Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

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 enjoy warm and positive relationships with staff, based on mutual respect. Young people trust staff and feel safe in their care.  Staff understand young people’s individual needs exceptionally well. This enables them to respond to the significant challenges that they present and provide young people with a high standard of care that promotes their welfare.  Well-managed introductions to the home help young people to feel at ease in their new surroundings.  Young people articulate how staff support them and they can identify the progress that they are making.  Staff understand and manage risk well. They respond promptly to concerns, ensuring that young people’s safety and welfare are promoted.  Clear boundaries and a strong and consistent approach to behaviour management support young people well. This helps staff to manage risk and behaviours that cause concern, some of which are being reduced.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff recognise and reward positive behaviour. Incentives and reward schemes promote young people’s sense of achievement and self-esteem. It also helps them to make different choices about their behaviour, sometimes.  Managers and staff work effectively with partner agencies that report high levels of satisfaction with the service.  Exceptional commitment from the registered manager and his deputies sets a positive culture within the home that is highly supportive, resilient and caring.  Strong leadership means that this home is organised and effectively managed.  Staff feel valued, and they are motivated and proud of the service. They remain committed to supporting young people and improving outcomes for them.  Investment in specialist training provides staff with fresh approaches to their work with young people. The registered manager understands the strengths and needs of the service. He demonstrates an ongoing commitment to developing practice.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

To continue to improve, the home needs to:  Strengthen external monitoring reports to provide a more robust analysis of the home’s performance and its impact on young people.  Update the complaints leaflet so that it contains up-to-date contact details.  Update the statement of purpose so that is accurately reflects the home’s function, aims and objectives.  Ensure that recruitment checks on agency workers are suitably robust, specifically that references clearly determine people’s suitability to work with children.

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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

Ensure that the registered person keeps the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16(3)(a)) 20/12/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13) Specifically, that the complaints leaflet contains accurate contact details.  Ensure that good employment practice is maintained. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Specifically, that the references provided for agency workers clearly stipulate their suitability to work with children.  Strengthen the external monitoring processes in place to ensure a more rigorous assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Recommendations

Specifically, that reports provide a more robust analysis of the home’s performance and impact on young people.

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a local authority and provides care for up to six young people of either gender aged from 12 to 17 years. The home cares for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home can take emergency placements.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 03/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/12/2015 Full Good 12/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/07/2014 Full Good

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Good

Experienced, dedicated and skilled staff help young people to build trusting relationships with them. Staff excel at developing positive relationships with young people who have a history of being hard to reach. Young people can identify staff with whom they get on particularly well, and some attachments are strong. As a result, young people recognise that staff care about them. This promotes their self- esteem and helps to build emotional resilience.

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Good

When young people have moved on from the home, staff remain in contact with them. This demonstrates a commitment over and above what is expected and reflects how relationships made are long lasting and meaningful.

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Good

Young people have a positive experience of living in this home. One young person described the home as being ‘Well nice!’ and told the inspector, ‘Staff make time for you and they are there for you.’ Another young person described her experience of living in the home as ‘chilled, calming and funny’. She said, ‘Staff make it normal and feel like home.’ A calm, highly supportive and homely environment provides young people with a strong and secure base from which they start to address their difficulties and make progress.

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Good

Staff come to know young people well and have an excellent understanding of their needs. A social worker said, ‘They have a clear understanding of the young person and they have taken the time and effort to understand her – how she thinks, responds and functions.’ Staff respect individuality and diversity and, as a result, young people are comfortable to explore their own identity. A social worker commented that this is an area of strength. She said, ‘Staff accommodate and address X’s needs effectively and wholly accept her for who she is.’

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Good

Staff have a proven ability to stick with young people through difficult times. Because of the knowledge that they have, staff can predict periods of crisis, support young people through these and help them to regain some stability. A youth offending worker said, ‘X will likely face challenges for some years yet, but the fact that she has remained relatively settled for over 18 months speaks for itself.’

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Good

Staff manage introductions to the home well, including emergency situations. A young person told the inspector that staff sat down with her and her social worker when she arrived to talk about how things work at the home. Young people also receive a children’s guide which is informative, accessible and easy to understand. As a result of good introductions, young people settle in quickly and feel comfortable. One young person sent a text message to their social worker shortly after moving in, stating: ‘It’s good here. I actually like it; nice one.’

p.7

Good

Young people recognise that their life is improving since arriving at the home. One young person said, ‘Things are better for me here’ and another said, ‘Staff help me to stay on track’. Behaviours causing concern, such as offending and going missing, are reducing, which benefits young people’s safety and welfare.

p.8

Good

Managers work hard to identify education provision that suits young people’s individual needs. They challenge education providers when necessary and involve the virtual school to ensure that young people’s learning needs are met. They respond promptly when young people arrive without education provision. For example, one young person who has lived at the home for just two weeks is engaging in an education assessment which will inform her education plan. Over time, young people make progress. For example, one young person’s attendance has increased from 48% to 85%. Furthermore, she is now accessing 20 hours of education per week, compared to the one hour a day that she managed previously. Young people make academic progress relative to their starting points. For example, one young person has achieved functional skills in maths and English, and has a plan to progress onto GCSEs. Engagement in education is not without its

p.8

Good

challenges, but staff recognise and nurture potential, working patiently with young people to help them to progress.

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Good

Staff promote young people’s physical and emotional well-being. Young people have access to health services and, when they refuse to attend routine appointments, staff continue to work with them to help them to overcome their reluctance. Staff promote young people’s sexual health, supporting them to attend appointments and ensuring that they have appropriate advice. Young people engage well with the children’s looked after nurse who makes regular visits to the home. This promotes their health and well-being. Although young people are reluctant to engage in ongoing work on drug and alcohol misuse, they do attend initial appointments with specialist workers to gain advice and learn about the dangers. Young people access specialist support to address their emotional needs, but one young person will only do this at times of crisis. Staff are working creatively with a psychology team to try to encourage her to engage more

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Good

Consultation with young people is carried out individually and collectively though key-work sessions and young people’s meetings. Consequently, young people have their say and contribute to the day-to-day running of the home. For example, a young person wanted to go on a trip to Blackpool Zoo with her friend, and this was facilitated. In addition, young people’s favourite foods are added to the menu, including steak sandwiches. One young person described these as the best thing he has ever had!

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Good

Staff build constructive relationships with young people’s families to promote contact, when this is part of their care plan. Arrangements can be complex, and good working relationships help to safeguard young people.

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Good

All young people say that they feel safe, living at this home. They know how to make a complaint and confidently raise any concerns with staff. Managers provide a robust response to complaints and inform young people’s social workers. This allows for independent scrutiny of how they are handled and increases transparency. Some contact details within the complaints leaflet are out of date, and a recommendation is raised to address this shortfall.

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Good

Staff manage young people’s complex and challenging behaviours well. They take time to understand their behaviours and potential triggers. Clear boundaries, together with consistent strategies, contribute to effective behaviour support. Young people respond to the staff’s efforts to help them. For example, one young person said: ‘I have anger issues. They give me time to calm down and then we talk about it.’

p.9

Good

Young people report that any consequences imposed are fair. A restorative approach enables young people to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. A system of praise and reward ensures that the focus is not solely on negative behaviour. Staff recognise when young people make positive choices, and this encourages them to display more appropriate behaviour.

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Good

Young people’s plans contain clear and up-to-date information about the risky behaviours that they present. These include going missing, vulnerability to exploitation, offending, drug and alcohol misuse, self-harm and aggression. The quality of risk assessments is such that the format used in this home is being disseminated to other homes within the authority as an example of good practice.

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Good

Staff understand their responsibilities in helping to minimise and manage risk. They work tirelessly with young people to educate and support them to keep safe. When incidents do occur, staff respond promptly, and the records provide a good overview of the action that they take.

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Good

Safeguarding remains a high priority, and excellent working relationships with partner agencies mean that there is a multi-agency response to risk. A youth offending worker said, ‘The communication with the home and the updates in tracking significant events are the most positive of all the homes that I work with presently.’ Collaborative working relationships promote young people’s safety and welfare. High staffing ratios ensure that supervision levels are appropriate to young people’s needs. Furthermore, they mean that staff are on hand to manage behaviours and prevent them escalating. Occasionally, situations do escalate and physical intervention is necessary. Staff manage such incidents safely and the records clearly describe events. Afterwards, young people and staff have the opportunity to talk through what has happened. The manager recognises that staff debriefings are not consistently recorded and will improve this, moving forward.

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Good

Young people make some progress with their behaviour. For example, young people engage with youth offending services more than they have done previously. This helps to reduce their risk of re-offending. One young person recognises that he has not been arrested for two months and that this is a positive change in his life. A social worker commented about another young person: ‘What I can see is that she is more able to recognise that her behaviours are risky and, at times, is more able to take responsibility for her actions. This is a change over the last few months.’

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Good

When young people go missing, staff follow procedures and ensure that the relevant people are informed. Records provide a clear chronology of the action taken and managers chase social workers to undertake return interviews. Return interviews provide young people with an opportunity to talk about what has happened during their absence, and this information is used to review and inform risk assessments.

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Good

Timely health and safety checks take place and staff maintain a safe physical environment. Managers respond appropriately when they identify vulnerabilities within the home environment. For example, new windows are being fitted upstairs to prevent young people being able to climb out and place themselves at risk of harm.

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Good

This inspection identified a shortfall in the recruitment checks carried out for agency workers used in the home. In two reference summaries, the question about people’s suitability to work with children was not answered definitively. Furthermore, it took time during the inspection to understand a person’s employment history and the manager needed to make additional enquiries to ensure that this provided a full account. A recommendation is raised to ensure that recruitment practice and records relating to agency staff are suitably robust.

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Good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager, who registered with Ofsted in September 2014. A dedicated management team provides effective leadership to staff and young people. Managers and staff remain child focused and committed to delivering and maintaining high standards of care. The registered manager promotes a clear ethos which sets a positive culture within the home that is highly supportive, resilient and caring.

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Good

The manager maintains high staffing ratios to safeguard young people and meet their individual and complex needs effectively. When using agency and casual staff, the registered manager makes sure that the same personnel work at the home. This provides young people with greater continuity and means that they receive care from individuals who become familiar to them.

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Good

Leaders and managers provide staff with direction, support and guidance. Staff report being well supported through individual supervision, staff meetings and comprehensive handovers. A member of staff said, ‘I feel 100% supported’. Good support enables staff to manage the emotional demands of the role which, at times, includes responding to verbal and physical aggression from young people. Staff feel valued, and they are motivated and proud of the service that they provide.

p.11

Good

Managing a large staff team presents challenges. The registered manager acknowledges that it is hard to maintain the frequency of supervision for all staff. Although this is largely achieved, the registered manager recognises that he needs to share out this responsibility among his leadership team. This demonstrates that he understands when practice needs to change to meet the growing demands of the service.

p.11

Good

Records reflect that staff have opportunities to attend training events. Managers invest in relevant and specialised training courses so that the experienced staff broaden their knowledge and skills. This enables them to work successfully with young people who have complex emotional needs and challenging behaviours. Good staff development and training promote young people’s welfare.

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Good

Managers and staff work with an array of partner agencies. Professionals report good levels of communication and high levels of satisfaction with the service. Effective working relationships result in young people receiving well-planned care.

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Good

The registered manager regularly reviews young people’s progress. He recognises when staff can no longer safely care for young people due to escalating risks. When this happens, he works with the placing authority to review placement suitability. A social worker for a young person who recently moved on in these circumstances said: ‘We all acknowledged that they couldn’t keep him safe. This was not a reflection on the home and staff did their best in difficult circumstances. I would not hesitate to place another child there.’ This demonstrates that, when young people leave the home sooner than anticipated, such decisions are made to safeguard the young person and others. The manager notifies Ofsted of significant events that occur at the home. As a result, he keeps the regulator appropriately informed and this promotes young people’s welfare.

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Good

The registered manager understands what the home does well and knows what needs to improve. Consequently, he fully appreciates the needs of the service and sets out developmental priorities. This demonstrates his ongoing commitment to improvement. The manager understands the impact of care on young people’s progress and experiences, and evidences this within his quality of care review reports.

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Good

External monitoring reports vary in quality. They provide factual information, but some lack detail and evaluation. The registered person recognises that monitoring reports require improvement and he is taking steps to improve practice in this area, with further training and a review of the personnel carrying out the visits. A new reporting format has been devised, but is yet to be implemented. A recommendation is raised to support improvement in this area so that external oversight of the home is suitably robust.

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Good

The statement of purpose requires updating. It does not reflect changes to the service, which include the home providing a more specialised service to a smaller number of young people. A requirement is raised to ensure that this is addressed and that the statement of purpose accurately reflects the aims and objectives of the home.

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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 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 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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