Children's Home run by PIC Children’s Services in St Helens

Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 1 SC022442 Registered provider: PIC Children‟s Services Limited 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 owned by a private company. The home is registered to care for one child 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: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None. Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have a strong voice. They make meaningful contributions to their care plans. They participate in shaping their own future and in decision-making at the home.  Young people make good progress in their lives through living at the home. They grow in self-awareness and, over time, learn to manage their emotions and to develop positive and trusting relationships with others.  Young people experience care that focuses on their individual needs and builds on their strengths, talents and interests. Staff are attuned to the impact of previous life experiences upon young people, and provide nurturing and holistic care.  Staff are committed to the progress and welfare of young people, whatever the challenges that young people‟s behaviours may bring. Young people are given positive and affirming messages about their self-worth and value to others.  The staff team and managers work very collaboratively with placing authorities,

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Key findings from this inspection

parents and other agencies. All feedback gained during this inspection was very positive. Such positive multi-agency working has led to improvements in the emotional well-being, social skills and educational achievements of young people.  The staff team is highly motivated and committed to the young people. Staff and managers are fully focused upon providing care that is reflective of young people‟s needs and that is flexible in its approach.

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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

 External quality assurance reports need to be robust and received in a timely manner.  The recording and management oversight of the safe administration of medication needs to be robust and in line with the home‟s policies and procedures.  Records need to be accurate, signed and dated, and have a rigorous management overview.  Repairs to the home need to be carried out in a timely manner.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/12/2016 Full Good 15/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well- being. (Regulation 44(4)(a)(b)) 11/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

23: Medicines The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children‟s home. (Regulation 23(1), (2)(c)) In particular, the registered person must ensure that a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. 11/12/2017

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Recommendations

 Staff should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming, supportive, and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. Homes must also meet children‟s basic day to day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child‟s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. („Guide to the children‟s home regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, ensure that the repairs required to the bathroom are carried out, specifically that the cistern and shower screen are in good working order.  Ensure that the staff are familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should

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Recommendations

record information on individual young people in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about young people should always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to them now or in the future. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make very good progress in all aspects of their lives. Their experiences through living at the home are rewarding and nurture their emotional growth. They are given sensitive responses that are well informed and thoughtful with regards to their backgrounds, temperaments and strengths. Young people feel listened to and that staff care about them. A staff member said, „We could see that she had hit rock bottom, emotionally, because of the issues going on. We have persevered and I feel that she has turned a corner.‟ A parent commented, „Staff are very calming, supportive and understanding.‟ This level of emotional literacy shown by staff has enabled young people to open up and explore areas of their lives that they feel worried or anxious about, and to do so in a safe environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As a result of the good-quality care and role modelling that are given, young people learn to appreciate others‟ views and to share their thoughts and feelings in an acceptable way. Young people learn to trust the adults who care for them and, through this, they begin to talk about what is difficult in their lives. A young person said, „The staff are great and I can talk to all of them.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the complex individual needs of the young people in their care, which enables good, tailored responses to individual young people. Young people who have experienced significant trauma and who present with complex and challenging behaviours grow in self-confidence and can express themselves positively. They are treated with respect, and are enabled to channel their skills and abilities into achievement and significant improvement. This has led to significant decreases in risky and sometimes dangerous behaviour, such as drug taking and „missing‟ episodes, in the lives of the young people. A social worker said, „The staff have provided a very sound response to some very risky behaviours and have been adept at adjusting things like staffing ratios when they need to. This has helped in reducing risks.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are well supported with their individual health needs, and staff follow detailed healthcare plans. Care, encouragement and attention to detail are given to all aspects of young people‟s health, including the quality of meals, attendance at appointments and access to professional services. Examples include referrals to agencies for drug and alcohol misuse. This has resulted in young people having very good health outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

From their starting points, young people make very good progress in terms of their drive and enthusiasm to achieve training and employment. For example, a young person who has face significant hurdles in the last year has been supported by staff to enrol with a young person‟s career agency, and is actively looking for work opportunities. The young person said, „Staff are helping me to find the right job for me.‟ A social worker commented, „It is a huge step forward that she is engaging with job opportunities and looking forward to her future.‟ Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 5 In general, the home environment is very clean, tidy and decorated to a very high standard. However, the shower screen and toilet cistern in the bathroom are in need of repair. To continue to create a warm homely environment, the manager should ensure that all repairs are carried out in a timely fashion.

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

Young people report feeling very safe at the home. They live in a physically safe and emotionally supportive environment, and know that staff are always there to help them with anything that they need. Young people are aware of their right to be safe and respected at all times. They identify staff members as trusting adults whom they can talk safely to about any concerns that they might have. Young people feel listened to, heard and helped.

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

Young people‟s risks are thoroughly understood by the staff, and continuous support is given to young people in order to reduce the risk that their behaviours pose to others and themselves. Suitable levels of supervision, challenge and focused activities support young people‟s safety. Staff maintain clear and consistent boundaries that provide young people with a sense of well-being. This promotes stability and consistency of care. Through developing a strong relationship with young people, staff become highly intuitive. The staff recognise when young people‟s behaviour changes or if they are struggling emotionally.

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

Comprehensive care planning, risk management procedures and behaviour management plans are in place. They provide clarity about how staff are to support young people in a time of crisis and reflect the positive staff practice. Some young people, for whom going missing from home has been a feature of their lives, experience a drop in the frequency of these episodes. When young people do go missing, staff are prompt to follow protocols and to liaise with other agencies. They go looking for the young people, checking with friends and family, and they search the local area. A social worker said, „The levels of missing were high, but the staff team has worked hard to reduce these.‟

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

The young people report, and the records show, that they have not made any complaints. However, they say that they know that staff listen to them and would take action following any complaint that they might make. This reassures young people that their safety is of the highest priority.

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

Medication is stored and administered safely. However, the recording of medication requires improvement. The medication book does not always state clearly the date of administration, some records have been overwritten and the management overview is not robust.

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

The physical environment is safe and protects young people from accidental injury. Health and safety processes are robust. Each young person has a detailed individual risk assessment that staff understand. As a result, the home is able to take all necessary steps to reduce the likelihood of young people being at risk of harm. Environmental risk assessments accurately reflect identified risks and potential hazards. Young people and Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 6 staff understand fire safety systems and are able to respond if emergencies occur. The safety of young people is promoted further through good environmental health and food safety processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A motivated and committed registered manager leads the home effectively. She is suitably experienced and qualified to undertake her responsibilities, and has high expectations and aspirations for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The service has established strong working relationships with a range of agencies and professionals who are involved in young people‟s care. Staff work closely with parents, colleges, social workers, health professionals and leading child protection agencies. Feedback from all stakeholders is positive, praising staff‟s commitment, young people‟s progress and the effective communication with the manager and her team. A parent commented, „The staff always keep me up to date with what‟s going on.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care planning documents held within the home are generally of a good quality. However, some records contain outdated information and do not contain the date of the entry or author. This does not mirror the good practice carried out by staff day to day. Although this does not have an impact on the day-to-day care received by the young people, it may have an impact on young people should they at any time wish to view their records in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff do very well in providing young people with a safe and motivational environment where there are good levels of care and support. The staff team is diverse. The members of the team have a range of life experiences and qualifications, and are skilled in working with the young people, passionate and compassionate. The staff receive regular, good-quality supervision that supports and challenges their individual practice in order to improve the care given to young people. Reflective team meetings and young people being at the centre of those discussions further support this. Staff comments include, „I feel very much supported in my role‟ and „We have a close-knit staff team who work well together.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the home and areas that need developing. Staff comment that they feel supported by the manager and that they are encouraged to bring new ideas to her. This means that managers and staff have ownership of supporting the young people to continually progress and have positive experiences. However, external quality assurance does not take place regularly. Therefore, some shortfalls have not been addressed. For example, there has been a delay of up to three months in the independent person‟s report being received by the home. This delay prevents the manager from identifying patterns and trends, and may affect the improvement of the overall quality of care provided to young people. Furthermore, the independent person‟s report has not been sent to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has appropriate systems in place to notify Ofsted and other relevant bodies of significant events that occur at the home or with young people. This ensures Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 7 that those with an interest in young people‟s welfare are kept appropriately informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although requirements and recommendations have been set at this inspection, these do not significantly undermine the good-quality, individualised care that the young people receive.

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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 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: SC022442 8

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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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Inspectors

Elaine Allison, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC022442 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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