Children's Home run by St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council 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 .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home continues to be led and managed by a highly committed management team. They strive to ensure that the individual needs of young people are met and that their outcomes are improved. The home has worked collaboratively with professionals to ensure that young people are receiving the best possible support. This includes working closely with social workers, commissioners, the local police community support officer, the teen advice zone, the missing from home coordinator and leaving care personal advisors. This collaborative working supports young people to make progress in all areas of their lives and helps ensure that they are safeguarded.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The management team has made progress in addressing the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. Young people and staff have a clear understanding of the expectations in relation to the computer games that young people are allowed to use in the home. All young people now have a contract in place in relation to the expectations. The home has notified HMCI of any incidents that it considers to be serious. The records within the home are generally up to date and are signed and dated by the author. The home’s location risk assessment now includes more information relating to the known risks in the area, and other relevant information from safeguarding professionals is also included in the assessment. The monitoring and review systems in the home have been strengthened, and now allow the management team to identify strengths and weaknesses and ensure that the professional practice and quality of care in the

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

home are good. However, further work is required to ensure that risk assessments and missing from home records include up-to-date information.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, one young person has moved out of the home. This was a positive move due to the carefully thought-out transition plan that helped prepare the young person for her move and then afforded continued support to her after she had left the home. The young person was fully involved at every stage of the process. Not only was the young person prepared with the practical skills for moving on, such as cooking, shopping and washing, she was also emotionally prepared due to her increased confidence, resilience and self-esteem. This effective transition demonstrates the home’s level of support and commitment to the young people, not only when they live in the home, but also when they have moved on.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Any new admissions to the home are carefully considered and take account of the impact that the placement would have on other young people living in the home. The registered manager refused a new admission during the inspection as this had not been a planned admission and no impact risk assessment had been completed to inform whether it would be an appropriate placement. The manager is very clear that any new placements need to be well planned in order for them to be successful.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are well supported and encouraged to achieve in their education. The home recognises that young people will achieve well if they are provided with the right education provision. The staff also recognise that young people need to want to learn and be interested in what they are doing. Therefore, the home is proactive in working with young people and education professionals to determine what education provision is best suited to each young person’s needs. One young person who had been disengaged from his education and training for some time has been supported effectively to secure an appropriate education and training placement and is now motivated and keen to engage with this. The effective collaborative working in relation to education is supporting young people to engage in and enjoy their education and training. This in turn helps improve their future employment prospects.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has responded well to safeguarding issues relating to young people in the home. When young people have been missing from the home the staff have taken appropriate action to locate them and secure their safe return as quickly as possible. When young people return, staff spend time talking to young people to help them identify the reasons why they went missing, the risks they faced when missing and how further missing from home incidents can be avoided. Young people are also offered an independent return interview. However, the missing from home records do not clearly outline the information relating to the missing from home incident. The registered manager accepts that the new pilot system implemented by the police does not allow them to record details as well as they would like. Discussions took place with the senior management team in relation to this issue during the inspection and it was being explored further with the police.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

However, the registered manager agreed to develop a recording system in the home that allows the staff to record all details relating to missing from home incidents accurately. The shortfall in the recording of missing from home records does not allow the home to evaluate incidents of going missing effectively to identify any patterns, gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to retain and record evidence of what worked well. This could also affect the information in the home’s quality of care review.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Changes have been made to risk assessments for young people that provide for a clearer account of the individual risks relevant to each young person. Risk assessments are regularly updated to ensure that they detail the current risks to young people and show the progress in relation to reducing risks. However, for one young person, the increase in his recent substance misuse was not clearly recorded in his risk assessment. This does not ensure that emerging risks are robustly monitored to keep young people safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people benefit from clear and consistent boundaries and staff implement effective behaviour management strategies in the home. Therefore, incidents of negative behaviour are limited. Sanctions are clearly recorded and are restorative in nature to allow young people to reflect on their behaviour, understand the impact of their behaviour on others and to take responsibility for their actions. For example, following a young person causing damage in the home a repayment plan was put in place for him to contribute to the repairs. This restorative approach to responding to and managing behaviour encourages and supports young people to take responsibility for their actions and to develop skills that will continue to benefit them in the future.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority and provides accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/11/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/01/2016 Full Good 16/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Statutory requirement

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

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

(2) the staff: (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe; (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and protect each child effectively from harm. 12/04/2017

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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 records are kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home and actions taken by staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, para 9.31)

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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 whom 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

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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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