Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Sefton

Outstanding

The children‟s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 The registered manager and deputy are an extremely strong, resourceful and intuitive leadership team. They lead from the front and inspire other staff to think „outside the box‟ to help and support young people. Staff are highly committed to all young people and have a strong bond with them.  Young people make excellent progress because of the guidance, care and support they receive. They said that they are safe here and feel safe. Highly effective strategies and support are effectively implemented to reduce young people‟s anxieties. Parents said, „My child feels that they matter‟ because of the, „Care and love that is shown towards them.‟  Young people are extremely proud of their individual achievements, for example having overnight contact with family. Young people said they can talk to staff about anything and feel safe to do so.  Communication with young people is intrinsic to the success of the home.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

High levels of consultation mean that young people have a clear voice and as such have a strong sense of belonging. They are extremely well consulted and supported to make decisions about their own well-being at an appropriate level of understanding.  Young people are actively encouraged to be as independent as possible in relation to their starting points. As a result, some young people are now able to travel independently to school and youth clubs, something they are extremely proud of.  Young people are making very good progress in their education. They have achieved 100% attendance, which is a massive achievement for a number of young people. This is facilitated by the excellent relationships with school and staff‟s ability to manage the transitions to and from school effectively.  There are some shortfalls in the quality of reporting by the independent person and interim repairs within the home. The leadership team and senior

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

management team are already in talks concerning the monitoring reports.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the day-to-day basic needs of young people are met, concerning the damage to radiator covers and the door in the sensory room. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered manager actively seeks independent scrutiny of the home and makes best use of the information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. In particular, reports by the independent person identify shortfalls in records, such as the location risk assessment. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and support to six young people with learning disabilities. The home is one of several owned and managed by a limited company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.5

Outstanding

Young people flourish because of the exceptionally high quality of relationships that are encouraged and nurtured by staff. They said, „This is my “home from home”.‟ Young people have a strong sense of belonging. As a result, young people continue to make excellent progress across all areas of their development. This is significantly enhanced due to the longevity of their placements, which enable them to build those vitally important relationships with staff. A social worker said, „The home has the welfare of the child at heart.‟

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Outstanding

Young people speak fondly of staff and it is obvious that they enjoy spending time with them. They happily engage in appropriate banter with staff. This effectively enables young people to test out their social interactions in a safe environment. For example, developing the skills of how far to take a joke before it can become offensive or upsetting. Consequently, they develop the skills required for successful relationships by learning about and practising social communication, such as seeking the views of others, or taking turns in a conversation. Staff expertly encourage everyone to have their say in the running of the home and their care plans.

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Outstanding

Young people are very aware of their own healthcare needs. They are confident to put forward suggestions as to how these can be met. While these may be contentious, they are not immediately refused. All requests are carefully considered and are investigated prior to agreeing or refusing a request. A young person proudly explained the medication he was on and the reasons for this. He said that he did not always need his hay fever medication, but knew he could ask for this later in the day.

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Outstanding

Staff successfully empower young people to take control as much as possible for their medication. The young person‟s reasons for not having his hay fever medication immediately were that it looked as if it may rain and therefore the pollen count would be low. This discussion is part of the everyday norm for staff to have. It is refreshing that rather than seeing this as exceptional, staff said, „It is just what we do.‟

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Outstanding

The administration and storage of medication is robust. Medication records are meticulous and clearly outline the medication to be administered and when. Staff also record what the medication looks like. For example: „This is a colourless liquid which smells of peppermint‟ or, „The tablet has an “M” on it.‟ This adds an additional layer of safeguards to ensure that young people receive the right medication.

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Outstanding

Care planning is meticulous. Staff consult effectively with all parties to ensure that each young person has a bespoke plan that meets their individual needs. Parents said, „Communication is excellent, the staff always do their best to keep us up to date with day-to-day goings on and always inform us of issues involving our son as soon as they can. We feel that we have an effective partnership with the staff in parenting our child.‟

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Outstanding

Young people are fully included in devising their plans and are confident to challenge staff on the information they contain. For example, one young person asked that their friends‟ addresses were not included in the missing from care risk assessment, as they felt it was an invasion of their privacy. As a result, it was agreed that this information was included in another part of their file with a clear instruction of where to locate this if they were to go missing. This high level of negotiation, communication and understanding is what demonstrates the uniqueness of the home.

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Outstanding

Young people are treated with the utmost dignity. Their privacy is highly respected and their independence promoted. For example, one young person is now using his en suite bathroom. This has been a long process for him and has been achieved through consistent care and support from staff. This is a massive achievement for him and means that he has additional privacy within the home.

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Outstanding

Young people are being well prepared for the next stages in their lives. They are actively encouraged and supported to be as independent as possible. According to their age and understanding, they ask for help with independence skills, from brushing their teeth to travelling alone. Together with staff and their families, they devise careful prompts and routines that maximise individual opportunities for achievement and progress. Consequently, one young person very proudly told the inspector about how they can now travel to and from youth club on their own.

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Outstanding

He explained how he needs to keep in touch with staff and knows that they check up on him. But this is because they „care about me‟. Staff prepared the young person very well and at a suitable pace for him. They are sensitively monitoring this from a distance to help keep him safe. He spoke knowledgably about the safeguards in place, why they were there and what the consequences would be of him failing to return on time. This has significantly enhanced his confidence and self-esteem.

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Outstanding

One young person is excited to be working with the local council. He is volunteering to keep the local gardens in order. He is extremely proud of his green jacket with the council logo on it. Another young person successfully held a paper round for three months. This was fully supported by staff who went out with him in all weathers to deliver the papers. Both of these activities are helping young people to build up their confidence about working with others and preparing them for employment later in life.

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Outstanding

Young people‟s education is extremely well supported. Staff have consistently high but reasonable aspirations for all young people. They support their education at home effectively, interact well with school staff, and provide the consistent messages that the young people need to succeed. As a result, a number of children are achieving above their expected targets in a range of subjects, such as mathematics, spoken English and written English. Young people in school have all achieved 100% attendance this year and the number of incidents within school is decreasing.

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Outstanding

Young people enjoy an extensive range of activities, both within the home and the community. They are looking forward to their trips to Blackpool and to the go- karts. Young people‟s individual interests are actively encouraged, for example going to antique fairs and car boot sales to purchase china crockery. They then uses this to serve staff and the psychotherapist tea.

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Outstanding

Contact with parents, family and friends is very well supported. Staff ensure that young people who live a long way from home have ample means with which to talk to their families. Young people are confident to bring their friends to the home. This means that they can keep in touch with those people who are important to them.

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Outstanding

The safety of young people is at the very heart of everything staff do and is a strength of the home. Staff know and energetically pursue robust procedures for child protection. They attend appropriate training. This includes multi-disciplinary and specialised training, such as the „Prevent‟ duty. The home takes appropriate and decisive action, and liaises well with external agencies to safeguard and protect young people. Consequently, young people are safe and feel safe here.

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Outstanding

Young people do not go missing. Young people said that they know that staff would look for them if they were to go missing and this was because they cared about them. They qualified this, as they said that they did not want to go missing as this was where they want to be. Effective links with local police community support officers means that young people have regular opportunities to meet with the police at home over a cup of tea and build positive relationships with them. Therefore, if they found themselves to be lost they would be confident in approaching them for help. Missing from care risk assessments are improved and clearly outline the risks to the young person, where they may go and the timescales for reporting them as missing. These procedures are clearly understood by staff.

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Outstanding

Staff are highly skilled in de-escalating young people‟s anxieties. Staff instinctively understand the young people and make what they do look easy, but this is not the case. They spend considerable time talking, interacting and watching the young people to gain an in-depth understanding of what their specific needs are. For example, staff identified that a young person was spitting. Through observation, it was identified to be a sensory issue. Staff replaced his need to spit by blowing bubbles with staff, an activity he now thoroughly enjoys, as evidenced by the roars of laughter as he covers staff in bubbles. As a result, the incidents of him spitting have greatly reduced.

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Outstanding

The incidents of physical intervention are reducing and are only used as a very last resort. All interventions are carefully analysed by the registered manager. As a result, she can pinpoint the peaks in incidents, the reasons for these and the action taken to support young people. Parents are extremely complimentary about staff. They said, „Thank you, firstly for the amazing support and sensitivity shown to our child during his crisis by all the staff.‟ They specifically mentioned the registered manager who went: „above and beyond during this crisis to support me, even phoning me on your days off, keeping me up to date and reassuring me that my child was OK.‟

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Outstanding

The home is a warm, welcoming, family home. Young people‟s photographs and certificates are displayed as they would be in a family home. Some areas are beginning to look tired, but plans are under way to address this. A number of radiator covers have been damaged as well as the door in the sensory room. Replacements have been ordered. However, interim repairs have not been undertaken to make them safe. Action was taken to address this during the inspection. Young people‟s bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes, whether it is their love of football, tea lights or period lights, record player and china.

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Outstanding

The home is led by a dynamic and highly committed registered manager. She is extremely experienced and enthusiastic, and has the young people at the very centre of everything she does. This enthusiasm cascades throughout the staff team. Staff said, ‟If it is not good enough for my child, it is not good enough for the young people.‟

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Outstanding

The registered manager and staff have an innate understanding of each young person and plan their care around their individual and ever-changing needs. Records and documentation are well maintained. There are some very minor shortfalls within some records regarding the cross-referencing of information. Also, the location risk assessment has been written with the young people in mind. However, it has not looked at the bigger picture now that some young people are much more independent. This has not been picked up by the independent person as part of their monitoring of the home. Monitoring by the independent person has declined in recent months. This is because a number of reports lack any real evaluation or scrutiny to help the home to improve continually. The impact of this is reduced because of the robust monitoring by the registered manager. She carefully reviews and analyses the information to see where improvements can be

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Outstanding

made. For example, changing the behaviour support plans to reduce young people‟s anxieties.

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Outstanding

Staff said that they are well supported by the leadership team and are fully involved in the decisions made about the home and young people. They are confident to put forward suggestions and know that they are listened to and that their opinions are valued. This includes the ongoing discussions around a young person‟s health and well-being.

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Outstanding

The registered manager and staff are inspirational and have consistently high, but reasonable, goals for young people. They go out of their way to ensure that young people have the support that they need. For example, supporting one young person to secure a college placement by providing consistent, high-quality emotional support so that she believes she can do it. The young person said she is apprehensive about this, but is looking forward to her photography and art course in September.

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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 children looked after 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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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