Children's home run by Crossway Services Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 1 SC061438

p.1

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home can accommodate one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 September 2017

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 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 2

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 The young person continues to make progress in all areas of her life. She is provided with a good quality of care which has ensured that her outcomes have improved.  The young person is making significant progress in education. She has high aspirations for her future, as do her staff team. This contributes to her progress.  The young person’s health and development needs are well met. Her healthcare plan is detailed, and identifies her current health needs.  Safeguarding practice in the home ensures that the young person is safeguarded. Consequently, the young person feels safe.  The young person and the staff have developed good relationships. This enables the young person to discuss any worries or concerns with staff. The young person is confident that the home’s manager and the staff team will do whatever is necessary to ensure that her needs are met.  Monitoring and review systems in the home support the manager to identify the

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

home’s strengths and weaknesses. Appropriate action is taken to address any shortfalls in a timely manner.  Collaborative working with a range of professionals ensures that the young person receives the most appropriate support to meet her needs and improve outcomes for her.  The staff work well together. Regular team meetings provide time for staff to reflect on their practice. This ensures that they provide a consistent level of care for the young person.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Some of the records and plans in the home do not fully reflect the young person’s current situation. Furthermore, they do not demonstrate that the young person has contributed to or viewed her records.  Although the staff team receives regular supervision, the records do not demonstrate that it is reflective in nature, to support the staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of the young person.  The home’s review of the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises does not demonstrate that the manager has consulted and taken into account the views of other relevant professionals in the area. Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 3  The home’s workforce development plan does not detail the process for managing and improving poor performance, or the process and timescales for supervision of practice. Therefore, it does not fully meet the regulation requirements.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/05/2016 Full Good 02/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/05/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 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 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: and that they are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)) 13/11/2017

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year. When conducting the review the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46(1) and (2)) 13/11/2017

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as living documents, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person should have a workforce development plan, which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

p.4

Recommendations

standards’, page 53 paragraph 10.8) In particular, the plan should detail the process for managing and improving poor performance and the process and timescales for supervision of practice.

p.4

Inspection judgements

Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 5

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person continues to make progress in all areas of her life. This is due to the manager and staff having a good understanding of her needs and providing appropriate care, support and intervention. The young person is happy and settled, and enjoys living in the home. She said, ‘If I had a magic wand, there is nothing I would change about the home.’

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is making significant progress in her education. She is keen to do well and has high aspirations for her future, as do her staff team. The young person has excellent attendance at school as a result of the clear routines at home to support this. The young person is encouraged and supported to continue her learning at home. She is provided with the necessary resources to support her education. The manager and staff are in regular communication with the young person’s school and relevant information is shared between the two, which supports the young person’s education both at home and in school. A member of staff from the young person’s school said, ‘The home fully support [Name of young person’s] education, we work together to resolve any issues. They support her to do work at home and she has made good progress in all areas.’

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person benefits from having an effective and detailed healthcare plan. This provides clear information on her individual health needs and how they will be met. The young person is encouraged and supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle. She is provided with nutritious meals and encouraged to take part in and engage in physical activities. The home has been proactive in identifying appropriate support and intervention to meet the young person’s emotional needs. Consequently, the young person’s health needs are met.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has positive relationships with the manager and staff. This is due to the time that they spend with the young person. They spend time together engaging in various social and recreational activities, including glamping and going to the fairground and the cinema. Regular consultation meetings take place with the young person to address specific issues such as education, emotional well-being and behaviour. Furthermore, the young person has regular opportunities to share her views, wishes and feelings through direct discussions with the manager and staff. She is invited to the team meeting, and is encouraged to put any items she wishes to discuss on the agenda. Consequently, the young person benefits from positive relationships with the manager and staff, and receives encouragement to express her views, wishes and feelings.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff recognise the importance of the young person maintaining regular contact with people who are important to her. They work with the local authority to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place for the young person to have contact with family members. They facilitate and supervise contact sessions to ensure that contact is meaningful and safe. The young person is supported to have contact with her friends and is encouraged to invite them to the home. Furthermore, the young person has monthly contact with the previous manager of the home, who is now an independent visitor. The young person also benefits from having an advocate who she can access at any time. Consequently, the young person has meaningful, safe contact Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 6 with people who are important to her.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the young person and her individual needs and views. The staff also understand all identified risks, and are aware of how they can best support the young person to stay safe. Staff follow the young person’s placement plan and ensure that she receives the most appropriate support and guidance to meet her needs. They work with a range of professionals, including the young person’s social worker and education and health professionals, to make sure that the young person receives the right support from the right services at the right time. A professional said, ‘The home are in regular communication with us to ensure a consistent level of care for the young person.’

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently benefited from some home improvements, including new carpets, curtains and fixtures and fittings. There are further improvement plans in place to paint and decorate the home. The home provides the young person with a warm, nurturing environment.

p.6

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

The young person is safe and protected due to the manager and staff giving the highest priority to her safety and well-being. Effective collaborative working with safeguarding professionals helps to keep the young person safe. The manager and staff are all appropriately trained in safeguarding, and are aware of the actions that they should take if they are concerned about the young person’s welfare. Furthermore, they have a good understanding of the young person’s needs and risks. This helps to promote the young person’s safety and well-being.

p.6

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

Risk assessments do not clearly outline the reasons why a particular risk assessment is in place and the updates do not identify why the risks have increased or reduced. However, the risk assessments do outline the strategies that are in place for managing the risks. The manager recognises that risk assessments would benefit from being more detailed, to reflect the reasons for the risk assessments and the reasons for the changes in risk levels. Consequently, the staff team would have a clearer understanding of the risks faced by the young person. However, other records in the home demonstrate that the young person is safeguarded.

p.6

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

The staff and the young person understand behaviour management strategies in the home. An effective behaviour management plan outlines the behaviours of the young person and the support that staff will provide. Rewards for positive behaviour far outweigh consequences for negative behaviour. Monetary rewards are given to the young person for completing jobs around the home and for engagement in education. The young person said, ‘I receive lots of incentives and rewards to buy books and other items and to have my hair dyed. Consequences are fair.’ As a result the young person’s behaviour is good.

p.6

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

The young person has previously experienced issues relating to child sexual exploitation Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 7 and internet safety. The home was quick to identify this, and took appropriate action to safeguard the young person. Staff supervise the young person when she is accessing the internet. Consequently, she is safeguarded from any further issues relating to child sexual exploitation and internet safety. The home is currently working with other professionals to ensure that the young person receives the most appropriate support and intervention to keep herself safe and raise her awareness of the risks associated with internet use. A plan is in place to safely reintroduce the young person to unsupervised access to the internet.

p.6

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

The health and safety practices in the home are good. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks, including fire drills, to ensure that the premises are safe and that the young person knows how to respond in an emergency.

p.7

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

The home’s location assessment is under review. However, this does not demonstrate that the manager has consulted with other safeguarding professionals in the area. Therefore, the home cannot be confident that the location review identifies all known risks in the community. Consequently, the young person is not fully safeguarded in the community.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager is in place at the home, and has submitted her application to be registered with Ofsted. She has worked in residential childcare for a considerable amount of time, and has a recognised managerial qualification. She is also the manager of a single-bedded children’s home for the company. The home has also introduced a deputy manager who supports the manager in the day-to-day running of the home.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management of the home are good. Relationships between the young person, the managers and the staff are good. The young person benefits from positive experiences. Consequently, the home provides a good quality of care to the young person, which supports improved outcomes for her.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All of the staff working in the home are permanent employees. They are suitably qualified or working towards their qualification, and have the relevant experience to care for the young person. The manager ensures that the staff team is consistent for the young person. She recognises that this is particularly important for the young person due to the impact that changes in staffing have previously had on the young person. Handover meetings and records are thorough and detailed, which ensures a good transition from one member of staff to another and provides the young person with consistent level of care.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision to support them in their role. However, supervision records do not demonstrate that all supervision sessions support staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of the young person. Consequently, this does not develop their professional practice. However, regular team meetings take place that are reflective in nature and records demonstrate that the team regularly discusses the young person and Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 8 her needs.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is good and they work well together. They are motivated and enthusiastic, and clearly want what is best for the young person. A member of staff said, ‘We all work well together and are very supportive of each other.’ The supportive staff team contributes to the good quality of care provided for the young person.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has good levels of training and development opportunities. Training is important to them and they are all keen to undertake further training in order to further enhance their knowledge and skills, and improve practice. They keep up to date with new guidance and legislation, and discuss the regulations and quality standards for children’s homes at team meetings. Consequently, the staff are well qualified, suitably trained and appropriately supported to meet the young person’s needs.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Collaborative working between the home and other professionals is good. Regular communication between the home and professionals ensures that all those involved with the young person have an up-to-date picture of the young person’s current situation. This ensures that the young person’s needs are met well, and that she is provided with a consistent level of care.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The monitoring and review systems in the home enable the manager to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She regularly reviews the quality of care provided for the young person, which helps her to drive up standards for the young person. The manager uses all of the information available to her ensure the continuous development of the home.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recording systems in the home need to be strengthened. Although the manager and staff have a good understanding of the young person’s needs, risks and current situation, the records and plans do not demonstrate this. Some of the records, plans and assessments are not clear and detailed, and do not provide up-to-date information. Furthermore, they do not demonstrate that the young person has viewed or contributed to them. Consequently, the records and plans do not include full and accurate information which demonstrates to the staff and young person the current situation and why specific support or intervention is in place.

p.8

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 differences 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. Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 9 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

p.8

Information about this inspection

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: SC061438 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Leeds LS5 3BT

p.10

Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC061438 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.10

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.11

Inspector

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

p.11

Inspector

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

p.11