Children's Home run by After Care (NW) Limited in Sefton

Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 1 SC042652 Registered provider: After Care (N W) Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children‟s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 18 January 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children‟s home requires improvement to be good because

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Key findings from this inspection

 Not all staff take swift action when potential safeguarding matters are brought to their attention. Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 2  Staff have not taken appropriate action to safeguard young people when suspected to be under the influence of alcohol.  Physical intervention records do not detail all of the information that is legally required, despite this being raised as a shortfall at the last inspection.  Not all young people have a detailed placement plan in place that identifies their specific needs, or how their needs will be met.  The home‟s compatibility risk assessments are not robust and this has led to a young person being inappropriately placed.  The statement of purpose is out of date and does not accurately reflect the services provided in the home.  The registered manager has not effectively challenged placing authorities when they fail to send young people‟s care planning and reviewing documents. These

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Key findings from this inspection

important documents should inform young people‟s individual placement plans and care.  Complaint records do not provide sufficient detail because they omit the action taken and the outcome of the investigation.  Monitoring systems are not wholly effective because they have not identified the shortfalls found at this inspection.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people benefit from being cared for by a stable and committed team that is skilled at nurturing positive relationships with young people.  Some young people make progress from their starting points, particularly in their education. This is down to consistent routines, collaborative working with schools and the use of effective incentive programmes.  Some young people have been well prepared and supported to move on to semi-independence and they value staff‟s continued contact and guidance, despite them no longer living at the home.  Incidents of going missing from care and potential sexual exploitation are managed well by the team. Staff will follow young people and actively look for them when they go missing. This shows young people that staff care about them and want to keep them safe.  Young people benefit from having opportunities to do a range of activities that they choose and enjoy. This supports their social and emotional development.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The house is welcoming and homely, which helps young people to feel valued and respected.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 31/10/2016 Full Requires improvement 01/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 04/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children‟s needs are met

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority‟s or a relevant person‟s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child‟s needs are met in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensuring that the home obtains all of the required documentation from the placing authority. 09/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‟s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must report all safeguarding matters to the relevant bodies, and take action to safeguard young people if suspected to be under the influence of alcohol. 09/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the 09/06/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 4 children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the monitoring of the home‟s records.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home, and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all young people have placement plans in place that clearly identify their needs and how their needs will be met and monitored. Ensure that when all young people move out of the home it is a positive experience. 09/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (a)) 09/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes a description of the measure and its duration, the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure and within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”) has spoken to the user about the measure and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(vii)(b)(i)(c)) 09/06/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 5 39: Complaints and representation

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 09/06/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate training to support their training needs, in particular, drugs training and reviewing staff‟s qualifications to ensure that they correspond with the qualifications set out in regulation. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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improvement to be good

Not all young people benefit from having statutory care plans or placement plans in place. Managers do not ensure that all essential paperwork is obtained for each young person from the placing authority. The lack of care planning documentation has prevented the home from devising their own personalised placement plans for some young people. Consequently, staff are not appropriately informed of every young person‟s needs and vulnerabilities or what the local authority requests of them.

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improvement to be good

Compatibility/matching assessments are not robust. They do not accurately reflect the needs and vulnerabilities of all young people living in the home. This has led to young people being inappropriately placed in the home and staff have not been able to keep them safe. As a result, young people have experienced placement breakdown and moved on from the home in an unprepared way, including being escorted from the home by the police.

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improvement to be good

Staff are skilled at nurturing relationships with young people. Most of the young people spoke positively about the team and they were all able to identify a member of staff who they can confide in. Staff‟s supportive approach is helping young people to settle and start to develop a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Young people make progress from their starting points, particularly in their education. The in-house tutor has enabled young people, who have been out of school for some time, to re-engage with their education. One young person has made noticeable progress at school and this is down to staff encouragement and partnership working Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 6 with teachers. However, inconsistencies in placement planning have resulted in one young person not having an education plan in place to demonstrate how the home intends to further improve and monitor their progress.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s health and well-being are promoted in the home. Staff spend time talking to young people about their health and general well-being and provide support to attend all appointments, such as dental and optician appointments. Furthermore, young people benefit from having access to the organisation‟s therapy service to address their emotional health and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff prepare young people for adulthood by providing them with information, skills and confidence to live independently. Young people who have moved on to semi- independence spoke highly of the support that they received from staff.

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improvement to be good

The home provides young people with opportunities to try new activities and explore their interests and hobbies. Young people have enjoyed trips to the home‟s caravan, days out with staff and weekly attendance at youth clubs. This is supporting young people to make new friendships, forge links in their community and improve their confidence and self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

Young people are fully supported to develop and maintain family contact and friendships. Staff appreciate how important it is for young people to keep in contact with their families and friends, particularly when they live far away. They ensure that safe and suitable arrangements are in place for young people to maintain contact and sustain important relationships. This enables young people to develop and maintain their own individual identity.

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improvement to be good

The home has recently been decorated and re-carpeted throughout. The staff office is in the process of being relocated to a smaller space in the home. This development will provide young people with additional communal space in the home. The home is well maintained, suitably equipped and provides young people with a homely and welcoming environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff are proactive when young people do not return home, for example, they go out and actively look for them. When young people are missing, staff alert all relevant bodies to ensure that swift action is taken to locate them and therefore minimise the risk of harm to young people. Missing from home return interviews are routinely undertaken by an independent person. This provides young people with the opportunity to talk about any issues concerning their going missing behaviour and helps to prevent further incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff are alert to the signs of child sexual exploitation and, overall, manage this risk well. In most instances, staff escalate serious safeguarding concerns, such as child sexual exploitation, to multi-agency strategy meetings. This ensures a co-ordinated approach to Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 7 tackling these serious safeguarding concerns.

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improvement to be good

Staff are skilled at developing positive relationships with young people. These effective relationships are supporting young people to trust and confide in staff, which in turn, enhances staff‟s knowledge and understanding of young people‟s vulnerabilities and experiences. Mostly, staff‟s direct work sessions are helping young people to understand risk and keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

The home has established strong working relationships with the local community police officer, whose input supports staff to assess risk in the local area and this enhances young people‟s safety outside of the home.

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improvement to be good

Nevertheless, some areas of safeguarding practice can improve to ensure consistency across the team. For example, on one occasion, a young person disclosed a serious safeguarding matter to a member of staff who neglected to share this information with the registered manager or placing authority. Not only was this a breach of the home‟s safeguarding policy, it potentially placed young people at risk of harm. On another occasion, a young person returned home from being missing from care and staff records stated that the young person was „considerably drunk‟. The manager could not provide any evidence to demonstrate that staff had taken action to ensure that the young person was kept safe while under the influence of alcohol.

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improvement to be good

Records of physical intervention and restraints do not detail all of the information required by regulation. In particular, the duration of the intervention or an evaluation of its effectiveness by a person authorised to do so. Furthermore, there is no record of the staff, or young person involved, being spoken to after the event. This does not support open and transparent practice and it hinders independent scrutiny of the control measures used in the home. This shortfall was discussed with the registered manager at the last inspection in January 2017. However, she has not taken sufficient action to rectify this and the recording of restraints remains an area for improvement.

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improvement to be good

The staff files sampled demonstrated robust recruitment practice and confirmed that all of the necessary checks and vetting procedures are implemented prior to staff commencing work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A suitably qualified and experienced registered manager runs the home with the support of two senior residential care workers. The team is sufficiently staffed and stable, which supports continuity in care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The majority of staff hold, or are working towards, the recognised qualification in children‟s residential care. However, the manager was not certain if a senior member of the team holds a relevant qualification. The manager had not reviewed the content of this staff member‟s qualification to ensure that it corresponds with the qualification set out in regulation. The manager acknowledged this oversight and she intends to review the qualifications and source any additional training/courses if necessary. Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 8 Decisions made by leaders about young people moving into the home have not always accurately considered how young people‟s needs can negatively affect each other. As a result, inappropriate matching of need has had an impact on young people‟s experiences and safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that each young person has an individual placement plan that comprehensively identifies his or her needs, taking into account the placing authorities care plan. When placing authorities fail to provide the home with care plans, the manager has not robustly challenged them or escalated her concerns effectively. Consequently, the home does not hold, for each young person, all of the information concerning their individual needs, as required by law.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home‟s statement of purpose requires updating. It does not accurately reflect the therapeutic training provided to staff. It refers to staff receiving training on a specific therapeutic model „The Chimp Paradox‟. The registered manager confirmed at inspection that this has not and will not be happening. As a result, placing authorities, parents and carers are not being provided with accurate information about the therapeutic service provided in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Improvements can be made in the recording of complaints. Although the manager provides the complainant with a personal response that details the outcome of the complaint, she does not make a record of the action that she has taken to investigate the complaint, which details how she reached her decision. This weakens any evaluation of the handling of complaints to ensure that outcomes are appropriate and fair.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Service monitoring is not yet effective. The shortfalls found at this inspection had not been identified by the current monitoring systems, for example, the statement of purpose and complaints records. Furthermore, the manager has not taken action to address all of the shortfalls raised at the previous inspection, such as, restraint records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Although the home requires improvement to be good. There have been many improvements achieved since the last full inspection in October 2016. The house has been redecorated to a high standard, which demonstrates to young people that they are valued, respected and cared for. Furthermore, there have been new staff recruited to the team and this has enhanced team stability and continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are, and feel, wholly supported by the registered manager. They receive regular professional supervision, annual appraisals and informative team meetings. All of which are promoting staff‟s individual professional development. However, further training in certain areas, such as refresher training in substance misuse, would ensure that all staff have up-to-date knowledge to support each young person‟s specific needs.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 9 people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the „Social care common inspection framework‟, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: After Care (N W) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 45 Kensington Road, Southport PR9 0RT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Timothy Blundell

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Inspector(s)

Marina Tully: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC042652 11 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‟s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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