuss the problems further with them.

p.9

requires improvement

The Statement of Purpose provides insight into the organisation of the home and roles of some individuals. But it is not as clear with regards to the supervision of education and health support staff, the complaints procedure or how staff are assessed as being competent to carry out a physical intervention.

p.9

requires improvement

The internal monitoring of the home has improved. The new manager has identified how this can be improved further and has identified a number of areas for further development. As a result he is effectively prioritising what need to be addressed now including the quality of risk assessments. Repots by the independent person are used appropriately to drive forward further improvements within the home.

p.9

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.10

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.10

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.10

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.11

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.11

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.12

Information about this inspection

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

p.12

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.12

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.12