Children's home run by Care Afloat Ltd in West Lancashire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the 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

A permanent manager has been successfully recruited from within the organisation and has overseen the home since January 2017. The manager is in the process of submitting relevant documentation in order to register with Ofsted. Having also taken over responsibility for another home within the organisation, she is currently establishing herself in her new role, and the deputy manager has therefore continued to oversee the majority of day-to-day operation in the home. The deputy manager has continued to ensure that supervision takes place on a regular basis to maintain good-quality practice within the home. Recruitment for periods of maternity leave is under way and current staff, as well as the new manager, are also willing to work additional shifts to ensure continuity of care for the young person in placement. The deputy manager has continued to monitor and review the quality of care in the home on a monthly basis. However monitoring does not

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

sufficiently incorporate or consider the views of the young person, his family and professionals regarding areas of improvement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been no discharges from or admissions to the home since the last inspection. The young person who lives there has continued to make positive progress on the whole. Staff have a good understanding of the young person’s needs and are able to manage his behaviour successfully. There continues to be no need to use physical intervention and negative consequences are few. Staff praise the young person and record positive comments in daily observations; however, they do not routinely take the opportunity to record these in a positive consequences log to share with the young person. This therefore misses opportunities to reinforce his positive behaviour directly to build his self-esteem. In her report on the review of care within the home, the deputy manager noted that records do not reflect the number of positive consequences the young person receives, but further improvements are a work in progress. The new manager

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

acknowledges that the staff team would benefit from a better understanding of the use of consequences. Ongoing reparation for an incident which took place prior to the last inspection is also to be reviewed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has worked well in partnership with other agencies to reduce the risks presented by the young person during unsupervised free time. Risk strategy meetings are held on a regular basis, with multi-agency agreement to restrict his free time currently. The home was proactive in engaging other professionals as a result of a concerning incident of self-harm while away from the home. Although initially there was an apparent increase in missing from home episodes, this was due to a reduction in timescales before he was reported as missing to police and other agencies. The home has been proactive in providing additional activities, and reintroducing incentive charts to encourage his engagement. The young person was fully involved in developing his targets towards his own choice of incentive, with a positive impact on his level of engagement, particularly with his education programme. Concerns regarding bullying by a peer have been addressed and the

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

young person now enjoys supervised joint activities with this peer. The friendship is monitored by staff at the home and within school, and the young person is reminded of the support available if he has any concerns.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person particularly enjoys going to a trampoline park currently, and has a monthly pass to enable him to visit frequently. Having got to know staff who work there, he is now focusing on the possibility of working there himself in the future. The young person is now engaging more fully in therapy to support his emotional well-being. He is attending routine health appointments, and has responded well to improve his dental hygiene in preparation for orthodontic procedures. Staff support the young person to have positive contact with members of his family, and will advocate for him to have additional contact to celebrate special occasions. The young person confirmed that he likes living at the home and gets on well with all the staff, saying, ‘they listen to me, everyone has to listen to me to keep me safe’. He engaged well with the inspector and was keen to talk about his activities, aspirations and progress in education.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has addressed two of the three recommendations from the previous inspection. Independent return home interviews have taken place with the young person and relevant information was being shared to support the home’s risk assessments and strategies to protect him. However, more recently, the current worker has not shared this information, and while it has been requested, the manager has not demonstrated that she has escalated her concerns. Professionals are now aware of the need to send any documentation securely to ensure data protection. The kitchen is yet to be refurbished, but the manager was able to confirm that this is scheduled to be completed shortly.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. It is privately owned.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/11/2016 Full Good 11/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/07/2015 Full Good 20/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Statutory requirements

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

The registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children. This system must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(5)) 07/04/2017

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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 the registered person evidences what they have done to achieve engagement, including any actions to escalate concerns. This specifically relates to the placing authority providing information from return home interviews in order for the home to protect children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3).  Provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive. Homes must also meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value

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Recommendations

them as an individual. This relates specifically to the refurbishment of the kitchen. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7).  Positive behaviour should be reinforced, praised and encouraged. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies. Specifically, this should be recorded in the designated logs to reinforce positive behaviour with, and seek the views of, the young person. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraphs 8.11 and 8.13).

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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 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, 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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