Children's Home run by Teen-Works Care Limited in Sefton

Good

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

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Young people have extremely positive experiences living in this safe, friendly, nurturing and supportive family home. The very high standard of individualised care consistently meets their needs and is improving young people‟s lives. They are happier, healthier, succeeding in education and enjoy the same social experiences and opportunities as other young people.  Effective care planning and productive working relationships between the staff, families, placing authority, schools and health workers mean that young people receive the best possible support in meeting all their needs. The registered manager and staff fight for young people to achieve better outcomes and will challenge services when they are concerned that young people are not getting the right help.  Young people feel safe and are protected from harm. They are listened to and their feelings and worries are taken seriously. The staff‟s strong

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The children’s home provision is good because:

safeguarding practices are helping the children to be safer and protect them from the risks of neglect, going missing, sexual exploitation and self-harm.  Young people‟s trusting relationships with their staff help them to have a strong sense of belonging and emotional security. They feel safe enough to explore and manage the impact of their previous experiences. The staff‟s creative and insightful work is supporting children to manage their feelings and frustrations constructively. Children‟s emotional well-being is improving and they are coping with challenges and difficulties with resilience.  Under the registered manager‟s strong and effective leadership, caring, experienced, skilled, qualified and well-supported staff provide a high quality of care for each young person. The staffing arrangements are efficiently organised to provide young people with a continuity of care that meets their needs and provides opportunities for them to form positive attachments.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The registered manager has a clear and accurate understanding of young people‟s progress and the key priorities for each young person. Her effective monitoring of the quality of care and support means that she has a realistic understanding of how well the staff are promoting and safeguarding children‟s welfare and to secure further improvements.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline, or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the child‟s behaviour leading up to the measure, the steps taken to avoid the measure and the effectiveness of the measure and within five days of the use of the measure, the registered person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure, and in particular adds the child‟s views and comments to the record. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(ii)(v)(vii) and (c)) 30/09/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the quality of care review monitors, reviews and evaluates the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it, in particular that children‟s views are included in the quality of care report. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  Ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home‟s records as living documents supporting them, to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis; for example, adding their views to their monthly progress reports, risk assessments behaviour and care plans. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  Ensure that the written monthly reviews of children‟s placement plans provide an in-depth analysis of children‟s progress, reflect critically on the

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Recommendations

support that children are receiving, and identify priorities for the children‟s individual care and personal development. („Guide to the children‟s home regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraphs 14.3, 14.4 and 14.5)

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children‟s home can accommodate up to three young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

31/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

22/01/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people live in a safe, nurturing, positive and supportive family home. They receive a very high quality of individualised care that consistently meets their needs and helps them to achieve better developmental outcomes. The registered manager and staff‟s consistent personalised support has brought stability to young people‟s lives, which has helped them to feel safe and make continuous and sustained progress. A young person said, „It has been the most settled I have ever been. There has been up and downs, but they stuck with me. I don‟t know how you put up with me at times.‟ Young people are increasingly happier, safer, achieving in education, healthier, emotionally resilient, building confidence in their talents and abilities, and less likely to go missing. They enjoy the same opportunities as other young people to spend time with their friends, have sleepovers at each other‟s houses, take part in a wide range of activities in the

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Good

community, and have a summer holiday to Barcelona. The registered manager and staff have an excellent understanding of young people‟s characters, needs, interests and family circumstances, and find out what works for individual young people. Their excellent communication and interpersonal skills help them to build positive and trusting relationships with young people, regardless of the complexity of young people‟s needs and circumstances. They have stable and trusting relationships with young people who previously have been hostile to authority figures such as social workers and the police. A social worker said, „The staff go above and beyond to meet the needs of children. They are fair, friendly but firm when interacting with children. It is as close to a “home” as they could possibly make it.‟ The registered manager and staff‟s enthusiasm, understanding and commitment have a positive impact on young people‟s lives. Their warm approach lets young

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Good

people feel valued and respected. A young person said, „This is a good place to live. You don‟t get pressured, staff give you space when you need it.‟ Young people develop a strong sense of belonging because they know that staff care about them, are interested in their welfare, want what is best for them, encourage and support their talents and always take their wishes and feelings seriously. The quality of the relationships between the adults and young people is helping to build young people‟s emotional resilience and improving their self-esteem and their understanding of their experiences and circumstances. The staff sensitively enable young people to work through difficult experiences and feelings of grief, rejection and disappointment. A social worker said, „The young person‟s placement is working and making a difference. He is developing into a well-balanced, mature, level-headed young man. He‟s thinking more clearly and understands the reasons

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Good

why he is not living with his family. This is enabling him to move forward. The staff do their best for him and couldn‟t have supported him any better.‟ In this supportive environment, young people are finding useful strategies to help them deal with stressful situations and their worries; for example, using simple breathing exercises to feel calm and to get to sleep at night. The staff are also helping young people to learn about what makes a healthy positive relationship with their parents and friends, and to recognise and manage unrealistic expectations from other people that may not be in their best interests or harmful to their well-being. The registered manager and staff make every effort to make sure that young people are involved in the running of the home, including expressing their views about the selection of new staff, the design, decoration and location of the home. Young people make day-to-day decisions about their clothes, the food they eat

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Good

and how they spend their spare time. They identify the goals they want to achieve, for example cooking a meal for everyone independently. They agree a detailed plan for meeting the goal and invariably succeed in achieving it. They are also fully involved in making decisions about their lives, including choices around their education and training and plans for their future. The registered manager and staff balance young people‟s views against what they judge to be in the young person‟s best interests and work out the best way forward. They have worked effectively with a young person, his family, social workers, and foster carers to act upon his wish to see more of his dad and sisters. This was a very positive experience for him and showed him that his wishes could be met in a safe and structured way. Effective care planning and strong working relationships between the staff, families, placing authorities and other people involved in the children‟s lives mean

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Good

that they are receiving the support they need on a daily basis. Everyone works extremely well together to ensure that the relevant plans for each child‟s care are reviewed on an ongoing basis to reflect their progress and continue to meet their needs and circumstances. Young people live in a healthy environment. Their physical health continues to improve because they have healthy and nutritious diets and get plenty of exercise. Young people are spending less time playing online games, instead getting involved in physical exercise, including going to the gym and playing football. The staff support and encourage young people to attend health appointments and receive support from health services to meet their needs and help them understand about healthy lifestyles. Young people make positive choices about their health, for example a young person has decided to reduce risks to her health by giving up smoking. Staff have an excellent understanding of young people‟s

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Good

specific health needs and manage their health with sensitivity and confidence. They closely monitor young people to make sure they are healthy, and ensure that young people always get suitable medical advice and treatment when they are feeling unwell or they are concerned about their health. The registered manager and staff provide structure, stability, encouragement and opportunities for young people to take part in education and to learn and develop their knowledge, skills and talents. The staff actively help young people to see the importance of education in terms of enjoyment and for their future prospects. They work hard to tackle any barriers to young people‟s learning. They understand the factors that affect young people‟s participation in education and work well with schools and the virtual school headteacher to find achievable solutions. Since moving in, young people‟s school attendance and achievements have improved

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Good

significantly. One young person received the school‟s most improved student award and awards for her excellent attendance and achievements in her work. A young person is showing an impressive commitment to gaining qualifications. She has sat her GCSEs and is expected to do well. She has already achieved a number of vocational qualifications, including level 1 in hairdressing, BTEC level 1 in cookery skills, first aid, and nutrition and health, and has secured an apprenticeship and college place in hairdressing. Like any good parent, the staff have provided young people with additional support in developing their knowledge; for example, arranging for extra Spanish lessons. They also provide opportunities that nurture young people‟s abilities and talents in art, poetry, song writing and playing football. The registered manager and staff work hard to ensure that young people get the right support and guidance to help them develop their life skills and prepare for

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Good

moving into their own accommodation. Staff ensure that young people are fully involved in the planning for their futures. Young people have every opportunity to develop practical life skills, including shopping, cooking and managing money. They have recently helped a young person move on in a planned way. A key part of this was helping the young person to prepare emotionally for living independently and making sure that she had the practical and emotional support she needed to help her in the future. The young people live in a homely, pleasant and comfortable place, which is furnished and decorated to a very high standard. They have plenty of personal space and their bedrooms and bathrooms are tidy and decorated to reflect their characters and interests. They like the location of the home because they know „it is safe, crime-free, with not a lot of kids messing around, and it‟s close to shops, football and training.‟

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Good

The registered manager and staff have created an open and strong safeguarding culture in this home. Young people are protected from harm and feel safe. They are listened to and their feelings and worries are taken seriously by trusted adults. The staff have detailed knowledge of individual young people‟s risks and vulnerabilities to abuse and exploitation. They are vigilant, and take prompt and decisive action to deal with any concerns about the young people‟s safety. This includes sharing information with the social workers, the police and safeguarding agencies, and working together effectively to manage the risks that the children face and take action that protects them. The local police child sexual abuse coordinator said, „The staff identify and understand the risks associated with sexual exploitation. Even when young people are secretive, not much gets past the staff. They pick up on the little things that may get overlooked, such as changes in the

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Good

young people‟s mood, behaviour, use of make-up and mobile phone calls late at night, and act on their concerns.‟ The risks to young people of neglect, exploitation and self-harm have significantly reduced and they are increasingly safer since they first moved in. Young people are no longer going missing. Staff make every effort to help them understand the dangers involved and know how to get help if they do run away. The young people are now much better at keeping in touch with them when they go out and letting them know where they are going. On the rare occasions, young people have gone missing, staff make every effort to find out where they are by going out looking for them, contacting the young person, their friends and family by telephone. When young people return home, they always get the chance to talk to an independent person about what happened and their concerns. This has helped the staff build a

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Good

clearer picture of the reasons why they went missing ― for example, wanting to spend more time with their family – and take action to reduce the risks. The registered manager has been instrumental in the placing authority reassessing the risks of young people visiting their family. This is an effort to enable the young people and their families to be more open about their whereabouts and to start to be able to use realistic and effective protective measures. The young people have built a strong sense of safety as well as trusting relationships with their staff. This has helped them to feel safe enough to explore and manage the impact of their previous experiences. The manager and staff‟s fair and consistent approach to promoting positive behaviour is meeting the young people‟s emotional needs, helping them to develop strategies for managing their feelings safely, and to understand socially acceptable behaviour. Young people are

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Good

always praised and rewarded for positive behaviour and achieving their goals, including improving their school attendance or cooking a meal as part of their independence plan. The manager and staff always treat young people with warmth, understanding, dignity, kindness and respect. This has helped young people to feel safe and emotionally secure. They trust staff and are confident that the staff will be there to help them when they are feeling down, frustrated or upset. A young person said, „The staff know when I‟m upset, they can tell and ask me what‟s wrong.‟ The staff know the young people well and understand how their previous experiences and feelings may be communicated through behaviour. For example, staff recognised when a young person was struggling emotionally around family relationships. They worked with him to explore his feelings and to improve his relationship with his parents. This included using enjoyable activities to make

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Good

seeing his family a more positive and meaningful experience. Occasionally, young people struggle to manage their feelings and may show difficult or unsafe behaviour. The manager and staff‟s good use of restorative practice helps young people deal with, and resolve, conflict positively. This often includes staff and the young person reflecting on what happened and thinking of ways to try to resolve things constructively in the future. Staff think about how their actions and behaviour affected the young person and influenced what happened. This approach enables young people to learn to negotiate outcomes that are agreeable to everyone involved and accept responsibility for their actions. For example, a young person had some choice about how to make reparation: either paying towards the cost of repairing for the damage he caused or cleaning the car. The written records of the use of sanctions do not always provide a detailed

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Good

picture of what happened and the effectiveness of staff‟s responses in dealing with young people‟s behaviour. More written information about young people‟s behaviour, staff‟s actions to deal with the situation, and young people‟s views about what happened would enable the registered manager to more effectively scrutinise how well the approach is working to help young people manage their feelings safely, and inform future practice. The registered manager ensures that people wishing to work at the home go through a rigorous selection procedure and that their suitability is carefully checked. She makes sure that they have the right personal qualities, enthusiasm, experience, skills and values to work with vulnerable young people. She makes every effort to prevent unsuitable people from working at the home. She makes sure that she has all the available information to make decisions about a person‟s suitability. This includes verifying by telephone information about a person‟s

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Good

practice, experiences and abilities from previous employers. She employed a translator to verify written references from a person‟s previous employers outside the United Kingdom and independently checked that the person‟s qualifications were equivalent to the required childcare qualifications for staff. Young people routinely take part in the selection of new staff. They devise questions for the interview, share their views about what makes a good member of staff, and get the chance to talk to candidates and show them around the house. The registered manager always takes their opinions into account and their views have influenced decisions about which person to employ. Judgement grade

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Good

Highly effective and committed leadership and management ensure that promoting young people‟s welfare is the priority, and young people receive the highest possible standard of care. Consequently, young people invariably make significant progress in all the areas of their development after they move into this children‟s home. The registered manager is vastly experienced and suitably qualified. She has been providing consistently strong and effective leadership since 2011 and is ambitious for young people to do extremely well. She has embedded, and promotes, a positive culture that provides young people with a caring, family home that meets their needs and enables them to reach their full potential. This ethos is evident in all aspects of the running of the home and the support that young people receive. A social worker said, „The staff strive to do their best for young people and couldn‟t support them any better.‟

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Good

The registered manager has a detailed understanding of the progress that young people are making and ensures that they are cared for in line with their agreed plans. She is also quick to identify when young people are struggling and areas of unmet needs, for example in relation to bereavement and family relationships, and takes suitable action. She makes sure that young people have access to the best possible support to meet their individual needs. The registered manager and the staff have productive and collaborative working relationships with parents, social workers, schools and health services to try to secure positive outcomes for young people. They communicate effectively with the other people about young people‟s experiences and progress. They are open to advice and guidance about how to improve the quality of care young people receive. The registered manager assertively challenges partner agencies when she feels

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Good

that the young people are not getting the right support or that decisions may not be in their best interest. The registered manager and staff act as strong champions for young people‟s views and for their needs to be met. A social worker said of staff, „They always fight the child‟s corner.‟ The registered manager, for example, successfully challenged a placing authority when a failure to carry out its responsibilities caused disruption and unnecessary delays in a young person‟s planned move into adult accommodation. The staffing arrangements ensure that there are always sufficient experienced, skilled and qualified staff available to meet young people‟s assessed needs. Young people receive the continuity of care that promotes secure attachments and positive relationships with the people caring for them. The staff are highly motivated and clearly enjoy working with the young people. They share the registered manager‟s high aspirations to make a positive difference to young

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Good

people‟s lives. They work together cohesively to provide each young person with a consistently high quality of care in a safe, friendly and nurturing home. The registered manager provides each member of staff with excellent support, guidance and encouragement. Staff have regular opportunities through professional supervision and team meetings to review young people‟s progress and their own performance, and to develop their skills and knowledge through appropriate training relevant to the needs of the young people. The registered manager has created a positive and supportive working environment, which has contributed to building a stable, resilient and highly competent staff team. She recognises the emotional impact that the work may have on staff and provides them with the support they need to deal with any challenges they may face. The staff also have every opportunity to take on new responsibilities and use their

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Good

initiative to promote young people‟s interests and welfare. The registered manager listens to staff‟s ideas and is keen to try new things out. A member of staff, for example, is developing a young person‟s emotional literacy through encouraging her to write reviews of the films she enjoys watching. She talks about her feelings about what she has seen and how this relates to her own experiences. The young person said that she likes thinking about the meaning of the films and what this means to her. The registered manager and provider use effective systems to monitor and review the home‟s effectiveness in meeting young people‟s needs and promoting their safety. As a result, they have a detailed and realistic understanding of the home‟s strengths and actively work towards improving the quality of care they provide for young people. An independent person visits the home every month and provides an impartial and thorough assessment of the arrangements for safeguarding and

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Good

promoting young people‟s welfare. The manager using these findings to inform a detailed and achievable development plan to improve the standard of the accommodation and staff‟s skills and knowledge of understanding of mental health and promoting children‟s emotional well-being, and using life stories to help young people to make sense of their previous experiences to aid their recovery from trauma. The review of the quality of care clearly sets out how the registered manager and staff routinely consult with young people about living in the home and the decisions affecting their lives. However, the review does not include what young people‟s views actually are about the home, its facilities and the quality of care they are receiving. This is a missed opportunity for the registered manager and staff to understand young people‟s experiences and show how they are involving young people in improving the care and support they get.

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Good

The registered manager‟s streamlining of young people‟s records means that information about their experiences is easily accessible and their progress can be measured since they first moved in. However, the records do not consistently show young people‟s views and opinions about their lives and how they are being looked after. Their views about their progress and daily lives are not included in their monthly progress reports; their risk assessments and behaviour management plans do not show how they want to be supported and what they feel helps them to be safer and to manage their anxieties and frustrations. It is clear from speaking with young people, the registered manager and staff that young people are asked their opinions and their views are taken into account in how they are supported and helped. The lack of accurate records of young people‟s views does not help to provide a detailed picture of young people‟s lives that contributes to a better

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Good

understanding of their lives, feelings and worries. In addition, staff do not always use the written records to reflect on the quality and impact of their work with young people. Key-work records and written monthly reviews of young people‟s placement plans do not always provide an in-depth analysis of young people‟s progress, reflect critically on the support that they are receiving and identify priorities for their individual care and personal development. This lack of evaluation limits the registered manager‟s, staff‟s and social workers‟ abilities to understand how they are making a difference to young people‟s lives and identify, consolidate and share good practice.

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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 that 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 that 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 whom 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 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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