Children's home run by Warrington Borough Council

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 make good progress in their lives through living at the home. They grow in self-awareness and, over time, learn to manage their emotions, and develop positive and trusting relationships with others.  Young people experience care that focuses on their individual needs and builds on their strengths, talents and interests. Staff are attuned to the impact of previous life experiences upon young people, and provide nurturing and holistic care.  Consultation with young people is a strength of the service. Their input is sought in all aspects of the work undertaken. Young people said that they value this and feel listened to.  There is a wide variety of activities for young people, both in the home and in the community. Staff support young people in maintaining their hobbies and interests.  Staff understand the importance of regular contact for young people and their families, and support this.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The young people continue to make progress at this home educationally, socially and emotionally. Young people have developed aspirations for their futures, and value the role that education brings to their lives.  The staff team and managers work very collaboratively with placing authorities, parents and other agencies. All feedback gained during this inspection was very positive. Such positive multi-agency working has led to improvements in the emotional well-being, social skills and educational achievements of young people.  The young people take a pride in their home. They are involved in choosing the decor and undertake chores around the house.  This inspection identifies some areas for improvement. These are in relation to ensuring that staff receive appropriate training. The manager has been asked to ensure that key documents, such as risk assessments and incident and records, are suitably detailed and accurate. These matters are not

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The children’s home provision is good because:

currently having an impact on the safety and well-being of young people.

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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 ‘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

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure—

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Requirement Due date

(12) (2)(a)(i) that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, they must ensure that risk assessments are thorough, up to date and promptly reviewed. 24/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

(13) (2) (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 24/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. In particular, ensure that all staff complete suitable training in working with young people who self-harm. (Regulation 33(4)(a)) 24/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child, which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. This is with particular regard to ensuring that the information recorded is accurate and of a sufficient quality. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 24/10/2016

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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

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority-run children’s home, registered for two young people with emotional and behavioural problems.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 25/08/2015 Full Outstanding 10/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/11/2014 Full Outstanding 28/02/2014 Interim Good progress

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Good

Both young people say that this is their home. One said, ‘This is the Farnworth family. It’s just like any other family home.’ The other said, ‘it is a family environment and a happy family.’ Young people feel safe and supported.

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Good

Young people make very good progress in all aspects of their lives. Their experiences through living at the home are rewarding, and nurture their emotional growth. They are given sensitive responses that are well informed and thoughtful with regard to their backgrounds, temperaments and strengths. They feel listened to and that staff care about them.

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Good

Admissions to the home are planned and involve young people visiting the home, and staff visiting them, before they come to live there. This enables a robust assessment to be undertaken to gain a view of the potential impact on other young people. As a result, young people meet staff and other young people, look around the home and are provided with information before coming to live at the home. This ensures that young people’s needs are clearly identified and are met by the staff.

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Good

As a result of the good-quality care and role modelling that are provided, young people learn to appreciate other’s views, and to share their thoughts and feelings in an acceptable way. Young people learn to trust the adults who care for them and, through this, they begin to talk about what is difficult in their lives. A young person said: ‘It’s really chilled here and I do feel listened to.’

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Good

Young people make significant emotional and social progress. Interactions between the staff and young people are warm and considerate, and there are observable attachments. A social work manager was able to confirm that a young person is ‘making significant improvement in all aspects of her life, and has quickly made meaningful attachments with the staff.’ An independent reviewing officer said, ‘Staff maintain excellent relationships with the young people and it is evident that this works in the outcomes for young people living there.’

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Good

A stable, diverse and mature staff team, with a good breadth of knowledge and skill, provides a consistent approach to care and behaviour management. This stability has resulted in young people living in a home which they describe as ‘not like a children’s home, just feels like home’, and ‘like one big family’.

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Good

All young people have an identified educational provision. From their starting points, young people make very good progress in terms of their academic abilities, willingness to attend and understanding of the role that education plays in their future lives. One young person is being supported by staff to ensure that his attendance at college is maintained. The other young person said, ‘They helped me to go back to college and I got loads of GSCEs, more than five above C grade. I am going to be a music therapist.’ Families are included in the celebrations of young people’s academic achievements. An example includes family members attending a pre-prom party to celebrate a young person leaving school and moving onto college. A parent commented, ‘We all went to see her before her prom and she looked spectacular. I was so proud to be part of that with her.’

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Good

Staff provide individualised care, and partner professionals said that they ‘are very intuitive of the young people’s needs’. The atmosphere within the home is warm and calm, and social interaction is friendly and fun. The young people enjoy each other’s company and normal childhood experiences, celebrating birthdays with parties, going on holiday, having season tickets for the local rugby league team and attending school proms. They enjoy a variety of regular clubs, such as youth clubs, and singing and dancing clubs.

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Good

Young people are well supported with their individual health needs, and staff follow detailed healthcare plans. Care, encouragement and attention to detail are given to all aspects of young people’s health, including the quality of meals, attendance at appointments and access to professional services. Examples include staff from the home working alongside specialist attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nurses to monitor the careful phasing out of medication for a young person. This has resulted in young people having very good health outcomes.

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Good

The young people are encouraged and supported to develop their independence skills in line with their care plan, age and understanding. Young people have plans to budget for the week, cook their own meals, manage their own day-to-day needs and use public transport independently. Staff understand that transitions towards independence for the young people are very difficult and, if young people are struggling with cooking and budgeting, for example, staff amend their plans accordingly. This means that young people can move towards independence at a pace which alleviates any anxieties that they may have and they are able to talk to staff about why they find it difficult.

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Good

The home presents as a lived-in family home. It is warm, welcoming and comfortable. The quality of furniture and decoration is very good. Young people described their house as ‘great house to live in’. Young people are involved in making decisions on all aspects of the home’s decor and layout, and take pride in helping with the gardening. Judgement grade

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Good

Young people say that they feel safe and that staff constantly ask them where they are going and who they are seeing. They say that staff are very protective. One young person said that the staff ‘are great and I can talk to (name of staff) about anything’. Each young person is able to identify staff whom they would tell if they felt unsafe or were worried about something.

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Good

The young people know how to complain and they feel listened to. There has only been one complaint since the last inspection. The manager responded to this within an appropriate timescale, and the young person was satisfied with the outcome of the manager’s response. This creates an atmosphere whereby the young people feel listened to and are able to voice any worries that they may have in a safe environment.

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Good

The home has a large number of risk assessments for each child. However, updates and reviews have not been followed promptly after incidents have occurred. For example, the missing from home risk assessment for one young person does not contain the correct information in relation to his age or the college that he attends. Furthermore, risk assessments and placement plans have not been updated after young people have engaged in self-harming behaviour. This means that the documents do not reflect the most up-to-date knowledge regarding the young person

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Good

Staff have a calming influence when young people become anxious or struggle to manage their behaviour. Behaviour management plans have useful de-escalation strategies that support young people. Young people agree to the consequences given, all of which are on minor issues. Consequences are proportionate, and are not a punitive punishment. A young person said, ‘it’s usually around them saying no. That’s all right, though, as I get that they have to, even though it annoys me.’ The home operates an incentive scheme for good behaviour which works very well, and young people have engaged fully with the scheme.

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Good

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and have attended the relevant training. The local authority designated officer commented: ‘I have no concerns about the home. The manager will inform me of any concerns and will always follow any advice given.’ However, the home provides support to young people who may be at risk of child sexual exploitation and who engage in self-harming behaviour, yet not all staff have undertaken training in these areas. The impact for young people is reduced, as staff are aware of the home’s guidance and procedures to be followed. However, without specific training that is regularly updated, this does not demonstrate that staff are supported to understand and manage risk effectively. All medication is stored and recorded appropriately. Consent for medical treatment and first aid is in place for each young person. The registered manager has a robust auditing system in place for overseeing the safe administration of

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Good

medication, which includes, staff routinely being observed by management to ensure that the procedures are followed. This ensures the ongoing safety and wellbeing of young people living in the home.

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Good

New staff have been recruited since the last inspection. Prospective staff are put through a rigorous process which includes a face-to-face interview with young people. Relevant checks are undertaken before new staff start work at the home to ensure that they are suitable for work with vulnerable young people.

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Good

All health and safety checks are up to date. The area risk assessment is being developed further, and the home is working with the local police to provide current ‘live’ information regarding any potential risk in the local community. This means that staff and young people are alert to any current risks in the local area, and it helps to safeguard the young people living in the home further.

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Good

A motivated and committed registered manager, who has high expectations and aspirations for young people, leads the home effectively. She is suitably experienced and qualified to undertake her responsibilities.

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Good

The manager understands the needs of young people and is accessible to them. Her presence is felt within the home. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘She is an excellent manager who is supported by an equally good team.’

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Good

There is a strong, shared ethos in the team about the importance of establishing and considering the views and wishes of young people. Discussions with young people take place daily to inform staff of young people’s emotional well-being. Weekly house meetings take place to allow young people to express their preferred activity and menu, say what has gone well and make any personal requests. The young people have been involved in reviewing the children’s guide for the home.

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Good

Care planning documents held within the home are of a generally good quality. However, some records are not dated and identify the wrong age of the young people, for example on the missing from home risk assessment. In some documentation, the words used to describe young people’s self-harming behaviour are not appropriate. This does not mirror the good practice carried out by staff, day to day. This does not have an impact on the day-to-day care received by the young people. However, it may have an impact, should they at any time wish to view their records. The registered manager does carry out audits of all documentation held within the home. However, she agreed that these shortfalls had not been identified in the current auditing system. She has made a commitment to review and revise her systems to ensure that complete and accurate records are kept within the home.

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Good

The staff interviewed during this inspection feel extremely positive about their work and have a full understanding of the home’s ethos. They feel very well supported and report that they receive regular supervision. Staff supervision is well recorded to show appropriate challenge and scrutiny. Team meetings are well attended, and discussions are focused on the needs and behaviours of the young people. Staff share young people’s achievements, and review patterns and trends in behaviours.

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Good

Guest speakers are invited to meetings to share their knowledge on a range of subjects such as children’s rights, independence and entitlements.

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Good

Recruitment is robust, and checks are completed and verified before staff can start working at the home. There is a new induction process in place which includes a new booklet devised by the registered manager. This helps to support staff through their probation periods with regular review meetings.

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Good

The staff do very well in providing young people with a safe and motivational environment where there are good levels of care and support. The staff team is diverse. The members of the team have a range of life experiences and qualifications, are skilled in working with the young people, and are both passionate and compassionate. All members of staff spoken with gave positive comments about the manager’s supportive leadership of the service.

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Good

The manager uses testimony from young people and information from professionals working with the home and complaints to learn lessons with a view to improvement. This informs the home’s development plan, which is focused on maintaining a high-quality service. Areas identified for improvement are actioned, which means that the home does not stagnate. As a result, young people receive services that the registered manager is constantly seeking to improve by using quality assurance processes.

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Good

Most staff have completed the national vocational award within the specified timescale. A new staff member has been enrolled on a course. All mandatory training has been completed. However, some staff have not received training to counter self-harm or radicalisation. This is significant, as some young people currently living at the home engage in self-harming behaviour. This lack of training means that not all staff are able to meet the known or emerging behaviours of the young people living at the home.

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Good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the home and areas that need developing. Staff commented that they felt supported by the manager, and are supported and encouraged to bring new ideas to her. This means that managers and staff have ownership of supporting the young people to progress continually and have positive experiences.

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Good

Although some requirements and recommendations have been set at this inspection, these do not significantly undermine the good-quality individualised care that the young people receive.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 ‘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 0300 123 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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