Children's home run by 2nd Nurture Limited in St. Helens

Good

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

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 The young person enjoys positive experiences living in this safe, friendly and supportive home. The enthusiastic, experienced and competent staff work together effectively to deliver a good standard of individualised care that consistently meets the young person’s needs and is improving his life. He is making good progress in his education, social skills, managing his feelings and behaviour, and improving his relationship with his parents. The level of risk to his safety has considerably reduced and he has become increasingly safer.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 The young person enjoys positive and friendly relationships with thestaff. He feels safe and is protected from harm. He feels listened to and that his feelings and worries are taken seriously. The staff help him to understand and manage his feelings and improve his behaviour. He is learning how to manage disagreements positively and develop meaningful relationships.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Productive working relationships between the registered manager, staff, family, placing authority, school, police, youth offending team and health workers mean that the young person receives support that is meeting his assessed needs and safeguarding his welfare. For example, good and effective communication and partnership working are helping to improve his educational outcomes.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 The registered manager provides effective leadership and management that prioritises the young person’s welfare. The staffing arrangements ensure that the young person receives consistent support and continuity of care that helps him to feel settled and to do well.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Improvements are needed in relation to the quality of the young person’s health plan, the review of the quality of care and understanding its impact on the young person’s life, the decoration of the home, staff’s professional development and written policies about the use of electronic cigarettes and the employment of family members.

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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

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership standard, the registered person must: (2)(f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. In particular, the independent person, who carries out visits under Regulation 44, must make a rigorous, detailed and evaluative assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children living in the home. Also, the independent visitor should find out the views of young people, parents and social workers about the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person’s review of the quality of care, under Regulation 45, must provide a thorough and evaluative assessment of children’s experiences and views about living in the home and the impact the quality of care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children, to enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness, and identify any actions required to make improvements in the home. Reviews should be underpinned by the quality standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. 09/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, they should have regular opportunities to develop and update their knowledge and skills through training programmes tailored to the individual needs of the children living 09/12/2016 in the home, including attachment theory, healthy relationships and working with children who have special educational needs. 45: Review of quality of care

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a)) 09/12/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Improve the quality of the decoration of the physical surroundings, especially the bedrooms, and ensure that all areas of the home are well maintained and that damaged items are replaced swiftly. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This is with regard to repairing and repainting the rear exterior door.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children’s individual health plan sets out the day-to-day arrangements for meeting all their health and well-being needs, and in particular in relation to promoting: their attendance at dental appointments, sexual health and relationships, emotional well-being and use of electronic cigarettes. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.2)

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Recommendations

 Devise a written policy in relation to children’s use of electronic cigarettes, in consultation with appropriate health professionals, including the designated nurse for looked after children, to ensure that staff have the relevant skills, knowledge and guidance to be able to help children understand the effects of the use of electronic cigarettes on their health and well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)

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Recommendations

 Devise a policy and procedures in relation to the employment of family members to ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of all employees safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. Ensure that when relatives are employed by the organisation there are clear and impartial processes in place for their recruitment and employment, line management, supervision and performance management, dealing with complaints and allegations, and disciplinary procedures. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private organisation and offers care and accommodation to one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/01/2016 Full Outstanding 11/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/05/2014 Full Good

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Good

The young person lives in a safe, positive and supportive home. He receives a good quality of individualised care that consistently meets his assessed needs and is helping him to achieve better developmental outcomes. The young person said, ‘It is an outstanding house. I feel safe, get on well with the staff, there is plenty to do, the food is nice, they help me with school and know what to do when I’m upset.’

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Good

The registered manager and staff work effectively towards achieving the placing authority’s plan for meeting the young person’s needs by providing him with consistent personalised support that has brought stability and a better structure to his life. They have encouraged and supported him to feel more able to accept the advice, support and guidance available to him from his teachers, his social worker and the youth offending team. The positive and supportive home environment is helping him to make sustained progress in education, social and life skills and personal relationships. He is no longer going missing from home, taking part in criminal behaviour or using drugs. The level of risk to his safety has significantly reduced since he came to live at the home. His relationship with his parents is improving.

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Good

The registered manager and staff’s effective communication and social skills have helped them to engage constructively with the young person and build positive relationships. They are enthusiastic and friendly people who are able to let the young person know he is important. They show him that they are interested in his life, care about his welfare and want to help him to improve things with his family. His mum said, ‘He likes the staff and they have a good rapport with him.’ The registered manager and staff listen to the young person’s views, wishes and feelings and always take them into account. He is involved in the decisions about his life and the running of the home. This is done as a natural part of his daily life. He makes decisions about the food he eats, the clothes he wears, how he spends his spare time, and influences the plans for his future.

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Good

The registered manager and staff recognise the importance of education for the young person’s life chances. The young person has struggled in education previously and the staff have worked extremely hard to build the young person’s participation in education and motivation to learn. They have worked hard with the local authority to identify the most appropriate school to meet his educational and social needs. They have helped him to settle into the new school, and worked with him and his teachers to tackle any barriers to his learning and development. A teacher said, ‘The staff work really well with us. They do everything we would expect them to do to support his education, and they communicate well with us and his family.’ His attendance continues to improve, he is trying hard and making some progress. Although he has missed a lot of his education, he is achieving his expected targets and will be taking GCSEs. A teacher said that, ‘He is making

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Good

steady progress and gaining confidence. He is starting to accept that he can achieve and do well.’

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Good

The staff encourage and support the young person to enjoy the same leisure and social experiences as other young people. He takes part in a variety of activities in the community based on his interests, including playing golf and going to the gym. However, he is choosing to spend more time with his friends rather than do more structured activities. Also, the staff provide the young person with opportunities, support and guidance to help him to build his confidence and develop practical life skills, including shopping, cooking and managing money.

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Good

The registered manager and staff encourage and support the young person to take an active part in looking after his day-to-day health and well-being. He enjoys a healthy and balanced diet, he gets plenty of exercise and has good personal and dental care routines. He is in very good health and has a reasonable understanding about healthy lifestyles and behaviours that will have a negative impact on his health and development. He has made changes and is no longer using drugs or smoking tobacco. He has replaced tobacco with an electronic cigarette. However, the home does not have a written policy in relation to young people’s use of electronic cigarettes to ensure that staff have the relevant skills, knowledge, and guidance to be able to help young people understand the effects of the use of electronic cigarettes on their health and well-being.

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Good

The young person has easy access to community and specialist health services, including psychological health, drugs and alcohol, and counselling services. The staff work well with health services to develop an understanding of the young person’s health needs and any treatment plans. They closely monitor his health and well-being and ensure that he gets suitable medical attention treatment when he is feeling unwell. They have been successful in supporting the young person to attend more medical appointments and assessments, but he is still reluctant to go to the dentist or see the looked after children’s nurse.

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Good

The young person’s health plan does not set out the day-to-day arrangements for meeting all his health and well-being needs. It does not show the plans for promoting his attendance at the dentist, how to meet his needs in relation to sexual health and relationships and promoting his emotional well-being, or advice around his use of electronic cigarettes. Judgement grade

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Good

The young person lives in a safe place where his welfare is given the highest priority. The registered manager and staff have created a strong safeguarding culture where the young person is always listened to and his views and worries are taken seriously. He said that, ‘I feel safe and respected. I can talk to any of the staff if I am worried.’

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Good

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of any signs that may indicate that young people are in any way at risk of harm, including in relation to abuse, sexual or economic exploitation, bullying, drugs, alcohol and social media. They work collaboratively with families, social workers, the police and the local authority to understand and manage risk, and to protect young people. Their effective management of risk has helped young people become increasingly safer. The young person is no longer involved in offending behaviour, physical aggression and using drugs. He is making positive choices not to spend time with people who have had a negative impact on his life in the past. He is cooperating fully with the youth offending service, he attends all of his appointments and has done work on using drugs, understanding empathy with other people and managing his feelings. His youth offending worker said that, ‘He is managing and self-regulating his anger

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Good

The risk of the young person going missing has significantly reduced since he first moved in. The registered manager and staff have helped him to understand the risks and dangers of going missing and what to do if he needs help outside the home, and given him a strong message that they want him to be safe. When he has been missing, the staff have worked closely with his family, social workers and the police to find him quickly. This has included searching for him and working with the police to prevent people from encouraging him to spend time at their addresses. Staff always warmly welcome him back home, check on his welfare, and try to find out the reasons for him going missing to reduce the risk of it happening again. The young person has not been missing from home since June 2016. He keeps in regular contact with staff when he is out and comes in on time.

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Good

The registered manager and staff provide the young person with clear and consistent boundaries that help him to understand and develop socially acceptable behaviour, manage disagreements constructively and feel emotionally secure. They act as good role models to help him to build positive relationships with adults and other young people. The staff provide the young person and his family with a great deal of excellent emotional and practical support round seeing each other. They understand it can be a difficult time for everyone, and make every effort to make sure that it is a safe and positive experience. The young person’s relationship with his parents has improved, so much so that he is now spending weekends with them at home. His mum feels that their relationship has ‘improved 100%’ and ‘he is more ready to return home’ to live. She said that, ‘He is now thinking before he acts. He benefits from little chats with the staff. He is really listening to them. They

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Good

give him time and space to think things through.’

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Good

The registered manager’s and staff’s behaviour management strategy is based on reinforcing positive behaviour and relationships through praise and rewards. This approach is helping the young person to manage his behaviour effectively. The young person’s behaviour is usually very good, but at times he continues to present challenges. For example, if staff will not agree to what he wants to do, he will try to get his parents to let him. The staff and parents are making every effort to work together to provide him with consistent boundaries and messages about acceptable behaviour. Staff spend time with the young person to try to understand the feelings behind any negative behaviour and develop strategies for helping him, by allowing him time and space to think things through. Staff’s calm approach means that challenging situations are resolved through discussion and negotiation without the need for staff to use restraint. The young person said that the staff

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Good

‘know what to do when I’m angry: they give me space and talk to me.’

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Good

The registered manager has been in charge of the home since August 2012. She has considerable residential childcare and management experience. She is currently working towards the level 5 diploma in leadership and management of children’s and young people’s residential services and anticipates completing the qualification by April 2017. She provides effective leadership that prioritises the young person’s welfare and focuses on improving his life, in line with the objectives of the home’s statement of purpose and his placement plan. She ensures that the young person receives a good standard of care in a positive home environment. The stable and experienced staff team is helping the young person to make good progress. The registered manager and staff have developed good working relationships with the young person’s parents, the social worker, his school and the youth offending worker. They work together effectively to ensure that the young person gets the

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Good

support and services he requires to promote his welfare.

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Good

The registered manager and staff are positive about the young person as an individual and recognise his achievements and the progress he is making. They are ambitious for him to do well and have the same opportunities to reach his potential as other young people. The staffing arrangements ensure that enough suitable staff are always available to meet the assessed needs of the young person and respond flexibly to unexpected events. The small staff team looks after the young person on an individual basis, which delivers a continuity of care that promotes positive relationships with people of a different gender. The registered manager has carefully assessed that staff working alone with the young person is appropriate to his needs and the assessed level of risk. Suitable safeguards monitor the staff’s practice when working alone with the young person and ensure that support is always available for staff and the young person when it is required.

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Good

The staff receive regular formal supervision that enables them to reflect on their work with the young person and have their performance assessed at least annually. When family members are employed at the home, suitable arrangements are in place to ensure that the young person is not supervised by a relative. However, the home does not have a written policy that sets out the arrangements for the employment of family members, including the procedures for their recruitment and employment, line management, supervision and performance management, dealing with complaints and allegations, and disciplinary procedures. Further clarity is needed to show how family relationships will be managed impartially to minimise any potential risks to the people involved and young people.

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Good

All of the staff have qualifications equivalent to the level 3 diploma for residential childcare. However, they have had few opportunities over the last 12 months to undertake continuing professional development. They have received very little recent training to develop and update their knowledge and skills through training programmes tailored to the individual needs of the young person, including attachment theory, healthy relationships and working with children who have special educational needs. Likewise, they have not had opportunities to gain further qualifications relevant to their work and to the young person.

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Good

The registered provider’s and manager’s ability to understand the home’s effectiveness and the quality of care provided is impeded by a lack of in-depth scrutiny. The quality of the monthly monitoring by an independent person does not provide consistently rigorous analysis of practice and the management of the home. Invariably, the reports are too brief and descriptive, include a lot of the same information in each report, and they do not make recommendations for improving the home. None of these reports include the views of the young person, his parents or social worker about how well he is being supported. The registered manager’s review of the quality of care does not provide a comprehensive assessment of how well the young person is being supported in line with the quality standards, his experiences and views about his care and the impact the quality of care is having on his life. Also, the review of the quality of care report

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Good

has not been provided to Ofsted. This lack of detailed assessment does not help the registered manager and provider to identify accurately areas of strength, to identify, share and build upon good practice, or to identify possible weaknesses and the actions required to make improvements in the home. The registered manager ensures that the house provides young people with a homely and pleasant place to live. The physical environment is safe and furnished to a good standard that meets the needs of the young person. However, the decoration of the house, especially the bedrooms, is showing signs of wear and tear. Also, the poor state of repair of the back door, identified at the last inspection, has not been addressed adequately.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children’s home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children’s home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of children looked after is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

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

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