Setting in Knowsley

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, four young people have moved into the home of whom three have subsequently moved on. Overall, these arrangements have been well managed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One young person has moved to semi-independent provision. This young person had lived at the home for over 12 months and had made significant progress during his time there. This included a significant reduction in the frequency of incidents of being missing from home, as well as a significant reduction in the misuse of substances. This young person also made very good progress in his education and training. He was in secure accommodation for a short period but the manager and staff maintained regular telephone contact and visited regularly. The young person’s social worker said: ‘The home were not being paid during the time the young person was in secure accommodation and they maintained regular contact with him and professionals, they travelled long distances to visit him and attend statutory looked after children’s review meetings to ensure they were fully up to date on issues relating to him.’ However, not all visits were appropriately

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

recorded in the young person’s records. The young person’s independent reviewing officer said about the home: ‘The young person had certainly turned his life around since being placed in your care.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Following his return to the home, the young person was supported to move to semi-independence. The manager and staff maintain regular contact and continue to support him. The young person said: ‘The manager and staff have really supported me, they made sure I moved on to the right place and they have maintained a relationship with me.’ His social worker said: ‘I am extremely happy with the support the young person received and his progress was remarkable. This is due to the registered manager and staff going above and beyond what would be expected of them.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Another young person spent approximately five months at the home prior to moving to a placement nearer to his family and friends. The home was instrumental in facilitating this move as it was felt to be in the best interests of the young person and would best meet his needs. He had a history of frequent periods of being missing from care, and the registered manager challenged the placing authority about its lack of support in relation to this and about taking account of the views and wishes of the young person. This led to him moving to a more suitable placement, although the home has maintained contact.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has also facilitated a bridging placement for two weeks for a young person who was waiting for his planned placement to be available. He was supported appropriately during the placement and during a planned transition to his new placement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The fourth young person has recently moved into the home. This was an emergency placement so no planning or preparation took place prior to him moving into the home. However, appropriate assessment and support was in place upon his arrival. The staffing level reflects the young person’s needs and the known risks to which he is exposed. The young person has spent time in secure accommodation due to risks associated with gang involvement, misuse of drugs and criminal activity. The home has been proactive in sourcing specialist support and intervention relating to young people who are involved in gangs. In addition, the home has ensured that the substance misuse service for young people is involved to support the young person with his substance misuse.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home provides a warm and supportive environment. Young people build strong, trusting relationships with the registered manager and staff. They know that staff care about them, want them to be safe and want what is best for them. Their wishes and feelings are a priority and are taken into consideration when plans and decisions are being made for them. A young person said: ‘The registered manager and staff are like family to me, they have done so much to support me.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding practice in the home is good. The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures and their role in relation to this. When concerns have arisen, staff have taken immediate action to safeguard young people and have appropriately informed and involved relevant professionals. Young people going missing from care and displaying risk-taking behaviour, such as substance misuse and criminal activity, have significantly reduced. All young people who go missing from the home have an independent return interview to gather information into the reasons why they go missing, the risks they faced and how further missing from care episodes could be avoided. The home has responded appropriately to a young person’s inappropriate use of the internet and it has now implemented appropriate safeguards to restrict internet use. Furthermore, a key-work session has been completed with the young person

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

to raise his awareness of the risks that the internet poses.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people in the home benefit from a range of social and recreational activities. Staff identify appropriate opportunities to meet the individual needs of young people. For example, a youth club specifically aimed at supporting young people involved in gangs was identified for a young person involved in gangs. The registered manager and staff have worked hard on increasing their knowledge and understanding of the education system and their role within this. They are now much more confident in challenging educational professionals to ensure that young people are receiving the best possible support to meet their educational needs. They have developed good relationships with educational professionals, including with schools, colleges, training providers and virtual headteachers. Consequently, young people who have not engaged in education for some time have been provided with appropriate education and training opportunities. Furthermore, they

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

have made significant progress. A social worker said: ‘The young person achieved exceptionally well in his education, as the registered manager and staff strived to ensure he had the best educational opportunities and support.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people living at the home have positive experiences and make progress relative to their starting points. Partnership working is well established and contributes to the progress that young people make. The home has positive professional relationships with health and educational professionals, missing from care coordinators, police, social workers and safeguarding professionals. A social worker said: ‘The registered manager and staff made my job much easier, as they did all the hard work in accessing the best support for the young person. He was such a complex young man when he arrived at the home and they supported him to make positive changes in his life. He is unrecognisable now and has had very positive outcomes.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team continues to be experienced and knowledgeable. The training opportunities for staff have improved and they now have access to more direct specialist training. The company has sourced therapeutic training and support for staff, which has been beneficial. A staff member said: ‘The therapeutic input is a great support to staff and young people.’ The staff team members are fully supported by a committed registered manager who provides them with regular reflective supervision. In addition, they have regular team meetings in which they discuss the needs and progress of young people and reflect on their practice. The staff team members work well together and ensure that they are all up to date on issues relating to young people. All staff try really hard to get the best outcomes for young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has effective monitoring and review systems in place that support the manager to identify strengths and weaknesses in the home. This contributes to the home’s development plan and enables continuous improvement in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately run and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/11/2015 Full Requires improvement 16/09/2014 Full Adequate

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Recommendation

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation:  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) This relates specifically to recording all the visits made to a young person when he was in secure accommodation.

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 that 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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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