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

Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 1 SC405448 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

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 to up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

Good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

p.1

Good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Requires improvement to be good

p.1

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

p.1

Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 The home works well with other agencies, such as the police, placing authorities Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 2 and healthcare professionals to keep young people safe. Social workers and others are complimentary about the home’s response to incidents of young people being missing.  The incidents of being missing are decreasing for a number of young people in the home. While this is not the case for one young person who is new to the home, staff are working in partnership with other agencies to support the young person.  Young people are increasing in confidence and self-esteem. They are more able to reflect on past experiences and to learn from these. Consequently, incidents of poor or inappropriate behaviour in the home have significantly decreased.  Staff are skilled at managing the complex contact arrangements for each young person. This means that young people are able to maintain positive

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

relationships with people who are important to them.  Staff have a good understanding of each young person in their care, the support they need and the action needed to minimise the risks they face. However, this is not reflected consistently in their records.  Young people develop positive relationships with staff. This means that they are settled in the home and are much more able to talk to staff about things that may be troubling them.  Young people are engaging more in their education. Some are engaging in work experience opportunities, which are helping them to prepare for the next stage in their life.  The registered manager is very aware of the home’s strengths and areas of development. She acknowledges that staff have a good understanding of the young people in their care. However, this is not yet reflected in the records. She has taken action to address this from the last inspection, but, given the short

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Improve the quality of recording in young people’s files and all documentation.  Improve the decor in the home, including completing all matters identified at the last inspection and ensure that all repairs and fire drills are carried out in a timely manner.  Ensure that the statement of purpose reflects the actual care and support provided to young people and that staff training in relation to therapeutic interventions is provided. Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 3

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/07/2016 Full Good 03/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 4

p.3

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.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished, and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(d))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that repairs such as replacing flooring in the hall, kitchen and lounge areas as well as repairing the young people’s phone are undertaken without delay, so that the home provides a warm, welcoming environment. Also, ensure that young people who are new to the home undertake fire drills so that they know what to do in the event of the alarm going off. 07/07/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that risk assessments, including missing from care assessments, healthcare plans and placement plans are comprehensive and that they are accurate reflections of the care and support needed for each young person. 07/07/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the 07/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 5 home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13(1) and (2)(a))

p.4

Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to the use of the therapeutic intervention used in the home, ‘structured psychotherapy for adolescents responding to chronic stress’ (SPARCS), and the training for staff in this.

p.5

Recommendations

 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)

p.5

Recommendations

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

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff whom they trust. They are confident to talk to staff and enjoy spending time with them. Staff have a secure understanding of each young person’s needs, and, as a result, young people who have been in the home for some time are making steady progress. The social worker of a young person new to the home confirmed that their young person is settled and that this is largely because of the relationships the young person has developed with staff. The social worker went on to say that, unlike during previous placements, she has not received a call from the young person asking her to ‘sort the staff out’. The social worker regards this as a big achievement for this young person.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are becoming more emotionally resilient. They are able to express their feelings in a more productive manner and are learning to reflect on their past and how this has affected them. One young person has recently commenced a work experience placement at a local garden centre. She explained that this was good as she has to talk to interact with customers and work colleagues and is learning new things each day. She is also pleased that there is a chance of gaining paid employment from this experience. This is a significant achievement for the young person as she has grown in confidence, is adapting to the world of work and is learning valuable skills that will help her as she moves into adulthood.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are being helped to learn a range of skills that will help and support them Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 6 in the future. They are actively encouraged to be as independent as possible in relation to their starting points. Young people are fully involved in menu planning and shopping for items for the home. Thus, they are learning about menu planning and budgeting.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people attend the school that is attached to the children’s home. All are engaging in their education, and their attendance is improving. Teachers reported that young people are making good progress from their starting points. This is helped by the support that the staff from the home offer, for example, supporting young people on activities and promoting the importance of education in the home.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are increasingly aware of their own healthcare needs. One young person explained how staff are helping her to reduce the number of cigarettes she smokes. She knows that these are bad for her health and is making a conscious effort, with staff support, to stop smoking. Young people’s emotional health is supported well. Young people have access to the home’s psychotherapist and other external agencies to ensure that their emotional well-being needs are identified and assessed. The home offers a therapeutic model of care to support young people, called ‘structured psychotherapy for adolescents responding to chronic stress’ (SPARCS). Although a number of staff are trained in the SPARCS approach, not all staff are. This may affect the overall effectiveness and implementation of the programme for each young person.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of and understand each young person’s healthcare needs. They were able to speak confidently about each young person’s individual needs, explaining how they are proactive in encouraging young people to attend regular appointments with their local doctor, dentist or sexual health practitioner. This helps young people to understand how to keep themselves fit and healthy. However, the actual healthcare plans do not always reflect all of the specific individual needs and how these are to be addressed. For example, information about previous self-harming behaviours had not been included in young people’s healthcare plans. This is a recording issue that had not been identified through internal monitoring of the home and one that must be addressed in order to ensure that all staff know how to manage and respond to any future concerns.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are offered a wide range of activities that they plan on a weekly basis. However, at the moment, they prefer to stay at home. Some young people enjoy the opportunities to record each another ‘rapping’ and dancing or singing along to their favourites songs. Young people have a strong sense of inclusion, because they are consulted on all aspects of their care. Young people said that they feel safe here and know that the staff listen to them. They enjoy exchanging playful banter with staff.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, several former residents rang the home to speak to staff. The manager said, ‘This is a regular occurrence. These young people have built strong attachments with us and want to tell us how things are going for them. They need to know that we have not forgotten them, or are not interested in what they are doing now.’ One young person has left a duplicate copy of her photos and achievements in the home, because if anything happened to her copy she knows she would always have another one. Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 7 The registered manager has improved on the matching process for young people moving into the home. She carefully reviews the paperwork and talks to social workers and others to create a clear picture of the young person. She uses this information to make decisions as to whether it is a suitable match for the other young people in the home. The manager is confident to refuse a placement when she feels it will have a detrimental

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

impact on the other children living in the home. This helps to provide stability for the young people.

p.7

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s complex contact arrangements are managed well. Staff effectively support young people who live away from home to see those people who are important to them. Staff are strong advocates for young people. Staff listen to the young people’s wishes, for example, to attend a family celebration. They are working with a young person and her social worker and are proposing a safe plan to enable this to happen. Staff sensitively and discreetly support contact visits. This provides effective support and reassurance for the young people and their families. Ultimately, they have an enjoyable, safe time with their families and friends.

p.7

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

High priority is given to ensuring young people’s safety and well-being. Staff are well versed in the home’s safeguarding and missing from care procedures and they take effective action when a young person goes missing or makes a disclosure. For example, they ensure early reporting to the registered manager and other safeguarding professionals, such as the young person’s social worker. This helps to keep young people safe and provides reassurances to young people who know that they are listened to and believed.

p.7

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There has been a significant decrease in recent months in the incidents of young people being missing. One exception is a young person who is new to the home. She has recently had a prolonged episode of missing and has been at risk of child sexual exploitation. The home has worked effectively with the police, the local authority and health professionals to locate the young person and return her home. Police missing from care coordinators said, ‘The home [is] proactive in trying to keep young people safe.’ For example, members of staff spoke to the manager of a local public house to where a young person was known to gravitate. This resulted in an agreement that the staff from the public house would contact the home when the young person was seen there so that the home’s staff were quickly able to go and encourage her to return home. The social worker of another young person said that she was initially concerned

p.7

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

about the placement because of the proximity of the children’s home to the young person’s family home. The social worker was concerned about the young person’s substance misuse and episodes of being missing and that being so close to the family home may prove difficult in changing previous behaviours. However, the social worker confirmed that she is delighted that, since coming to live here, the young person has not gone missing. Furthermore, the young person has said that she can see herself being happy here and has no desire to go missing. Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 8 Staff are aware of the risks associated with each young person and the actions they are expected to take to keep them safe. However, the information in their individual risk assessments is not robust. This is because it does not provide sufficient written information about the risks to young people, such as where they may go if they are

p.7

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

reported as missing. Neither do the risk assessments adequately address how access to the internet may affect their safety, such as using it to arrange to meet unsuitable people via social media. While staff were able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of what they are doing to help to keep young people safe in practice, a lack of robust recording and clear guidance has the potential to negatively impact on young people.

p.8

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are increasingly aware of how their behaviour can affect others. There has been a significant decrease in the number of incidents in the home. This is because young people are now more confident to talk with staff and each other about their feelings and anxieties. Young people talk openly to their peers and encourage each other to think about their actions. For example, young people talk to each other about the importance of not going missing and of working with the staff, because that is how they will achieve the outcomes that they want. Staff are proud of the young people for doing this and encourage these frank and honest peer discussions.

p.8

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Physical interventions are rarely used and only as a last resort. There has been no necessity to use physical intervention since the last inspection. Similarly, sanctions are used sparingly. The manager reviews these and challenges any that may be over punitive or be in direct conflict with the home’s ethos of restorative justice. Young people understand the house rules and said that they are OK. Young people said that they are involved in what happens in the home and know that staff will listen to them and, if necessary, explain why some things may not be possible, such as increased free time.

p.8

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people’s bedrooms are personalised and reflect their individual interests. One young person said that staff have asked whether she would like her room decorated, but she has declined. She said it is good that they asked. Another young person has requested midnight blue glitter paper and cream walls, but this is yet to be done, as the young person acknowledged that as she is going through a difficult period at the moment she did not want to risk damaging it. This is indicative of how far this young person has progressed in that she now understands her feelings and emotions and can self-regulate her behaviour and make more informed decisions. A young person’s telephone has not been working for some time. This means that young people have to use the office phone to call parents and friends. This does not promote their privacy. Immediate action was taken in relation to resolving this issue.

p.8

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are safeguarded, as visitors to the home are vetted and appropriately supervised during their visit. The home and environment are safe. The home has recently upgraded some fire doors following a visit from the fire service. Young people new to the home have been informed about the fire evacuation procedures and are aware of this. However, they have not yet had the opportunity to practise an evacuation. One has now been planned. Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 9

p.8

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

A committed and experienced registered manager leads and manages the home. She holds a level 4 qualification and is in the process of completing her level 5 qualification. The registered manager is very aware of the strengths and weakness of the home, such as the issues surrounding recording, and is taking appropriate action to address these. For example, she is in the process of adapting the methods of generating and recording risk assessments. Given the short time between the interim inspection and this inspection, she has not yet fully implemented the changes. This means that record- keeping is not yet robust.

p.9

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

Action has been taken to address the maintenance issues in the home, but some issues such as replacing flooring are not yet complete. New lighting has been fitted in some areas. Plans are under way to create a more homely environment for the young people especially in the communal areas. The home has recently appointed a second deputy manager. This will enable the registered manager to delegate tasks such as staff supervisions. Her vision is that this will strengthen the management of the home and help to bring about change. This is in its early stages of development and needs time to become embedded in the home.

p.9

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

The statement of purpose is regularly reviewed and updated. However, it does not include information about the therapeutic support provided through SPARCS or the recent changes in the staff team. The young person’s guide provides clear information to young people. Consequently, they understand the house rules and the help and support that they can expect to receive.

p.9

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

Staff said that they are well supported by the registered manager. They benefit from regular supervision, which enables them to talk about what is going well and any concerns they may have. Staff have equal access to training. For example, a number of staff are completing level 5 qualifications. Staff work well within a multi-disciplinary team to bring about change for young people. They work closely with school staff to support young people’s educational opportunities by supporting them on visits.

p.9

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

Monitoring of the home by the independent person is enabling the registered manager to identify areas for improvement, such as initiating a new staff supervision record that includes the actual length of the supervision. The manager undertakes regular monitoring of the home. However, this is not yet secure as the shortfalls identified at this inspection have not been identified.

p.9

Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 10 Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.10

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: SC405448 11

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

p.11

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Quality Protects Children Limited, Hill House, Archway Road, Huyton, Liverpool L36 9XB

p.11

Inspector

Chris Scully, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC405448 12 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.11

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.12

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.12

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.12