Children's home run by PIC Children’s Services 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 provision is good because:

 The current young person benefits from living in a single placement home, where their needs are clearly identified, receiving high level support from a consistent staff team. This minimises disruption and enables good attachments to be formed.  The young person is responding well to the staff team and beginning to engage positively with them. This is a positive step for the young person and is demonstrated through increasingly settled behaviour, no property damage and attendance at education.  The manager and staff are committed to ensuring the young person’s needs are at the forefront of their practice, to promote positive outcomes.  Staff receive supervision and support to help them fulfil their role. They attend team meetings and ensure that daily handovers are comprehensive. This enables all staff to have a clear understanding of the progress and planned outcomes for the young person.  Placing social workers and other involved professionals are positive about

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The children's home provision is good because:

the support and progress that the young person is making since living at the home. They comment that the young person is beginning to engage positively, and this is being built upon. Communication between the home and the placing authority is good, with regular updates and information being shared.  The home is in the process of changing its care planning format and this has had an impact on some recording not being updated and signed.  Internal and external monitoring systems are not robust. The independent visitor does not consistently evaluate whether, in their opinion, the home is supporting and promoting the safety and well-being of the young person.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (‘the independent person's report’) which sets out, in particular, the independent person's opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes children's well-being. (Regulation 44 (a)(b)) 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating and must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(5)) 28/02/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the registered manager makes best use of the independent and internal monitoring of the home to ensure continuous improvement with particular regard to the scrutiny of incidents, identifying shortfalls and the action taken to address these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  Ensure that young people's case records are up to date, are sufficiently detailed and are signed and dated by the author. This applies in particular to healthcare plans, daily recording and updated plans. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately run and registered for one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/10/2015 Full Good 30/12/2014 Interim Not judged 05/06/2014 Full Good

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Good

The home is a solo placed home. The current young person benefits from individualised care and support, provided by a consistent staff team. This is enabling him to develop positive relationships and to begin to engage in some activities within the home. During the inspection, the young person did not wish to speak with the inspector, other than to say that he was fine about the home. The placing social worker said, ‘(name) is far more settled at this home than at his previous placement. He is engaging in school on a regular basis, which is supported well by the staff team. They listen to his views and opinions and encourage him to communicate how he is feeling. They also ensure that his family is kept updated about how he is and the progress he is making. This placement is meeting his needs far better than previous placements.’ Individual placement plans have been newly developed and although child-focused,

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Good

there are some areas which lack detailed information. The staff have completed some training on the plans and further adaptation to the format and training is planned. The young person is attending education, having had a period of non-engagement in his previous placement. The home is maintaining good links with the school to maintain the placement positively. There have been some concerns about behaviours within the school and this is being monitored. Staff are working in partnership with the placing authority to explore further options in the event of the school placement being disrupted. However, consistent strategies implemented are sustaining the placement. Healthcare needs are clearly identified and supported. However, the young person wishes to remain with his current doctors, which falls out of the catchment area that they cover. The staff have discussed this with the looked after children’s nurse, who is currently following this up to help support the young person’s wishes

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Good

to be upheld. Interim arrangements are in place to cover the need for doctor appointments and a full medical has been completed by the nurse. Staff are supporting the young person to improve his diet by involving him in meal planning and encouraging him to try a greater range of foods. This is beginning to have a positive impact although staff are aware that this is an ongoing area to continue to address. The young person maintains contact with his family as identified within his agreed plans. Staff are aware of the arrangements and ensure that these are followed. They have a good understanding of the impact that contact can have for the young person and ensure that support is provided. They maintain open communication with families, working in partnership and thereby supporting the young person’s best interests. The home is decorated and maintained to a good standard. The young person has been encouraged to personalise and take care of his room. Where he has been

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Good

reticent in doing this, staff have provided encouragement, support and incentives to keep it tidy.

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Good

Staff have a good understanding of the procedures to follow to support the young person to remain safe. They encourage him to have a good understanding of potential risks and how to minimise these. This includes discussions regarding e- safety, appropriate friendships, adhering to agreed boundaries and returning to the home on time. This helps the young person to reflect and begin to have insight into his feelings and emotions. The young person has not had any incidents of going missing from home. Staff have a good understanding of the procedure to follow in the event of this happening and have demonstrated with previous residents of the home that they have adhered to this when the incidents have arisen. The placing social worker stated that she is confident that the staff work in the best interests of the young person to safeguard him effectively. The young person is supported on a one-to-one basis, with appropriate risk

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Good

assessments in place to reflect this. These are working documents and continue to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they reflect known and any additional risks. This enables staff to have a good understanding of the action to take to minimise risks to safeguard the young person. Staff are developing positive relationships with the young person and have an understanding of potential issues which may arise. They have training in behaviour management, including de-escalation techniques. This minimises the need of physical intervention and as such, the staff do not use this. There are a range of incentives and rewards in place and these are providing the young person with appropriate support to address his behaviours. Staff continue to monitor these for effectiveness. The home environment is maintained to a good standard. Staff and the young person are aware of the procedure to follow in the event of a fire and regular

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Good

health and safety checks contribute to maintaining a safe environment. Young people are further protected by robust recruitment procedures being followed to make sure that suitable people are appointed to work within the home. All visitors are checked and monitored. This contributes further to the protection of the young person from unsuitable adults within the home. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2014 as the manager for this home and another single occupancy home within the local area. Previously, he was registered with the organisation’s semi-independent home. He holds a relevant level 4 qualification and is undertaking a level 5 in management. He is supported within his role by a deputy manager who has experience of working within residential childcare. They are child-focused within their practice and, along with the dedicated staff team, have high aspirations for the young person to achieve positive outcomes. The staff team benefits from regular supervision on both a formal and informal basis, attends regular team meetings and has comprehensive daily handovers. These measures ensure that its practice is consistent and communication is effective. They team members are clear about their role and responsibilities and demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting the young person. Regular

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Requires improvement

training opportunities enable them to further develop their skills, knowledge and informs their practice. Over recent months, the organisation has implemented updated care plans and documentation for young people. Staff have received training on this. However, there is inconsistency in recording and some areas of the plan have not been updated to reflect current need. For example, the transport plans for the young person to attend school state that he uses a taxi, when in fact, he uses the bus. And, although staff have completed a full orientation with him to make sure that he is able to complete this independently, the conflicting information is not reflective of this. In addition, some records have not been signed by staff and this makes it unclear of the author of the record. This has not been identified through the manager’s monitoring and does not demonstrate consistent oversight. Therefore, monitoring of the home completed by the manager is not robust. The manager

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Requires improvement

completes a review of the quality of care provided within the home on a bi-annual basis. However, although this states what has happened and further plans, there is a lack of evaluation and analysis. Views of external professionals and the young person are not systematically gathered and this does not enable the manager to fully evaluate the service. In addition, the independent visitor report, which is undertaken following monthly visits, does not provide significant oversight of the safeguarding procedures followed by the home and whether, in the visitor’s opinion, the home takes effective action to safeguard the young person. Although the deputy manager states detailed verbal feedback is provided, this is not reflected within the written documentation, making it unclear how the home may take action to continually work towards their improvement and further development. Significant events are monitored and events relating to the protection and welfare

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Requires improvement

of the young person are notified to the relevant authorities in a timely manner. The manager ensures that Ofsted is notified and this enables the regulator to maintain oversight of the actions taken by the home to safeguard the young person.

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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 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference 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, 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,

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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

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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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