Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Knowsley

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 has experienced a period of instability that relates tothe appointment of managers over the last year. This is because the registered manager left in March 2016 and another manager took over, who also left shortly after applying to Ofsted for registration in November 2016. The original manager has now returned to the home. She is an experienced registered manager and has identified the adverse effect of the lack of consistency in management upon staff and young people. Staff said they are pleased she has returned to the home. The registered manager held a staff development day to consider how they can move the home forward and rebuild a strong, cohesive staff team. This is very much in its infancy and is welcomed by staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The matching process for children in the home is not secure. This is reflected in the high number of admissions and discharges over the last year, which is something the registered manager says is unprecedented for this home. She has evaluated the matching process and has come to several conclusions. These include compatibility risk assessment not being sufficiently detailed to alert the home to some of the issues young people experienced in the last few months. This included an increase in the number of missing-from-care incidents for some young people. However, in recent weeks there have been no incidents of young people being missing. The registered manager is devising an action plan for referrals to minimise a repeat of this.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people’s records and documentation are not yet robust. This is because some contain out-of-date information, such as records that show young people are waiting for hospital appointments when these are now in place. Some of the terminology used in the records is not appropriate, such as ‘ginger’ to describe a young person’s hair colour or the word ‘abscond’ or ‘absconding’. Also, the records do not always reflect current issues, such as an increase in self-harm. One young person’s management plan for suicide and self-harm has not been updated since September 2016. This does not include recent concerns, although staff know these. However, the home has some new staff who are not yet familiar with the young people and this means they do not have the most up-to-date information with which to care for them. The administration of medication has improved. This is because staff now use blister packs to send medication home with young people. This means their family

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

has clear instructions on when to administer the medication and how. The home was asked to improve the recording in epilepsy care plans. The registered manager states this was completed, but the young person who had an epilepsy care plan has been discharged from the home. Therefore, the effectiveness of these changes to recording cannot be evaluated at this time.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent person has not picked up these recording issues during their monitoring. The registered manager has identified the shortfalls and she has begun the process of addressing these with staff. The use of physical interventions is minimal. However, the recording of this is still not secure. This is because the records contain various shortfalls, such as lack of clarity as to the action taken to avoid the intervention, the effectiveness of the intervention and where it actually took place. This does not promote consistency in recording and means the registered manager is unable to effectively review and ascertain any patterns or trends in the young person’s behaviour.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The premises are not as warm and homely as at previous visits. Some areas of the home are looking tired and worn, such as the flooring in the bathroom, kitchen hallway and lounge. The lounge is functional, but lacks any homeliness and is not an inviting place for young people to relax in. Repairs have not been quickly addressed in recent weeks. This means two young people have been waiting for between two and four weeks for new curtain poles to be put up in their bedrooms. Staff have tacked their curtains up with pins. This detracts from the homely environment staff are trying to maintain.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and staff acknowledge that the young people have been much more settled in recent weeks. Consequently, the incidents of negative behaviour have reduced in number. They are engaging much better with their education. This is because of some of the changes within the home. The registered manager introduced a simple uniform. This has given the young people a new sense of purpose and a new enthusiasm for learning. Plans are at their early stages for the possible conversion of a large garage into the school. This would provide additional space for the young people and teaching staff and means school would then be outside of the young people’s home. The registered manager has held several meetings with education staff to formalise a new curriculum for the young people. Young people said they liked school and it was ‘okay’.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are becoming much more confident in their own skills. The opportunity to become a mentor for the LGBT group has significantly enhanced one young person’s confidence and self-esteem. As a result, they are much more able to talk to staff about how they are feeling. The registered manager and staff say some young people are doing ‘amazingly well’. Staff have seen a reduction in some risk-taking behaviours, such as going missing from care, drinking alcohol and concerns around child sexual exploitation. This is because young people feel much more settled in the home and have the confidence to confide in staff. A young person said, ‘I don’t need to go missing now.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people have positive relationships with staff. For young people new to the home these are slowly emerging and they are engaging staff more often in conversations. Two young people worked well together to bake a lemon drizzle cake and a red velvet cake. These were a great success. The young people groaned as they realised they had not taken pictures of the cakes prior to cutting them, to show their tutors. They laughed and said they would just blame this on the Ofsted inspector. Young people said they felt ‘okay’ about being here and got on well with the other young people in the home. They are currently making plans for a range of activities over the Easter break and a summer holiday.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of several owned and managed by a private company. The home provides care and support for up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26/07/2016 Full Good 03/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/07/2015 Full Good 20/03/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) 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

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

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Requirement Due date

(2)(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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, repairs, such as replacing window poles and some flooring, are carried out quickly. Also that the home provides a warm welcoming environment for young people. 12/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

14: In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that there is a robust matching process carried out to ensure that the needs of all young people are met fully as a result of the new placement. 12/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restrain in relation to a child in the home, a record is made, which includes the details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date time and location of the use of the measure; details of any methods or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the effectiveness and any consequences of the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(ii)(v)(vii)) 12/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the registered person maintains records (‘case records’) for each child, which include the information and 12/05/2017 documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up-to-date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c))

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that the registered person actively seeks independent scrutiny of the home and makes best use of the information from independent and internal monitoring (including regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

In particular, the registered manager’s reports are evaluative and identify what the home does well, any patterns or trends and the action taken to address any shortfalls.

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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

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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