Children's home run by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last full inspection, the home has changed its conditions to a short breaks service for young people who are at risk of coming into care. The service has only been operating under its new conditions since December 2016; therefore, it has not had sufficient time or opportunity to demonstrate its entire effectiveness as a short break service. At the time of this inspection, the service had only provided short break care for eight nights in total. A proportionate inspection was thus conducted, which focused on the effectiveness of the service since its last inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two young people have been supported to move on to another home managed by this local authority. Staff ensured that each of these young people was fully involved in the planning of their move and this included choosing the name of the home and preparing clear transition plans that reflected their needs and views. Staff’s diligent care planning ensured that each young person’s transition from the home was a positive and successful experience. Both young people remain settled and stable in their new home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Similarly, staff ensure that young people who attend for short breaks have opportunities to visit the service and meet the staff before their overnight stay. These sensitively planned introductions help to alleviate young people’s fears about staying away from their family. One young person’s comments clearly reflect young people’s positive views of the service: ‘All staff were welcoming and pleasant and made me feel comfortable. Staff were always on hand to help me.’ Greater continuity in staffing arrangements would further enhance young people’s positive experiences. For example, there are six different staff members on shift over a weekend break. This hinders young people’s opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with individual key workers and potentially weakens the continuity of care that is being provided by staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are benefiting from the care and support that is provided by an experienced and nurturing team. The staff who were spoken with demonstrated an in-depth awareness of young people’s needs and vulnerabilities and of the established strategies for helping and protecting them. However, young people’s short break plans and risk assessments are not sufficiently detailed. For example, plans and risk assessments do not adequately set out how staff should respond to and support young people who are at risk of self-harm. Furthermore, written assessments do not identify any direct work that staff intend to undertake with young people, such as having discussions with them about keeping safe and improving their school attendance. These shortfalls are largely recording oversights that so far have not affected young people’s care or welfare. Nonetheless, such oversights potentially undermine the way in which the service monitors young

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

people’s progress from their starting points. Additionally, not all plans and risk assessments are signed by parents/carers in order to promote effective partnership working with those who have parental responsibility.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people report feeling safe during their visits to the home. There have not been any incidents of young people going missing and staff manage young people’s behaviour effectively and without the need for physical restraint. In the main, staff are safely recruited to the service and robust vetting of each staff member is undertaken before they take up post. Safer recruitment practice can be strengthened through the verification of written references. Although the registered manager felt certain that the human resources department verified all written references, he was unable to evidence this at the inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

An experienced registered manager continues to lead the service. He has recently completed his diploma level 5 in leadership and management and is waiting for his certificate to be issued. He manages two services with the support of two experienced senior residential workers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Both of the recommendations raised at the last inspection have been repeated. Despite the fact that there have been some improvements in staff training, in particular that all staff are now qualified in first aid, some mandatory training, such as safeguarding refresher training, remains outstanding for a few team members. Also, assessments and planning documents do not consistently detail the author of the report or the date it was prepared. Consequently, it is not clear who assessed the young person’s needs or when. This in turn weakens the monitoring of young people’s progress.

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority service provides short break care to young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The service is registered to provide short break care for up to two young people at any one time. It may only provide care under short break arrangements and not for young people to live permanently at the home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/09/16 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/01/16 Full Good 12/05/15 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/11/14 Full Good

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements that are in place to protect them (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5). In particular, ensure that risk assessments cover all potential risks and state the actions identified to manage these risks, including any planned direct work.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that there are enough suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1). In particular, ensure that all staff complete mandatory training, as outlined in the home’s training programme.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staffing structures promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1). In particular, keep a record of the verification of employment references.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that case records are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3). In particular, with regard to risk assessments and short break plans, ensure that young people’s starting points, their full range of needs and risks, and their progress are reflected in case records.

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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 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

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Information about this inspection

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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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