Children's home run by Crossway Services Limited in Liverpool

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 is led and managed by an interim manager who has made her application with Ofsted to become the registered manager. The interim manager has made some progress in addressing the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. However, the front door of the home has not yet been modified to automatically lock to ensure that any unwanted visitors are not allowed to enter the home. The records for staff supervision continue to be stored at the interim manager’s home, although she reports that they are now secured in a locked storage box. The young person’s bedroom continues to be untidy, with items strewn across the floor which create a hazard of tripping, and his bedroom curtains remained closed throughout the day despite him being away from the home in education. Consequently, one of the requirements and two of the recommendations will be repeated at this inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been no admissions to or discharges from the home since the last inspection. The young person living in the home has made good progress since the last inspection, in particular in relation to his education, contact with his family and his risk-taking behaviour. The good quality of care and support provided to the young person in the home by the interim manager and staff has contributed to the progress that the young person has made. The interim manager and staff are very proud of the young person’s progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person has experienced significant gaps in education, and at the time of the last inspection he was only attending education for two days a week. However, he is now attending education four days a week. He is also having guitar lessons as a part of his education, as this is a particular interest of his. Furthermore, he is starting a work-based placement this week as part of his education for one day a week, during which he will be working in the kitchen of a school for disabled children. The varied curriculum for the young person is ensuring that his education needs are being met, he is engaging in things that are of interest to him and he is also enhancing his work-based skills that will support and enhance his chances of gaining employment in the future.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the time of the last inspection, the young person’s relationships with his family were quite strained, and contact was limited and supervised by the local authority. However, the home worked in partnership with other professionals to enable family mediation to take place. The family mediation has proved to be very successful andtheir relationships have significantly improved, resulting in contact no longer being supervised and now taking place every weekend, with some overnight stays. This is something that the young person is very happy about. He said, ‘I enjoy having contact with my family and staying overnight with them.’ The progress in relation to contact means that the young person benefits from increased and positive contact with his family that re-establishes important relationships.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The interim manager and staff manage the young person’s behaviour in the home effectively. Since the last inspection, there have been no consequences or sanctions for negative behaviour and no incidents of physical intervention for the young person. The home addressed some risk-taking behaviours evident at the time of the last inspection very well. This ensured that the young person understood the consequences of his behaviour and kept him safe. The home has an incentive plan in place which promotes the young person’s positive behaviour and enables him to receive rewards, such as new guitar strings, posters, fast food meals and chocolate. Consequently, the young person presents with positive behaviours because he understands the consequences for negative behaviours and enjoys the rewards for positive behaviours.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person is safeguarded effectively in the home due to the robust safeguarding practice of the staff. There have been no incidents of going missing from the home, or any other safeguarding incidents or areas of concern for him. The young person’s risk assessment and home’s location risk assessment have been updated to include all known risks and how these are managed. This means that the interim manager and staff have a clear understanding of the risks to the young person and their role in ensuring that he is safeguarded.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Partnership working is embedded into the practice of the interim manager and staff. The collaborative working contributes to the support and intervention in place for the young person, to meet his needs and improve outcomes for him. For example, the home has liaised with education professionals on a regular basis to increase the education provision in place for him. Furthermore, it has involved the young person in this to ensure that the education plan in place is something that he would enjoy and engage in. The home continues to liaise with an agency that provides specialist support to young people regarding managing feelings and emotions. This intervention has been very positive in helping the young person to manage his anger and understanding of how to build positive relationships, especially with family members. The continued efforts by the registered manager and staff to work in partnership with other professionals result in the young person

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

receiving the best possible support and intervention to meet his needs and enhance his progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The relationships that the interim manager and staff have with the young person are positive. The staff support the young person with his interest in music, they listen to his music in the home and enjoy listening to him playing his guitar. Staff encourage the young person to engage in other social and recreational activities. However, he is reluctant to do so, as he prefers to spend any time he has away from his education either listening to or playing his music, or with his family. The interim manager and staff now maintain regular contact with the young person’s family, which means that they can share information and have a clear understanding of the young person’s situation at any given time. For example, the young person’s mother informed the home about a health matter so that the staff can ensure that the young person receives the appropriate treatment.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Monitoring and review systems in the home have been strengthened due to the interim manager regularly reviewing the professional practice and quality of care in the home. Furthermore, the home benefits from robust external monitoring by the independent visitor each month. This enables the interim manager to identify the home’s strengths and weaknesses, themes and trends, and implement actions to address any shortfalls.

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/12/2016 Full Good 16/02/2016 Full Good 05/11/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/02/2015 Full Adequate

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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:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b) that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. 26/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff that provides evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.3) In particular, this relates to the registered manager ensuring that records of staff supervision are securely stored on company premises.  For children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases be homely, domestic environments. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9.) In particular, this relates to improving the conditions within the young person's bedroom.

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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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