Children's home run by PIC Children’s Services in St. Helens

Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 1 SC022444 Registered provider: PIC Children‟s Services 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

The home is one of several children‟s homes owned and managed by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and support for one young person who has 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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Good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

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Good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Good

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Good

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

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young person is safe and feels safe here. He said he knows that the staff care about him and want the very best for him. Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 2  Following previously frequent episodes of being missing from care, this has ceased.  The home works well with other agencies, such as the police and placing authorities, to keep the young person safe. The social worker is complimentary about the support provided to the young person. They said, „Staff are doing all that they can to keep him safe‟.  Staff work hard to improve the overall experiences for the young person living in the home. As a result, the young person is making progress in a number of areas, such as his education and increasing his confidence and self-esteem.  The young person has aspirations for his future. He is seeking college placements and is applying for jobs.  The young person is taking greater responsibility for his own health and well-

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Key findings from this inspection

being. He enjoys going to the gym and is building up a list of meals he can prepare and cook from scratch.  The young person is becoming more emotionally resilient. He is able to reflect upon past actions and how they may affect his future. He is not letting these actions define him, but is continuing to look forward.  The young person is helped and supported to manage complex contact arrangements. This means that he is able to keep in touch with those people who are important to him, and that this is done safely.  The increased managerial support means that there is clear daily managerial oversight of the home. The deputy is new to the post and is working well with staff and the registered manager to support the young person.  The stable staff team provides consistency for the young person; something that will be vital to him in the upcoming months. The young person said that the staff are, „great, I couldn‟t ask for better staff‟.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children‟s home‟s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 Enhance the quality of recording in the young person‟s records, such as the placement plan and medication records. This is because record-keeping is not yet robust.  Ensure that the registered manager and HMCI receive reports from the independent person in a timely manner, and ensure that they provide a critical analysis of the quality of record-keeping.  Encourage young people to record their comments in the records. Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/11/2016 Full Requires improvement 31/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 21/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 4

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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

The registered provider must ensure that the independent person provides a copy of the independent person‟s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44 (7) (a)) 11/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child, which include the information and 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) and (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records and documentation, such as their healthcare plan, care plan, risk assessments, and behaviour plans reflect the current care and support provided. 11/08/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person actively seeks independent scrutiny of the home and makes best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, ensure that the registered manager receives the reports from the independent person in a timely manner in order to bring about change.  Ensure records are kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 35, paragraph 7.14)  Ensure young people are encouraged to read their records and to add further information to them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.6) In particular, ensure that staff

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Recommendations

record when a young person has refused to make a comment in records such as the sanctions book. Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person enjoys a positive relationship with the staff. He said, „They are brilliant, they are helping to keep me safe and I couldn‟t ask them to do any more for me‟. This is echoed by his social worker who said, „He receives the best service, and they [staff] go above and beyond in trying to keep him safe.‟ There has recently been a significant incident involving the young person, which may affect his future. He understands the possible implications of his actions, but is continuing to plan for his future. He said, „I can‟t just stop, I have to look forward.‟ His social worker said that the young person is well cared for by, „staff who are supportive and who care about him.‟ Staff said that since the incident he is working with all the agencies involved and has demonstrated a very mature attitude to what is happening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a very good understanding of the young person‟s needs and how the support they are providing is helping him. However, his placement plan, healthcare plan, behaviour management plan and a number of risk assessments do not reflect what is actually happening on a day-to-day basis. This is because of the amount of archive material contained in the documents. This means that record-keeping is not yet robust as it fails to provide clarity in the individual plans and records. The young person is not on any regular medication, but occasionally has paracetamol. The record of the administration of this is not fully effective because on one occasion staff did not record the time it was given or sign the entry.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has attended all of his outstanding medical appointments. Staff said that this is a very positive step as previously he had refused to attend or was missing from care when the appointments were due. These revealed no underlying health issues for him. The young person enjoys a healthy diet. He spoke confidently about how he can make a selection of meals, such as spaghetti bolognaise. He spoke enthusiastically about how staff taught him how to make southern fried chicken from scratch. As a result, he no longer needs to get this from a take-away and is enjoying learning practical life skills, such as cooking, that will help him in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person enjoys going to the gym with staff, although, he groans when he goes when it is „legs day‟, as he knows this is a real workout session. He said he is pleased with what he has achieved through going to the gym. He has put on weight and is eating a better balanced diet. This has significantly improved his confidence and self- esteem. Consequently, he has set himself a new set of reasonable fitness goals. He is equally proud of some staff members who go the gym with him. He spoke about how they are becoming fitter together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

His emotional health needs are met well. He is confident to talk to staff at the youth offending service (YOS) about what is going on in his life. He has reflected upon his past actions and possible implications arising from this. YOS workers said the staff are supporting his emotional well-being very well. The inclusion of a waking night member Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 6 of staff has meant that he feels safer and that there is someone to talk to at night as he has a poor sleep pattern.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has been through a period of having a low mood. Staff worked well with the child and adolescent mental health team to ensure that he was kept safe. The young person has recently sought advice from the doctor regarding his inability to get to sleep or stay asleep. He has been offered advice and while he has said he felt it was a „waste of time‟ he would try it out. This is something he would not have contemplated a few months ago.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person acknowledged that since Year 7 he has not paid much attention to his education. Combined with his episodes of missing from care this has resulted in him missing large amounts of his education. However, he has now turned a corner. He is now engaging with home tutors and is working hard to gain qualifications in English and maths. He said he is enjoying what he is doing and has begun to look at college courses and to apply for apprenticeships and work opportunities. He is pleased to have completed some AQA qualifications and explained how these will go towards helping him to secure a place at college. Staff are supporting his endeavours effectively. They ensure that he is up on time for lessons and are assisting him in completing application forms. As a result, the young person is more positive about his future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is confident about moving on into the next stage of his life. He said he can confidently complete a range of household tasks, such as his laundry and ironing. However, he does not do this all the time as staff do it for him. Staff said, „He is just a typical teenager. He can do all these things but if we offer he will let us do it.‟ He is confident to plan and purchase food for the week and will help staff prepare evening meals and snacks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is able to keep in touch with those people who are important to him. He said that the staff and social worker listened to him when he asked for more contact with some family members and this was addressed. He meets up regularly with other family members and enjoys spending time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person feels valued. This is because staff listen to him. He knows that the staff are there for him and that they genuinely care about what happens to him. He said he enjoys spending time with them, whether it is making a meal, watching television or going out with them.

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

High priority is given to ensuring the young person‟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 the young person goes missing. Since a significant incident, the young person no longer goes missing from care. He is very aware of the current conditions for him living in the home and is abiding to these. He said he does not want to be out and miss his time to be home each night. Prior to this, he admits he often went missing, but knew that the staff would be looking for him. He said he regrets this Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 7 now; „I know that the staff care about me, I just wish I had realised sooner, they are great.‟

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

Missing from care risk assessments are in place. However, they do not reflect the current risks for the young person. This is because of the amount of information included regarding past episodes of missing going back to 2016. This detracts from the actual risks and the plan to reduce these. This is a recording issue as staff have a good understanding of the risks and the action to take should he be missing from care. The registered manager and staff work well with police and placing authorities to keep the young person safe.

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

Physical interventions are not used by the staff. Sanctions are occasionally applied and are fair and reasonable. Young people are asked to make comment about the sanction, but the entries on the records are often blank. Staff are not recording when the young person has declined to comment. Also, it is unclear as to how long a sanction, such as supervised spends, is in place for. This does not promote transparency. Staff have said that they have seen a vast improvement in the young person in recent months. He has matured and is more able to talk to staff about his feelings and come to some agreed resolutions about the way forward.

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

The young person‟s bedroom is personalised and reflects his individuality. He said his room has a New York theme and he would „love to visit New York‟. Photographs of the young person are displayed around the home. He said that „he feels at home here‟.

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

The young person is safeguarded as visitors to the home are vetted and appropriately supervised during their visit. Suitable recruitment practices are in place and the home environment is safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A committed and experienced manager leads and manages the home. She is also the registered manager of another one-bed children‟s home a short distance away. A deputy manager has recently been appointed. She is an experienced member of staff and is committed to supporting the registered manager and staff, and to improving outcomes for young people. Staff rotas clearly demonstrate that the registered manager and deputy have good oversight of both homes. The registered manager is in the process of completing a level 5 management qualification and plans are underway for the deputy to begin a level 5 qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and deputy are in the process of streamlining a number of records and documentation. However, there are a number of issues within the records at this time. For example some, such as the placement plan and risk assessments, do not reflect the current day-to day care and support provided to the young person. Others contain conflicting information. This does not promote clarity in the records and means that vital information can be lost or hard to locate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

These issues have not been identified through internal or external monitoring of the Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 8 home. Consequently, monitoring of the home‟s practice and record-keeping is not yet robust. The impact of these shortfalls is minimised, because staff have a good understanding of the young person and the support he needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reports by the independent person are not routinely sent to HMCI in a timely manner to enable the regulatory body to keep abreast of the independent person‟s findings and the home‟s response to these. Reports are often sent to HMCI out of order. For example, the report for March has been received, but February‟s has not. The registered manager is yet to receive the reports from two months ago. Consequently, she is unable to address any shortfall effectively or promote continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young person is cared for by a stable, enthusiastic staff team. It has a good understanding of the young person‟s needs and meets these well on a daily basis. The team members comment on the significant improvements he has made in recent months as he now engaging with them. Staff said that they have opportunities for further training, and a number of training days are booked in the upcoming months. Staff said training about radicalisation and extremism was enlightening, and that this has helped them to look at the various ways in which young people can be vulnerable to issues such as radicalisation.

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Information about this inspection

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 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: SC022444 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PIC Children‟s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 North Street, Haydock, St. Helens, Merseyside WA11 0TW

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Inspector

Chris Scully, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC022444 10 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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