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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 1 SC482410 Registered provider: Inspire Children‟s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities. The home is part of a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2017

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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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people benefit from forming strong relationships with a dedicated and consistent staff team.  Transitions are well planned and managed. Young people are well prepared practically and emotionally to become receptive to changes in their lives. Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 2  Young people are making good progress in their education and are encouraged to have aspirations for the future. Leaders and staff are proactive and work extremely well with other agencies to overcome any barriers to learning.  Staff celebrate the individual talents of young people, which has increased their self-esteem and enhanced their emotional well-being.  Young people access a range of positive activities, which has contributed to ensuring good progress in their social development.  Internal and external monitoring of the home is consistent and provides an excellent evaluation of the service provided. Leaders respond constructively and

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Key findings from this inspection

positively to any identified development areas.  Leaders are skilled in motivating and developing a competent, positive and child-centred staff team.  Placing authorities and partner agencies have provided positive feedback about this service.

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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

 Leaders should ensure that children‟s case records are held on file as required in regulation.  The risk assessment devised for ensuring the safety of young people when intoxicated could be enhanced to include arrangements for monitoring their recovery.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/11/2016 Full Outstanding 19/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/05/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 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

36: Children‟s case records 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. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 28/12/2017

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5) With particular regard to ensuring that risks around alcohol misuse are identified and appropriate monitoring arrangements put in place when young people are intoxicated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two young people have recently left the home to move into semi-independent living arrangements. They were supported successfully to build on their skills for independence prior to the move, and provided with emotional and practical support to secure a positive transition. Two young people have moved into the home from another home in the organisation, with their existing manager and staff team. Both young people were suitably prepared for this change and visited the home in advance of the move. Staff are in the process of helping them to personalise their bedrooms. The young people have settled in very well. One young person said, „I prefer this house, it‟s nicer than the other one.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress in their education. One young person had previously disengaged from education prior to moving into the home. Her attendance is still sporadic at times, but the staff are highly proactive in ensuring that every effort is made to help her overcome the barriers to her attendance. One virtual head said, „There has been a massive improvement since she has gone to [the home].‟ Staff also ensure that they celebrate the individual talents that young people have. They are proud of the Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 4 impressive displays of woodwork and art in the home that young people have created. This contributes to enhanced self-esteem and promotes good emotional health and well- being of the young people in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthcare planning is excellent. Young people are registered with appropriate local services and have regular health assessments. Leaders and staff have a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare needs of both young people at the home. Young people are encouraged to eat a balanced diet and lead an active lifestyle. One young person said, „I like meat but I have to eat vegetables as well.‟ Staff have used the strength of their relationships with him to encourage a healthier and more balanced diet. Another young person has had some historic difficulties in eating regular meals. This has improved significantly since living at the home. This contributes to helping young people achieve enhanced physical health outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of social development. They offer a range of opportunities for young people to engage in positive structured activities. One young person has regularly attended cadets since moving into the home. At times, his commitment has wavered but staff have prompted and encouraged him to return. This has taught him the principles of commitment and taking responsibility, which are important skills for adulthood. One young person had limited friendships; the staff have arranged a sleepover activity with another young person, which has widened her social circle and increased her sense of belonging and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to express their wishes and feelings. Their views are central to the practice of staff in the home. They benefit from regular meetings, informal discussions with staff and managers, and direct work sessions. Young people understand how to complain and are encouraged to do so. One young person made a formal complaint about the behaviour of another young person. This was responded to promptly and resolved successfully. Young people are provided with a children‟s guide to the home, which outlines the expectations they should have of the service in a child- friendly manner. They are regularly reminded of their rights and offered advocacy services. As a result, young people are empowered to make choices and are able to directly influence the care they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Contact is promoted in accordance with the placing authorities‟ plans. One young person has a flexible contact arrangement with her family. At times, this has meant that she has opted to spend time with friends. Leaders and staff have recognised that this is an issue and have worked with parents to take appropriate steps to ensure that she is encouraged to maintain a close relationship with the people who are important to her.

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

Young people have comprehensive risk management plans, which identify all areas of concern. Staff have worked with them to help them through qualitative key-work sessions to take responsibility for their behaviour and develop the resilience they need to cope with their emotions. One young person has a history of causing damage to the home and assaulting members of staff when feeling distressed. A suitable plan is in Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 5 place that was devised in consultation with the young person. This clearly outlines the serious circumstances where the home will involve the police. This was done with a view to preventing the young person from entering the criminal justice system without prior warning and to make the consequences of his actions very clear to him. As a result, incidents of this nature have reduced in both severity and frequency. There has been no requirement to involve the police to date. This has resulted in the young person

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

accepting that he must take responsibility for his actions, in particular as he is developing and growing closer to adulthood.

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

Young people enjoy unsupervised time in the community with friends. On two occasions, one young person has returned to the home intoxicated. Staff sought medical advice and completed direct work to help him understand the potential risks. They have also referred to an outside agency for additional support with the consent of the young person. This is collaborative practice and demonstrates that the team understands the need to refer for specialist support where required. A risk assessment was developed following recent incidents. This clearly outlines the steps that staff must take in the event of a further recurrence. However, this could be enhanced by the addition of an instruction to monitor the condition of young people overnight, to ensure that their welfare is a priority. A recommendation is made regarding this matter. Staff take internet safety seriously and have educated young people about the risks associated with the use

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

of social media. They are monitoring and supervising internet use in line with individual risks and agreed plans with the placing authority.

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

There have been two instances of one young person going missing from the home. Staff responded proactively and searched the local area, as well as contacting the police and local authority. Independent return interviews were requested. Young people have individualised missing from home plans and staff have completed the organisation‟s sexual exploitation risk screening tool for two young people. They shared the outcome with the local authority to prompt and request multi-agency input as a precautionary measure. This is excellent practice and demonstrates the staff team‟s commitment to keeping young people safe.

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

Recruitment procedures are robust and staff are sufficiently vetted prior to starting work at the home. The physical environment is well maintained and regularly risk-assessed. Staff have completed mandatory training and know the procedures for reporting concerns about young people, or the practice of other professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous registered manager left the organisation in September 2017. This coincided with plans for the two young people who were living at the home to move into semi- independent living arrangements. A decision was taken by the senior leadership team to move an existing registered manager of another service into the home, with her staff team and the two young people for whom they were already providing care and accommodation. This move occurred on 11 October 2017. An interim manager was also appointed to aid the transition and help to transition the original staff team to other services in the organisation. The responsible individual explained that staff were Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 6 provided with individual supervision sessions and redeployed to other services in accordance with their preferences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While the home has been through a transition phase, leaders have ensured that the needs of all four young people residing at the home have been prioritised and met. All of the young people have made good progress across all aspects of their development. The new manager has applied for registration with Ofsted. She is experienced, competent and currently working towards a level 5 qualification. Staff report that the service is well managed. Records demonstrate that staff have regular qualitative supervision and team meetings, which enables them to contribute to care planning processes for young people and helps them to continually evolve their practice. The manager is aspirational and is committed to the development of the service and the staff. All of the staff team have accessed enhanced levels of training to help them meet the individual needs of the children in their care. This includes training on autistic spectrum disorder and Attention

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has been recently revised to reflect the change in leadership and staffing. The aims and objectives of the service remain the same and leaders ensure that the home meets all obligations outlined in this document. Monitoring practice is efficient and the manager makes good use of internal and external monitoring systems. She has implemented a new process to aid her understanding of the progress that young people are making following key-work sessions. This is excellent practice and demonstrates her commitment to ensuring that the young people in her care become increasingly safe and make good progress in their social and emotional development. Leaders seek regular feedback from partners and act upon any suggestions for improvement. One social worker raised issues in relation to contact arrangements. The manager responded constructively and new ways of working have ensued as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One social worker said, „[the young person‟s] needs are being met to a very high standard, I can‟t think of anything else they could do.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care planning processes are child-centred and demonstrate that the team is heavily invested in ensuring that the needs of the young people in their care are met. Some case records were unavailable to view at the start of this inspection. This included health assessment information and recent care-planning review meeting minutes. The manager was able to rectify the matter quickly during the inspection. She was able to demonstrate that this has not impacted on the care provided for young people, as all the information contained in the documents was already known and had been acted upon. However, this does have the potential to impact detrimentally on the progress of young people in the future and therefore a requirement is made to address this matter.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 7 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: SC482410 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Children‟s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3, Craig Court, Standish Street, St Helens, Merseyside WA10 1GJ

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Inspector

Nicola Thomas, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC482410 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 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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