Children's home run by New Start in Sefton

Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 1 SC409738 Registered provider: New Start Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of three owned and managed by a private company. The home is registered to care for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the manager has been successfully registered with Ofsted. She is a suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. She has worked effectively with the home’s responsible individual, staff and young people to adequately address the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. Clear procedures and processes are now in place in relation to safeguarding practice, which has resulted in young people being safeguarded effectively and reduced risks for young people. Recording systems have improved, which means that young people’s plans and assessments now contain up-to-date information. The home’s environment has improved significantly, and the staff encourage and support the young people to maintain good standards of cleanliness and hygiene in their bedrooms. Behaviour management has improved, with new systems in place to promote and reward positive behaviour.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Consequently, the quality of care provided to young people is much improved and their welfare is promoted. Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 2 One young person has moved out of the home since the last inspection. A decision was made to end his placement, as the home did not feel that it was able to continue to safeguard him and the other young people living at the home while he remained living there. He returned to the care of his parent, which was only possible due to the support that the home had given to both the parent and the young person in order for them to build their relationship. A young person who had previously lived at the home has returned following an unsuccessful transition to their family home. He has settled back into the children’s home well. This is to a large degree because of the ongoing contact and support that the manager and staff had with him during the time he was not living

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

at the home. This demonstrates the strong commitment of the manager and staff to ensure that clear, smooth and supportive transitions are in place for the young people who move in and out of the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The education progress for the young people is variable. However, the manager and staff recognise the importance of encouraging and supporting the young people with their education. They have been proactive in liaising with professionals to make sure suitable arrangements are in place to support and enable the young people to attend school and engage in education. Although the attendance for some young people is not always as good as the manager and staff would like it to be, measures are in place for this to continue to improve. For example, one young person who has not attended school for a long of time has successfully been re-integrated into education. He has a reduced timetable in place to allow him to go in later each day, as he struggles to arrive in school on time. A meeting has taken place with the school of another young person to tackle the difficulties she is experiencing due to some lessons being disrupted by the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

behaviour of other young people. Consequently, the manager and staff take suitable action to address the difficulties that affect the young people’s progress in education.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding practice at the home has improved. There have been two incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection and a number of room searches in order to safeguard the young people. These were appropriate and conducted in line with regulations for children’s homes. The manager and staff have a good understanding of the individual risks that young people face. Detailed risk assessments demonstrate how the individual risks are being managed and show the reduction in the level of risk for most of the young people. The manager and staff are alert to the high level of risk to one young person in relation to child sexual exploitation. They liaise effectively with safeguarding professionals, ensuring that all information relating to incidents is shared and that multi-agency meetings take place so that coordinated action is taken to safeguard the young person. The manager has implemented robust safeguarding

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

measures in order to safeguard the young person, which has been challenged by the local authority. The manager has confidently disputed the local authority’s challenge in order to safeguard the young person.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The health and development needs of the young people are met well. The manager and staff support the young people to attend routine health appointments and talk to them regularly to encourage them to adopt healthier lifestyles. For example, they encourage them to participate in physical activity and to eat healthy meals. Specialist support and intervention is sought to tackle specific individual issues relating to the young people Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 3 such as alcohol and substance misuse. The company psychotherapist regularly meets with the young people individually to support them with their development needs. Furthermore, he regularly meets with their keyworkers to support them to work in a therapeutic way with the young people, and look at how the keyworkers can support a young person’s journey at the home. The psychotherapist works with the manager and staff to influence the quality of practice at the home and to embed therapeutic thinking

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Behaviour management in the home has improved. Rewards and incentives promote positive behaviour rather than there being a reliance on sanctions to manage negative behaviours. When sanctions are used, they are now restorative in nature, such as helping to repair items that have been damaged at the home. The manager and staff have spent time talking to the young people to implement an incentive and reward system which they all agree with. The system in place for the use of activity money has been changed to enable the staff to spend more quality time with the young people. Consequently, the relationships between the manager and staff with the young people have considerably improved. Furthermore, the home is a much happier place for the staff and young people and the behaviour of the young people is generally good.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Partnership working supports the manager and staff to ensure that the needs of the young people they care for are met. They work collaboratively with professionals in the host and placing local authorities to ensure that appropriate support and interventions are in place for the young people based on their individual needs. This includes social workers, designated officers, the police, and education and health professionals. Professionals share information regularly, which helps to develop a consistent approach towards supporting the young people to have positive experiences and improved outcomes. Consequently, the effective partnership working addresses the wide-ranging needs of the young people living at the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The monitoring and review systems support the manager to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home, themes and trends, and any shortfalls in practice. She takes prompt and appropriate action to address shortfalls and to implement measures to improve on identified weaknesses. Furthermore, the monitoring systems enable the manager to regularly review the quality of care and experiences of the young people and to monitor the safeguarding practice. Consequently, the manager is able to identify the impact that the quality of care and safeguarding practice is having on promoting the welfare of the young people and their outcomes. The manager recognises that the monitoring and review systems in place help her to drive up standards for the young people.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff now have systems in place to make sure that the home environment is nurturing for the young people. Improvements have been carried out, such as painting and decorating, and new furniture has been purchased. This means that the home is a much nicer place for the young people to live. The young people are now encouraged and supported to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy, and the staff undertake daily checks of all areas of the home. This ensures that the home is well maintained at all times. The young people’s bedrooms are much more personalised than Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 4 they were at the last inspection. The improved home environment has resulted in the young taking more pride in their home and feeling valued. However, the manager and staff need to be mindful of ensuring that the main entrance to the home is secured at all times, to stop any unwanted visitors entering the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/10/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recommendations

 The locking of external doors or doors to hazardous materials may be acceptable as a security precaution, if applied in within the normal routine of the home. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.62).

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Recommendations

In particular, the front door to the home should be closed at all times to prevent unwanted visitors from entering.

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 5 it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Job Bank, 4 Tunnel Road, Liverpool L7 6QD

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Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 6 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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