Children's Home run by PIC Children’s Services in Sefton

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, the home was not judged .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has not cared for any children or young people since 8 December 2016. The home is currently closed while it undergoes a refurbishment. Therefore, the full impact of the action taken to address the issues from the last inspection cannot be fully assessed. The registered manager said all documentation relevant to the last resident has been returned to their social worker and all other records in the home are securely locked away. This protects privacy and maintains confidentiality.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has updated its statement of purpose and this now reflects the level of care and support young people can hope to receive while living here. The registered manager said the statement of purpose remains under constant review to reflect the current practice and staffing. This means that local authorities, social workers, parents and carers can make informed choices about the suitability of the placement for their young person. The registered manager confirmed in the interim period that the staff team has been redeployed among the other homes in the organisation. The registered manager will rebuild the team based upon the needs of the new young person as and when the home is prepared to accept a new admission.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the monitoring completed by the independent person has begun to improve. However, reports are not being sent to Ofsted in a timely fashion. Consequently, Ofsted is not able to assess the home’s progress or changes made to practice. Similarly, the registered manager feels that the reports do not yet make it sufficiently clear what the home does well or needs to improve. She is in discussions with senior managers as to how this can be improved further.

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Information about this children's home

This section should outline: The home is owned and manged by a limited company. They are registered to provide care and support for two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/07/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Requires improvement 18/03/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recommendation

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that the registered manager makes best use of the independent and internal monitoring of the home to ensure continuous improvement. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24.) In particular, ensure that reports from the independent person are received by the registered manager and Ofsted in a timely fashion to inform the monitoring of the home and enable effective action to be initiated with regards to shortfalls, patterns or trends.

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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 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 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 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 at 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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