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

Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 1 SC441410 Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 December 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

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children live in a friendly, supportive and comfortable family home. They are happy and making pleasing progress.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children receive personalised care and support that consistently meets their assessed needs. When they experience difficulties, the registered manager and staff make every effort to understand the situation and take action to make sure that children are safe and that they get the right support to help them.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager and staff have well-established partnerships with children’s social workers and the other people in the wider support network. They share information and work effectively to identify, understand and manage risks, and to take appropriate action to protect young people from harm.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children have positive relationships with caring and supportive staff. The registered manager and staff have the right personal qualities, experience, knowledge and skills to provide young people with a very good quality of care and support.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager provides clear and effective leadership and ensures that the home is managed in ways that promote children’s welfare and keeps them safe from harm.

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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

 Always inform the local authority about allegations involving staff, in line with safeguarding procedures.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Always make sure that children are given prescribed medications and have regular dental check-ups.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Improve the external and internal monitoring to give leaders and managers a thorough understanding of the quality of care provided and its impact on young people’s lives to ensure continuous improvement.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Include action plans for staff development in their supervision records. Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/06/2016 Full Good 22/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 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 health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff making sure that prescribed medicines are given to children as prescribed to treat illness and making dental appointments for children. 15/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person informing the designated officer within one working day when an allegation is made and before any further investigation takes place, in line with the local authority’s safeguarding procedures. 15/02/2018

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Recommendations

 It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4). In particular, the note should include evidence that staff have opportunities to reflect on training and an action plan to show the development goals for the member of staff.  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of 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. Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 5 (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) This relates to showing the impact on children’s lives in both the review of the quality care under regulation 45 and the external visits carried out by an independent person under regulation 44.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences living in this friendly, supportive and comfortable family home. The registered manager and the staff provide children with individualised care that meets their assessed needs and makes a positive difference to their lives. An independent reviewing officer said:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

I am very pleased with (child’s name’s) placement. He is very settled and a lot happier (than he was in his previous placements). He is making such good progress. I am impressed with the care from the staff. They have turned him around. The environment suits him and he is stable. He wishes to stay there and has made friends. The registered manager and staff treat children with respect and enable them to express themselves as individuals. Children, regardless of their needs, gender, identity, culture and background, feel accepted and comfortable living here. Staff listen to children and encourage them to have suitable freedom and choice in relation to the day-to-day arrangements for their care. Children make decisions about the clothes they wear, the food they eat and how they wish to spend their spare time. Staff support and encourage children to go to important meetings about their lives and to talk about their wishes and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

feelings. Staff balance children’s wishes against what they judge to be in their best interests and always take suitable steps to protect them from harm. The registered manager and staff provide children with the warmth and reliability that is helping them build positive and trusting relationships. The staff members’ consistent and unconditional support is letting children know that they care about them, want what is best for them and want to help them be safe and happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of children’s individual assessed needs. They work effectively with social workers and the rest of the children’s wider support network to make sure that the arrangements for supporting children consistently meet their needs. Staff engage naturally and communicate effectively with children. They provide them with support and advice about risk and personal safety, building positive relationships, managing feelings and behaviour, personal care and health needs, and taking part in education and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff work actively and positively to help children maintain and build meaningful relationships in line with the local authority plan. They work sensitively with children and their families to make suitable arrangements that meet children’s need, to try to overcome any difficulties and rebuild relationships. The staff always make sure that seeing family is a safe and positive experience for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 6 The registered manager and staff provide structure, stability, encouragement and opportunities for children to take part in education. Children’s participation in education has improved since they moved in. A recent school report showed that, ‘(Child’s name) had improved his attendance and progress. He had completed the work expected of him and worked hard to improve his understanding.’ The registered manager clearly understands the barriers to learning and, like any good parent, he fights for children to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

have the chance to learn and do well. Staff work extremely well with schools to support children and tackle any problems.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to enjoy leisure time and develop their talents and interests, including going fishing, kayaking and ice-skating, taking dogs for a walk and looking after a rabbit. Staff do their utmost to ensure that children can take part in activities that they are interested in. This is helping young people to gain confidence in their abilities, have fun, acquire new skills and improve their social and emotional skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff encourage and support children to be healthy and happy. They make sure that children understand the importance of a healthy and nutritious diet and that they have plenty of physical exercise. The staff have an awareness of children’s specific emotional and health needs and support children with sensitivity and confidence. Overall, children’s physical health and personal care has improved and they enjoy better health outcomes. However, staff have not always made sure that children receive the health support and treatment they need. For example, staff have not made a new dental appointment for a child and on one occasion failed to make sure that a child was given his prescribed medication to treat an infection.

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

The registered manager and staff provide children with a safe, friendly and reliable home environment. This is helping young people to feel settled and to build positive relationships with staff. Children feel safe and are protected from harm. Children feel able to talk to the registered manager and staff about their worries, for example about bullying or feeling unfairly treated. They know that their concerns are taken seriously and the problem will be sorted out.

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

The registered manager and staff are skilled at identifying the signs that children may be at risk of harm from abuse, neglect, bullying, self-harm, social media and sexual exploitation. They are vigilant and take prompt and effective action to deal with any concerns about children’s safety, including when children’s emotional well-being is low or they go missing. The registered manager and staff have effective working relationships with schools, the police and health services. Excellent communication with these key agencies is helping to meet children’s assessed needs and manage risks to children’s safety. However, the registered manager has not always followed the child protection procedures and legal requirements for dealing with allegations involving staff. Specifically, the registered manager has not informed the designated officer within one working day when an allegation has been made and before any further investigation has

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

taken place. Although on these occasions the registered manager took action to protect Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 7 children, this was without the knowledge of and external scrutiny from the local authority at the time.

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

The number of times children have gone missing from the home has reduced significantly. The registered manager and staff help children to understand the risks and dangers involved if they go missing, and make sure that they know how to get help. They take reasonable precautions to check on young people’s welfare when they are out. When children have gone missing, staff always act quickly to find them by looking for them and bringing them home when they have found them. When children return home, staff always provide them with a warm welcome, check to see if they need medical attention and get them something to eat and drink. Children have the opportunity to see an independent person to talk about what happened and the reasons for them going missing.

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

The registered manager and staff give the children suitable advice and guidance around recognising risk and keeping themselves and other people safe, including using public transport safely. Staff help children to understand what makes a healthy relationship. Staff are fully aware of the friendships that are having a negative influence on the children. They children build friendships with other children, their brothers and sisters, and the adults in their families. They spend time with friends in the local community and visit their friends for tea, and staff encourage them to invite their friends round. The registered manager and staff have identified and try to address concerns about bullying. Staff give children a lot of support in trying to understand the impact of their behaviour on other young people, especially regarding bullying, name-calling and playing televisions and music too loudly.

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

Staff see beyond children’s behaviour and clearly understand how children’s experiences may leave them feeling confused, rejected, anxious and angry. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘Staff have a really good understanding of (child’s name’s) needs and background. They talk things through with him to help him understand his past.’ The staff know that he struggles emotionally at certain times of the year, such as Christmas and Halloween, because of his previous negative experiences. The staff anticipate this and are working with him to manage his feelings at these times. They validate his feelings and help him to have new and positive experiences. When young people have struggled to manage their feelings and control their behaviour, staff have managed the situation well. The staff are clearly developing a good understanding of the best ways to help each child to manage their feelings and solve problems. They listen to

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

young people to find out what helps them when they are feeling upset and allow them to use coping strategies that work for them. Sometimes, however, children have been unable to manage their behaviour safely; this has included actions such as damaging their furniture, and staff have restrained them. Staff use restraint appropriately and only when children are at serious risk of harm. The registered manager carefully monitors the use of restraint to identify emerging patterns. He always talks to children and the staff about what happened to reflect on the best ways to support children when they are upset. After speaking to a child, the registered manager identified that the way staff challenged the child’s use abusive language had not worked and developed a better strategy for helping the child to see the impact of what he was saying on other people. Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 8 Staff continuously review children’s behaviour, and risk management plans are updated

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

to identify the changing needs of each child and how best to help them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in charge of the home since January 2017. He has suitable residential childcare and management experience and is working towards completing the appropriate management qualification. His clear and effective leadership and management ensure that children get the help that they need in order to make progress. His aspirations to make a positive difference to children’s lives and to protect them from harm are embedded in the way members of staff support children and in the running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a detailed understanding of children’s individual needs and ensures that they are being supported in line with their plans. The registered manager and staff identify when children are struggling and take the necessary action to make sure that they get the best possible help. This has included working effectively with social workers and teachers to find new ways to help a child manage his feelings and control his behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides the right environment for staff to support young people with a high standard of care and consistency. New members of staff go through a careful recruitment and selection process that reduces the risk of unsuitable people working at the home. Recent changes to the staff team have been managed carefully to ensure that children are being looked after by the people they know and with whom they already have positive relationships. Children are always looked after by enough people with the knowledge, qualifications, experience and skills to meet their assessed needs and promote their welfare. The members of staff are enthusiastic and positive, and clearly enjoy spending time with the children. They are knowledgeable about children’s needs, circumstances and interests. The registered manager and members of staff work together cohesively. They share information, expertise and knowledge

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

efficiently with each other to make sure that they are working consistently to look after the children properly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides each member of staff with excellent support, guidance and encouragement. Staff have regular opportunities through practice-related supervision and team meetings to reflect on young people’s progress, their own performance, the emotional impact of their work, and to share skills and develop their skills and knowledge. Members of staff have their performance and suitability to do their jobs formally reviewed at least every year. The registered manager ensures that poor performance is addressed. However, notes from supervision and performance management meetings do not always appear in action plans to show how staff should meet their development goals and improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Seniors managers actively support the registered manager to encourage staff to develop their knowledge and expertise. They provide staff with good-quality training relevant to the diverse needs of the children, including safeguarding, the risks of child sexual Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 9 exploitation, radicalisation and drug use, emotional well-being and behaviour management and health and identity issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent monitoring of the home has improved to provide a more in-depth assessment of the arrangements for safeguarding and promoting young people’s welfare. The independent person’s reports more often include consultation with children and set out what needs to be done to improve the quality of the service. However, these reports do not consider the impact that the quality of care is having on children’s experiences and outcomes. Similarly, the registered manager’s review of the quality of care does not reflect critically on how the standard of support that children get is making a difference to their lives. This insight into how children experience the care they receive is crucial in helping leaders and managers in understanding the quality and impact of what they are doing and how to make further improvements.

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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: SC441410 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Childrens 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

Nick Veysey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC441410 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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