Children's home run by Nugent Care 2019 in Liverpool

Good

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

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Children build strong relationships with staff and feel cared for and safe. They benefit from stable placements in a nurturing and child-centred home.  Children re-engage with education and make good overall progress across all aspects of their health and development. They enjoy the many positive experiences offered and develop confidence, self-esteem and resilience.  Children’s safety and welfare are central to the home’s practice and decision- making. The home has strengthened its relationships with safeguarding agencies, which report strong protective practices.  The leadership and management of the home have been strengthened with the addition of house managers, improved systems and practices and better documentation. Staff are well supported and supervised and this enables good and effective placement planning and review.  Most of the shortfalls identified at the interim inspection in February 2016

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

have been fully addressed. Leaders and managers know the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have an appropriate development plan in place. This is driving up standards of care so that children make good overall progress.  Lessons are learned from reflection on serious incidents and practice continues to improve. The management team and staff are committed to the children and to improving the service.  Areas for improvement include the need for better monitoring of records and serious incidents, better engagement by the staff team in regular staff meetings, more focus on helping children to stay safe online and better supervision of children using electronic games. The home also needs to ensure that staff are well trained in countering bullying so that children are protected from the risk of bullying.

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 within the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records 35. — (3) The registered person must ensure that— (a) 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— (ii) details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; (iii) the date, time and location of the use of the measure; (iv) a description of the measure and its duration; (v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and (viii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)— (i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

(ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and (c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (4) Paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to restraint that is planned or provided for as a matter of routine in the child’s EHC plan or statement of special educational needs. 31/10/2016

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that children have access to a computer to support their learning and development and support them to use it safely by ensuring that they understand how to stay safe online. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.19)  Ensure that children's case records are kept up to date so that their records 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, so that the reasons why the move is considered to be in the child's best interests are appropriately recorded. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3 and 14.5)  Ensure that staff seek to meet the child's basic needs in the way a good parent

p.5

Recommendations

would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met. In particular, staff should make sure that children's beds are made, that bedding is clean and comfortable and that their bedrooms are a clean and welcoming space. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  Ensure that staff understand what they must do to prevent bullying and have the skills required to recognise and address different types of abuse and bullying between peers. Ensure that they intervene, protect and address bullying behaviours effectively. To this end, the registered person should ensure that skills in countering bullying and resolving differences through a restorative justice approach are gained, refreshed and practised. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.16)

p.5

Recommendations

 Ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. In particular, staff should ensure that children do not have access to adult video games or those that contain high levels of violence, gang warfare and crime. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  Ensure that you only accept placements for children where you are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in their relevant plans and where you have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. This should be evident in the home's compatibility risk assessments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Ensure that the registered person understands what will be required of the home

p.5

Recommendations

before accepting responsibility for a child's placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child and other children in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)  Lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the statement of purpose. In particular, review the arrangements for staff meetings to ensure that all staff working with children are kept up to date with behaviour management strategies and the individual care plans of these children for whom they hold responsibility. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

p.5

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.

p.7

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 25/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/10/2015 Full Requires improvement 28/01/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/08/2014 Full Adequate

p.7

Good

The home currently provides good-quality, person-centred care to 19 boys, many of whom live there for 52 weeks of the year. Children speak positively about the home and staff. One child expressed the views of many when he said, ‘It’s decent, better than other homes I’ve been in. Staff support and look after you. They deal with things.’ Staff provide warm, nurturing care and respond to children calmly and positively so that children develop good relationships with staff and are confident that they will be listened to. The home’s increased focus on assigning a regular staff team to each house helps children get to know their staff team well and helps them to feel comfortable, relaxed and secure. One child explained, ‘I’m settled here. They treat me right. They always respect me.’ Another child said, ‘I like it. I’m happy.’ Six of the eight houses that make up the children’s home are currently in use, providing pleasant, homely and well-maintained accommodation. The remaining

p.8

Good

two houses are being refurbished as part of an ongoing, rolling renovation programme. The houses each have their own garden and are set in extensive, well- kept grounds where children have the opportunity to play together and form friendships in a well-supervised setting. Children enjoy the many opportunities to have fun, both on-site and in the community. They benefit from a wide range of available activities which they engage in according to their individual preferences and needs. These range, for example, from trips to the Liverpool philharmonic orchestra to rock concerts, football matches, the gym, go-karting and short holidays, all of which are chosen and enjoyed by children. Some children are members of local sports teams and benefit enormously from the camaraderie and discipline of team work. One child explained, ‘It’s good. They look after me. Staff try to sort things out as best they can, like rugby – if there’s not

p.8

Good

enough staff, they will try to push it, so I can go.’ Through having fun and learning new skills, children’s self-esteem increases and they develop higher personal aspirations and improve their interpersonal skills. Staff in the home work effectively in partnership with school colleagues, encouraging children back into learning. They are often successful where other homes have failed. For example, a child newly admitted to the home is receiving a carefully planned, gentle introduction to school, and is beginning to enjoy it. His social worker explained, ‘He has not previously engaged well in education. This has affected the ability of agencies to work with him and he does not value education.’ He had been out of school for two years before moving to the home. Children with a history of non-school attendance increasingly engage well in education and many go on to college or to the on-site sixth form. This improves their life chances.

p.8

Good

Children’s health is well promoted. There is no longer a nurse on-site. Instead, children are registered with and visit local health practices and specialists in accordance with their needs. A number of children have complex health needs that are well supported by staff who have a good understanding of their conditions. Medicines are stored and administered safely so that children receive the medicines and treatment that they need. Children’s health is considered as part of their individual risk assessments. This ensures that their health and well-being is central to planning and safeguarding practice, including individual missing from care protocols. Children’s views are clearly evident in placement plans, which are child-centred, individually tailored documents that outline well how the home is supporting each child’s needs. Achievable targets are set each day. Through carefully chosen individual incentives and rewards, the home supports children to develop good

p.9

Good

habits, learn social and self-care skills and over time, become more independent. A social worker said, ‘He has made significant progress. His social skills have increased and relationships improved. He is very vulnerable, but he is quite sheltered there. They have a good grip, and have an open relationship with him so he feels safe. His aim is to remain there.’ Consultation with children is good. A log of complaints made by children demonstrates that their views are taken seriously and are quickly addressed. This encourages children to report any concerns that they have to staff and gives them confidence that their views are important. For example, one child complained that repairs to damaged property were not being addressed fast enough as the maintenance men were focusing on renovating the houses not currently in use. The manager addressed this so that repairs to living accommodation in use now take priority.

p.9

Good

Children confirm that they are made welcome at the home and are fully involved in decision-making about their daily lives as well as their care plans. Staff and young adults are fully involved in pathway planning and contribute effectively to decisions about future placements. Some young adults remain in placement significantly beyond their 18th birthday when they are not ready to move on to adult services and placing authorities are slow to find suitable accommodation for them. The home continues to provide appropriate levels of support so that transitions are carefully planned and well managed. Parents express confidence in the home’s ability to provide good care for their children. For example, one parent said, ‘Our son has lived there for four years. He has received excellent care, tailored to his needs throughout this time. The staff demonstrate really good understanding of his particular anxieties and emotional

p.9

Good

difficulties. They have shown a great deal of commitment to him, which has enabled him to build trusting relationships with staff and has played a large part in helping him to move on emotionally and mature in the time he has been there.’ Although staff encourage children to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy, they do not always provide the high levels of support some children need with this. Consequently, some children’s rooms are untidy and littered with empty packages and other debris. Their bedding is not maintained in a comfortable and clean condition. The home has installed a phone in each house so that children can freely and privately contact helplines such as ChildLine, the children’s commissioner, the police, NSPCC and Ofsted. The helpline phone numbers are clearly displayed within the phone booth as well as in the children’s guide. Children rarely use this phone and in one house, staff had not noticed it had been broken. However, most

p.9

Good

children have a mobile phone which the home funds, so that they can contact their families and friends. This is risk assessed so that those children who are identified as needing supervision or have restricted phone use are supported to use the office phone safely and in accordance with their own plans. Staff facilitate home visits for children, as appropriate, providing transport where required. They maintain supportive relationships with parents. Computers have been purchased for children’s use. They have not yet been installed so children are not yet able to access a computer to support their learning within their home. However, many children use the home’s Wi-Fi to access the internet and social media on their own smart phones. This is risk assessed and with agreement from their social workers. The home has made small progress in meeting the recommendation made at the last inspection to support children to

p.10

Good

The home has a strong safeguarding culture. Individually tailored risk assessments help staff to identify, understand and manage risks to children. For example, staff have a very good understanding of how to protect children at risk of self-injurious behaviour and although they cannot always prevent self-harm, they are often able to reduce it or prevent it from escalating. Good reflection on incidents helps staff and children to learn alternative strategies that help to promote everyone’s safety. Parents are confident in the home’s ability to look after their children safely. For example, one parent wrote, ‘They have been able to keep him safe when he has been in crisis.’ Children say that staff do their best to keep them safe and most say that they feel safe in the home. Those who sometimes feel unsafe, report this is because of the actions of other children. The culture of openness and trust encourages children to report any concerns to staff. These are appropriately and

p.10

Good

swiftly dealt with to children’s satisfaction. The home does not tolerate bullying. Children usually speak to staff if they feel that they are being threatened or bullied and staff take their comments seriously and address them quickly. In most instances, this defuses the situation, prevents the escalation of aggression and protects children from harm. However, bullying incidents and fights between children occur from time to time and some children have been injured. Staff, managers and children reflect on such incidents. This ensures that lessons are learned so that children are better protected in future. Increasingly, a restorative justice approach is used to promote understanding and improve relationships between children, and there is evidence of this being successful. However, it is not yet routine and not all staff are fully competent to successfully chair restorative justice meetings that lead to improved relationships.

p.10

Good

Few staff have been trained in countering bullying and greater focus is needed on this to ensure, as far as possible, that bullying is prevented. A small number of children have repeatedly gone missing from care and, while missing, have committed crimes in the local community. This has led to strained relationships between the home and neighbours which has impacted both on children living at the home and on families living nearby, such that both children and families have been unsafe. After many unsuccessful attempts to guide one child away from anti-social behaviour, in collaboration with partner agencies, a decision was made to end the placement and the child moved on to a more suitable setting. Since then, the home has made good progress in repairing relationships with the community so that children again feel safe to go out unsupervised. However, to protect their anonymity, individual children have not

p.11

Good

been involved in apologising to those against whom they have committed offences. This means that children may not have a good understanding of the consequences of their actions. Children who have been at risk of serious harm in the community through child sexual exploitation, substance misuse or domestic violence are better protected living at this home. The home alerts the police when offences against children are suspected so that investigations can take place. Staff help children to understand how to stay safe both in the community and online and what safe and appropriate relationships look like. More needs to be done to embed this knowledge and understanding so that children use social media safely and know how to better protect themselves from dangerous liaisons. Individual missing from care protocols support staff to work with the police and others so that children receive the best possible protection when they go missing.

p.11

Good

Five children account for 85% of incidents of children going missing since November 2015. At 87, the number of incidents of going missing is significantly higher than in the previous 12 months. As all children living at the home are very vulnerable, they are appropriately reported to the police as missing or absent, in accordance with their individual protocols. Staff are proactive in securing children’s safe return. For example, they search for missing children and alert families and friends and the transport personnel and police, where necessary. Most children return safely within a short period and many return of their own accord, or are found by staff. In many cases, children turn up at home and their parents alert the home of their arrival. Multi-agency safeguarding meetings are held, as appropriate, and children receive a service from the local independent agency that interviews children on their return and reports back to the police and

p.11

Good

local authority safeguarding team. No children have identified concerns about the home as a reason for going missing. The police report that the home works proactively and effectively with them, which promotes children’s safety and well- being. Seven children have been reported missing a small number of times, when they have failed to return within agreed timeframes. All have returned to the home, safe and well. This may be related to the home’s change in practice which enables more children to go off site, in accordance with their individual risk assessments. The policy is successfully helping children to be more involved in the community, more independent and less at risk of institutionalisation. Staff know how to respond to disclosures or allegations of abuse and records indicate that allegations are appropriately shared with relevant professionals and fully investigated in line with recommendations from the designated officer in the

p.12

Good

local authority. Appropriate disciplinary measures have been taken in one instance where an allegation was founded. A professional explained, ‘They engage extremely well with the local authority designated officer process and never hesitate to seek guidance. Whereas we have difficulties with other homes, they are timely in their referrals and absolutely on the ball.’ The number of restraints has reduced slightly from an average of 8.1 a month in the review period prior to the last full inspection to an average of 7.5 a month in this review period. The number of complaints arising from restraints has reduced and records of restraints are carefully reviewed by the leadership team. Although much has been done to improve the recording of restraints, this remains an area for further improvement as key information is missing from some records. The manager is aware of this shortfall in practice and continues to address it with

p.12

Good

individual staff and the whole team. There is nothing to suggest restraint is used other than to prevent serious injury or damage. Although the home has a policy of not allowing children to use electronic games designed for adults, in practice, this is not strictly enforced. This means that some children are playing games that involve high levels of violence and gang warfare and are most unsuitable.

p.12

Good

The home is led by an experienced manager who is a qualified teacher with expertise in providing pastoral and residential care to children with special educational needs. She has been the registered manager since 2008 and is currently undertaking a level 5 diploma. She is assisted by a suitably qualified and experienced deputy manager. Since the last inspection, three house managers have been appointed so that each house is led by a manager or a team leader who reports directly to the deputy or registered manager. This has significantly strengthened the leadership team. It has led to improvements in the overall supervision of and support to staff in each house. Consequently, children are looked after by staff who are growing in confidence and are well supervised in their day-to-day work. The manager is equally well supervised and supported by the responsible individual who took up post in January 2016. The responsible individual has a hands on

p.12

Good

approach, visiting the home each week and meeting with the leadership team to drive all round improvement in the home. She maintains a good and constructive overview of the home’s management and development. Much has been done to address the 10 recommendations for good practice made following the interim inspection in February 2016 and this has resulted in improvements in the delivery of care. Leaders and managers know the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have a clear development plan in place to address shortfalls and further improve the service. For example, the new training and development officer for the organisation is working with the manager to identify improved training packages that meet the needs of the home. Many staff have completed additional training as well as the home’s mandatory training. A rolling programme enables the continuous professional development of staff who have access to a wide range of useful training events, including training

p.13

Good

in measuring outcomes, safeguarding children at risk of child sexual exploitation and extremism, managing self-injurious behaviour, helping children to develop resilience and counter-balancing neglect. This helps staff to have a better understanding of children’s individual and complex needs and to support children effectively. Improved placement planning documents have been introduced and these give a clear focus on children’s needs and how the home is to support them. House managers maintain a good overview of each child’s progress and development, and strong communication and reporting systems ensure that the registered manager and deputy have a good understanding of children’s individual needs and progress. Partnership working has been strengthened and the home is continuing to work more closely and effectively with other agencies. Professionals report that the home is proactive and that managers inspire confidence through their risk

p.13

Good

assessments and good understanding of safeguarding. For example, a safeguarding professional commented, ‘They are very balanced in their approach, in terms of considering both the child’s needs and the worker’s needs but it is clear that the child’s needs are paramount. They are fully involved in risk management and come up with solutions and recommendations for action that are proactive and extremely helpful for us.’ The home appropriately challenges placing authorities that make placements in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan and those that do not provide copies of statutory review reports and other relevant documents. However, the home does not insist that full information is provided prior to placement and this means that the home does not always have the essential information required to ensure safe and effective placement planning. The organisation has committed significant resources to the IT infrastructure of the

p.13

Good

whole site with work being completed over the summer period. Considerable teething problems have meant that the new system has been out of action for several weeks over the summer and this has significantly impacted on the registered manager’s ability to monitor records relating to restraints and serious incidents. Consequently, shortfalls in records and practice have not been appropriately addressed with staff during July and August 2016. Although house managers have reviewed these records, serious shortfalls have not been addressed, such as inadequate detail in the recording of restraints. This means that the new house managers are not yet sufficiently skilled to recognise and address poor practice and more needs to be done to ensure the effectiveness of the new management structure. The home receives monthly visits and reports from an independent person. These are helpful, evaluative reports that assist the leadership team in monitoring the

p.14

Good

operation of the home and the quality of care. The visitor assesses and comments on the home’s safeguarding practice and seeks the views of children, their parents and social workers, where appropriate. She identifies shortfalls in practice, which the home addresses. The home’s statement of purpose has recently been reviewed, taking account of personnel and line management changes. The organisation is in the process of submitting a copy to Ofsted. Compatibility risk assessments have been further developed but do not yet show good evidence of why children have been matched to a particular house. Nor do they show that the needs and personalities of other children or the skills of the staff team have been taken into account in reaching placement planning decisions. When children move from one house to another, the reason for that move is not evidenced clearly in the child’s file. This means that children’s files do not always

p.14

Good

show evidence of the robust decision-making that is taking place. The arrangements for staff team meetings are not strong in that they are not scheduled into the rota and staff who are not on duty at the time of the meeting attend voluntarily as overtime, if at all. Many staff choose not to attend. This reduces the home’s ability to ensure that all staff receive consistent messages and instructions and are fully involved in case discussions and decisions about behaviour management strategies for children in their house. A new rota has been introduced to make better use of staff time and provide more full days for children to have outings with staff. It does not include time for all staff to meet together for a full team meeting. Early signs are that the rota needs further development to ensure that children are appropriately supervised by a consistent team of staff at all times of the day and to ensure that staff have the

p.14

Good

opportunity to attend and contribute to regular team meetings.

p.14

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.15

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.15

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.

p.15

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.16

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.16

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.17

Information about this inspection

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

p.17

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.17

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.17