Children's Home run by Apex Children‟s Services Limited in Wirral

Inspection report children’s home: 1263120 1 Registered provider: Apex Children’s Services Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This private children’s home provides care and accommodation for four children and young people who are unable to live with their families.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered since 22 September 2017.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 17 January 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1263120 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1263120 3

p.2

Recommendations

 Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia, photographs and films of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The quality of care review should evaluate the impact that the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. It should clearly show children and other partner’s views about the quality of care to inform and support continued improvement. The improvement plan should show who is responsible for carrying out tasks and an appropriate timescale for completing them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 64 and 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a very friendly and supportive home. Staff make sure that children enjoy positive experiences, have plenty of opportunities to have fun and make good progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy very positive relationships with staff and the other children. Most of the children have come to live here recently. They have been warmly welcomed by the staff. Staff clearly show children that they are interested in their lives and that they want to help them. This has helped children settle quickly and feel at home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works well with social workers to plan children’s care. He only agrees to look after a child once he understands the child’s needs and knows that staff have the right skills and knowledge to help the child. The manager also carefully considers the impact on the other children of a child moving in. Written impact risk assessments clearly show the reasons why the manager assessed that this is a suitable place to meet the child’s needs and how any identified risks can be effectively managed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a high standard of care that is tailored to their personal needs and aspirations. They play an active role in children’s wider support networks to make sure that children continue to get the best possible support in every aspect of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to have meaningful relationships with the people important to them. Staff actively encourage and support children to see their parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends. They make sure that these are safe and positive experiences for children. Inspection report children’s home: 1263120 4 Staff make sure that children get the right help that supports and encourages their education and learning. All of the children are taking part in education and doing well at school and college. Staff help children to understand the importance of education and to think about what they want to do with their lives. For example, they are successfully supporting a child’s ambition to be a joiner. The child is highly motivated and doing exceptionally well. He has already sold furniture that he has made.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work effectively with teachers and local authorities to make sure that children get the right support when they have difficulties at school. Staff support children to return to school positively and as soon as possible after they have been excluded. Staff have been influential in supporting another child to return to full-time education. They have made sure that he has worked with his tutors and taken part in meaningful educational activities. He is looking forward to starting his new school.

p.4

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

Children live in a safe home. The strong and supportive safeguarding arrangements help children feel safe and protected from harm. Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs, circumstances and any current concerns about their welfare.

p.4

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

Staff use up-to-date and clearly written risk assessments and plans that support children’s safety. Staff balance carefully the challenges of protecting children, while enabling them to take reasonable risks to promote their personal growth. These risks include using technology and social media safely and spending time with friends outside of the home.

p.4

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

The manager and staff take decisive action when they have concerns about children. They report their concerns appropriately and quickly to safeguarding agencies. For example, when a child was going missing persistently, the manager held risk management meetings with the social worker, police and the other people involved in the child’s care. Together, they developed a suitable strategy for managing the risks for the child.

p.4

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

Staff make every effort to help children to understand the risks and dangers of going missing from home. When children have gone missing from the home, staff have done the right things to try to find them quickly. Staff go out looking for them, and they check with the child’s family and friends and the places that the children usually go to. Staff keep detailed records of the times when children go missing from home. They use this information well to understand what happened and to help them to reduce the risks of children going missing from home.

p.4

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

Staff work positively and confidently with children to find the best possible ways to help them manage their feelings safely and moderate their behaviour. Staff try to find out, and understand, the reasons why children are upset, and they work together to find a solution. Staff help children to know about the benefits of positive behaviour and guide them to make good choices. For example, staff are successfully using rewards and encouragement to help a child stop swearing and to get on better with other children. Inspection report children’s home: 1263120 5 Staff have a good understanding of the impact of children’s experiences on their emotional well-being and behaviour. Staff notice when children are struggling and make every effort to find out what is wrong. They make sure that children have easy access to the specialist psychological and psychiatric support they need.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides clear and effective leadership. He leads a strong team of caring, enthusiastic and skilled staff who have high aspirations for children. The manager and staff provide children with a positive home environment and opportunities they need to improve their lives.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have a detailed understanding of children’s needs, experiences and progress. They challenge effectively local authorities and other services to provide children with the support that will meet their needs. The manager makes sure that social workers provide him with the up-to-date information and assistance he needs to look after the children properly.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staffing arrangements ensure that there are always enough knowledgeable, experienced and qualified staff available to meet children needs. Staff work together cohesively. They plan the day-to-day care of children well to provide the best possible support.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The 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 their work with children and improve their practice.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports staff to develop professionally. Staff build their knowledge and skills through good-quality training relevant to the needs of children. Staff have recently completed training that has improved their understanding of assessing risk, mental health and supporting children at risk of self-harm.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a realistic understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. He has taken action to improve things since the last inspection. Care planning and the assessment and management of risk effectively support children. Staff have a better understanding of the needs of the children they are supporting.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records are now detailed and up to date and represent an important contribution to their life histories. However, the records would be improved further by including memorabilia, photographs and films of children’s time living at the home and would help children to record significant life events.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s review of the quality of care that children receive does not evaluate the impact it is having on children’s lives. It does show children’s and other partners’ views about the quality of care to inform and support continuous improvement. Although the review sets clear priorities for development, it does not show who is responsible for Inspection report children’s home: 1263120 6 carrying each of the tasks or the timescale for completing them.

p.5

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.

p.6

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: 1263120 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Apex Children’s Services Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 6 Tower Quays, Tower Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 1BP

p.7

Inspectors

Nick Veysey: social care inspector Mark Kersh: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1263120 8 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8