Children's Home run by St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in St Helens

Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 1 SC063550 Registered provider: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council

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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 owned and managed by a local authority and provides accommodation for up to four young people who have 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

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make measurable progress in all areas of their lives due to the good quality of care provided to them.  Young people make progress in education due to the educational support that Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 2 they receive from the staff. The managers and staff maintain effective relationships with education professionals to ensure that the young people are receiving the most appropriate support and intervention to meet their educational needs.  Relationships between the managers, staff and young people are good. This supports the young people to have positive experiences and improved outcomes.  Managers and staff deal with all safeguarding incidents effectively. There is a multi-agency approach to incidents, which safeguards the young people.  Young people are supported to develop and maintain relationships with people who are important to them. The managers and staff also develop and maintain

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Key findings from this inspection

good relationships with the family and friends of the young people.  Young people benefit from a range of social and recreational opportunities to support their social interaction and improve their confidence and self-esteem.  The staff team feels supported by its managers and feels that the home is a good home to work in. Furthermore, its members feel that they have a consistent approach, which ensures that young people receive a good quality of care.  The staff team has regular training and development opportunities to enhance its knowledge and skills and support its members’ individual professional development.  The monitoring and review systems in the home are robust and support the managers to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Managers take effective action to address any shortfalls identified.

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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

 The records in the home relating to young people who have been under the influence of a substance do not demonstrate that appropriate action has been considered or taken to safeguard the young person.  Although the managers regularly review the quality of care provided to the young people they do not provide the required information to Ofsted. Therefore, the regulator is not kept up to date on the quality of care provided to the young people, the experiences of the young people, the impact the care is having and improvements required for young people.  The staff team receives regular supervision in line with the home’s supervision policy. However, supervision records do not demonstrate that supervision sessions allow the staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of the young people.  The records, reports and plans in the home do not demonstrate that the views, wishes and feelings of the young people have been ascertained.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people do not routinely receive an independent return interview when they have been missing from home. This does not demonstrate that the home is Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 3 working in line with the statutory guidance on ‘Children who run away or go missing from home or care’, 2014.  The individual expectations and standards for behaviour in the home are not clearly recorded. This does not demonstrate that the staff and young people have a shared understanding of the individual behaviour management strategies in place for the young people.  Not all young people in the home are up to date with routine dental checks and eye tests.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 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 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 that staff–

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; that the home’s day to day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b)) 17/11/2017

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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)(c)) 17/11/2017

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Recommendations

 Expectations of standards of behaviour should be high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. Staff should understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 5 including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11 and page 47, paragraph 9.39) In particular, this refers to having clear plans in place that detail individual behaviour management strategies.  When a child returns home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take

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Recommendations

account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11 and page 47, paragraph 9.39)  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)  Regulation 45 sets out requirements for the registered person to have systems in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months; also see regulation 13(2)(h) (the leadership and management standard). The registered person should undertake a review that

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Recommendations

focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the quality standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that each child’s day-to-day health and well-being needs are met. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 33 paragraph 7.3) In particular, routine dental check-ups and eye tests are completed for all young people.  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

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19) In particular, their views, wishes and feelings should be included in the home’s reports for looked after children’s reviews.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The four young people living in the home have lived there for some time. There are plans in place for them to move on in a planned way to semi-independent living. The young people have made progress in all areas of their lives, including education and training, behaviour, contact, relationships and health. This is due to the consistent level Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 6 of care provided to them. Furthermore, the managers and staff have a good understanding of the young people’s individual needs and ensure that the appropriate support and intervention is in place to meet their individual needs. Consequently, the young people have had positive experiences and outcomes for them have improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the young people to engage in education and training opportunities. These are specific to their individual needs, such as alternative education provisions or training. Staff ensure that the young people have good routines to support them in engaging in their education; this includes structured morning and evening routines. Furthermore, staff support young people to complete their homework. Staff have good links with education professionals to ensure that the young people are receiving the most appropriate intervention to meet their individual education needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff in the home understand the health and development needs of the young people. However, staff have failed to ensure that new young people who have moved into the home have attended routine medical appointments, such as the dentist and optician. Young people are encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle by eating varied nutritious meals. The home employs a cook to prepare and cook meals. She ensures that the young people have home-cooked food. Furthermore, she spends time with the young people discussing the need for them to choose healthy options and outlining the benefits of heathy foods. She also supports the young people to develop their skills in preparing and cooking meals to improve their independence skills. Staff encourage the young people to engage in regular physical activity by registering them at the local gym and encouraging other physical activities, such as football, ice-skating and walking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them, including friends and family members. Contact arrangements are clearly outlined in the young people’s individual placement plan. The staff team facilitates and supervises some of the contact young people have with family members. Staff have developed positive relationships with family members. They maintain regular contact with them so that parents and carers are fully aware of the young person’s current situation, progress and experiences. The young people are supported to develop and maintain friendships and staff often transport young people to their friends’ homes and speak with their parents to ensure that the contact is appropriate and safe. Contact arrangements ensure that the young people benefit from quality contact that is safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The arrangements in place for young people to move into the home are robust. When a referral has been received, the managers consider whether the home is able to meet the needs of the young person. They ensure that all information relating to the young person is ascertained from a range of people, including local authority social workers, education and health professionals and family members. A full impact risk assessment is then completed to ensure that the home is the most appropriate placement. Managers arrange to meet with the young person and invite them to visit the home and meet the staff team and other young people. A transition plan is then devised to ensure a smooth and successful transition. A young person who recently moved into the home said, ‘I was happy to move into the home after visiting the home on a couple of occasions. On the first night I stayed I had a full night’s sleep, which is unusual for me. This shows how

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 7 happy I was.’ The manager of the home has refused to accept some referrals as she has not felt that they were the most appropriate placements for the young people, or that they would have a negative impact on the young people already living in the home. This demonstrates that robust procedures are in place to ensure that the home will only allow young people to move in whose needs it is confident that it can meet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home offers the young people a safe, stable and nurturing environment to live in. The leaders and managers are keen to make some home improvements to provide the young people with an even nicer place to live. The home’s domestic worker supports the young people to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. The fixtures and fittings in the young people’s bedrooms are of an acceptable standard and provide the young people with adequate storage space. Bedrooms are personalised to each individual young person’s liking and include many personal items, including photographs, artwork, trophies and awards.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of the relationships between the staff and young people is good. The young people feel that the staff care about them and have their best interests at heart. The young people feel listened to and have regular opportunities to share their views, wishes and feelings, such as in young people’s meetings and key-work sessions. However, some records and plans in the home do not demonstrate that the young people have read and understood them. Furthermore, an independent reviewing officer said, ‘Although the home provides detailed reports for looked after children review meetings, they do not include much information on the young people’s views, wishes and feelings.’ The reports for looked after children review meetings viewed at the inspection confirmed this. Therefore, the home needs to ensure that it regularly records the views, wishes and feelings of the young people in their records, plans and reports.

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

Young people say that they feel safe and protected in the home. Staff have developed trusting relationships with the young people and young people feel able to share any worries or concerns they may have. The staff team has a good understanding of the individual risks to the young people, such as going missing from home, child sexual exploitation and substance misuse. Safeguarding practice in the home is good due to the knowledge, skills and experience the staff have in relation to safeguarding. Staff receive training in safeguarding, which enables them to recognise and respond to safeguarding issues.

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

Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated and outline the individual risks to the young people. However, they do not always reflect the changing risk levels to the young people and the dates when incidents have occurred. The risk assessments do not include consultation with the young people. Furthermore, they do not demonstrate that either the staff or young people have read and understood the risk assessments. However, the members of staff spoken to during the inspection demonstrated a good understanding of the individual risks for the young people and the strategies in place to manage the risks. The leaders and managers can only be confident that all of the staff can safeguard the young people effectively if their risk assessments provide an accurate Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 8 reflection of the changing risk levels.

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

The home has responded effectively to safeguarding incidents that have occurred for the young people. This includes the safe use of mobile phones and social media. Furthermore, key-work sessions have taken place with the young people to raise their awareness and understanding of the risks they may face to enable them to keep themselves safe. Consequently, the risks to the young people have reduced.

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

Behaviour management strategies in the home support the young people to present with age-appropriate positive behaviour. However, the young people do not have individual behaviour management plans in place. Therefore, the records in the home do not demonstrate that the staff and young people have a clear mutual understanding of the strategies in place to promote positive behaviour and manage poor behaviour.

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

The number of incidents when young people have been under the influence of substances has reduced in the home. Although the managers and staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the action to take when a young person is under the influence of a substance, the records relating to this do not demonstrate what action has been taken. The managers and staff acknowledge that this is a shortfall in recording and are confident that appropriate action was taken to safeguard the young people. Furthermore, the staff have ensured that the young people have engaged with a member of staff from the substance misuse service to address their risk-taking behaviour. Consequently, the number of incidents of young people being under the influence of a substance has reduced and their awareness of the risks has improved.

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

The number of incidents when young people have been missing from home has reduced. The home has clear records in place demonstrating the efforts taken by the staff team to locate young people and ensure their prompt, safe return to the home. However, independent return interviews have not taken place for all incidents when young people have been missing from the home. There was some confusion as to who is responsible for undertaking these independent interviews. However, this was addressed during the inspection and the managers are confident that appropriate independent interviews will be held as appropriate in the future. This will ensure that the young people have an opportunity to independently discuss the reasons why they were missing from home, the risks they faced during the time that they were missing and any factors to reduce the risk of them going missing again. Furthermore, it will demonstrate that the home is

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

working in line with statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care.

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

The home has a detailed and evaluative location review in place. This outlines all known risks in the community and the strategies in place to manage the risks and safeguard the young people. The home has consulted effectively with safeguarding professionals in the area to collate the relevant information. The review is updated as and when new information or risks become known to the home. Consequently, the young people are safeguarded in the community. Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 9

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager of the home is suitably qualified and experienced. A deputy manager, who also holds a management qualification and has extensive experience of working in residential care, supports her. They provide good leadership and management of the home, which benefits the staff and the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders, managers and staff of the home prioritise the welfare of the young people and focus on improving outcomes for them. They ensure that the young people receive a good quality of care and are safeguarded. The staff team is diverse and each member brings their individual strengths to the home. They support each other by reflecting on their practice and by sharing good practice examples during regular team meetings. This supports them to plan effectively for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team receives regular professional supervision. However, the supervision records demonstrate limited reflection on practice or discussion about the individual young people living in the home. Consequently, this does not support the staff team to identify any further training that its members may need or demonstrate that they regularly review their individual practice and performance and development needs. Furthermore, the records do not demonstrate that the staff consider how best to develop the home and improve outcomes for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recording systems in the home require improvement. This will ensure that up-to- date information is clearly recorded in individual plans and records. This would provide a clearer account of the young person’s journey through care and their current circumstances. Not all records and plans demonstrate that the staff and young people have read and understood them. This potentially could lead to relevant information not being shared in the home. This could have an impact on the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The training and development opportunities for the staff team are good. This enables the staff to develop their knowledge and skills and improve their practice. All staff hold the relevant qualification for their role and prioritise their continuous professional development. The leaders and managers are keen for the staff team to develop its knowledge and skills. One member of staff spoke about the managerial tasks she now has involvement in, which she feels is a good opportunity for her to develop and support the managers in the running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is a priority for the home as it recognises that this is vital in order to ensure that the young people receive the most appropriate support and intervention to meet their individual needs. The home has strong working relationships with family members, social workers, independent reviewing officers, education and health professionals and other specialist services. This supports effective communication and coordination of services for the benefit of the young people. A team manager said, ‘The level of communication from the home is very rigorous; at times they have the social workers hounded and challenge us appropriately to ensure that we are doing what we should be doing.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 10 The home has effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care and experiences of the young people. However, the manager has failed to provide Ofsted

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

with all of this information on a six-monthly basis in line with the children’s homes regulations, 2015. External monitoring systems monitor the safeguarding practices in the home effectively and demonstrate how the care that the staff provide promotes the welfare of the young people. This enables the leaders and managers to identify and respond appropriately to the strengths and weaknesses in the home. The registered manager recognises that the monitoring and review systems in place help her to improve the standards for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is functioning in line with its statement of purpose. This clearly outlines the ethos, aims and objectives of the home, which are clearly embedded in practice. The statement of purpose states, ‘[Name of home]provides a safe, warm and nurturing environment for the young people where they can prosper, build friendships, develop social skills, develop self-confidence and achieve their full potential in preparation for later life. Children are treated as individuals, their rights are respected and they are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions and to aspire for positive futures.’

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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 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.

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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: SC063550 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Children & Young People Services, Atlas House, 2 Corporation Street, St Helens, Merseyside WA9 1LD

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Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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