Children's home in St. Helens

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness . There have been no new admissions to this home since the last inspection. There has been one recent planned discharge after 10 months in placement, which was to another children’s home in the same company. This move followed a multi- agency agreement that it was in the best interests of all parties and much preparatory work was undertaken to ensure that the young person fully understood this decision. The young person’s keyworker moved with him to maintain this important relationship and, consequently, he settled quickly. This has proven to be a positive move, where he is enjoying healthy peer relationships and is no longer witnessing assaults on staff and restraints, which were clearly increasingly upsetting him. Prior to discharge, the young person continued to progress his social and practical

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

independence skills. His recent achievements included travelling independently, using a cash machine and planning, shopping for and cooking an evening meal every week. He remains actively involved with the fire cadets, which he is rightly very proud of. Other positive experiences included voluntary work at an animal sanctuary and attending a children in care group. He also made a successful transition from school to sixth form college. He has several certificates clearly demonstrating continued academic progress, but he has now been assessed to have reached his limit. He is, therefore, now enjoying a range of vocational courses to enhance his job opportunities. His mum said, ‘My son is well cared for and I am pleased with how he has progressed at this home. Christmas contact went really well.’ His social worker said, ‘I am happy with the service he receives and the monthly updates. The staff are always polite and professional and welcoming. They

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

clearly know him well and he has good relationships with them. I am impressed with this company.’ This means that the remaining young person at this home is now in a solo placement on a high staffing ratio to meet his highly complex needs and challenging behaviours. He is enjoying the attention and it has had a marked positive impact on his behaviours and ability to self-regulate. This means there are fewer restraints. The staff have persisted in advocating for a full assessment of the young person’s needs so he can access the specialist services he requires. This has now commenced. The plan was to move him to a specialist provision, but relevant agencies now feel this would be detrimental, given the positive relationships he has established at this home. He has consistently said he feels safe here and does not want to move. The young person has maintained at least 98% attendance at this company’s school. His last report describes him as ‘Making relative progress from his starting

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

point.’ Recently, he has commenced two days a week on a construction site, which he loves. He feels confident knowing that the staff stay close by should he require support. He particularly likes being trusted with money in his hand. This enables him to go out independently for lunch with his work mates. He continues to attend army cadets, which strengthens his sense of belonging. In this setting, he conforms to the rules and, since the last inspection, has taken part in a Remembrance Sunday parade and fundraising events. In preparation, he learned to iron his uniform and polish his boots. More recently, he successfully tolerated seven days out of a possible 10-day camp before becoming anxious. These are all significant achievements given his complex diagnoses. His mum said, ‘ This home is lovely and very spacious and my son is settled there.’ His social worker described the communication with this staff team as ‘excellent’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and confirmed that, ‘My young person remains settled and happy at this home and has good relationships with the staff. They know and manage his complex needs well. The home is well decorated and welcoming.’ Since the last inspection, both young people helped to redecorate and personalise their bedrooms, redesign the games room and build the furniture together. Individual interests and talents are actively encouraged including gardening and baking. Consequently, one young person came third in the company’s ‘Bake-Off’ competition. These opportunities all increase self-esteem and competencies. Individualised incentive charts and rewards for good behaviour and efforts have the desired effect. For example, one young person has already earned a 40-inch television and settee for his bedroom and is now working towards a desk. All these examples demonstrate a strong sense of pride in the young people’s surroundings.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff patiently and sensitively support young people to attend routine health checks and to complete any required treatment. There is also ample documentary evidence of staff frequently reminding young people about the long-term health impacts of smoking. There have been no missing from home incidents since the last inspection and previous fire-setting behaviour has ceased. A key strength at the last inspection was the stability of this particular staff team. However, there has been a significant movement of staff within the organisation in the last few months, which can be unsettling for young people. Some moves have been to appropriately safeguard staff from further assaults and allegations, but other staff have moved to fill vacancies in other homes. On the evening of this inspection, two, albeit experienced, members of staff were on duty who were both new to this home. The manager of this home is now also registered with Ofsted for another children’s

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

home, so is sharing her time between both. This increased responsibility, the long- term sickness of her deputy, and a vacant senior post has negatively impacted on the frequency of supervision sessions. In particular, one member of staff did not have supervision from 28 September until 6 December 2016. Given the extreme and sustained challenging behaviours presented during that period by one young person, this time to reflect on practice is particularly crucial. Moreover, it was not at the frequency prescribed in the home’s own policy. Furthermore, the manager has not completed as much of her management qualification required of this position as she had hoped. Two out of the three recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed in full. Consequently, the children’s guide is now in a more appropriate format to meet the ability needs of the young person placed. The company has also introduced more thorough vetting procedures in respect of

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

agency staff. The same agency staff member is frequently used at this home to ensure consistent care and she has built up a sound relationship with the young person. She does not have the minimum qualification required of this position, but does have relevant experience. One recommendation has been repeated. This is because, out of the seven independent monitoring visits undertaken since the last inspection, only two were unannounced.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staff so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)  The registered person must have effective systems in place so that all staff receive supervision of their practice at the frequencies specified in the company’s own procedures. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The independent person appointed to carry out monthly visits to the home should undertake unannounced visits to avoid compromising a rigorous judgement about the safeguarding arrangements in place and the quality of care provided. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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 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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