Children's Home run by Crossway Services Limited in St Helens

Inspection report children’s home: SC063498 1 SC063498 Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who may have social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted in September 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC063498 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2017 Full Requires improvement 12/12/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC063498 3

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Recommendations

 Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) In particular, ensure that the independent visitor ascertains the views of the young person living at the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the 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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2) In particular, ensure that the manager includes the views of the young person, their parents and relevant professionals about the impact of the care being provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has lived at this home for over 18 months. He has made considerable progress in all areas of his life. He said, ‘I am very happy and I would be upset if anyone tried to move me from here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has been home tutored for a significant period. However, this is because he required a specialised educational provision. The manager and the staff team have worked tirelessly with education professionals and others to identify a suitable provision for him. As a result, an educational provision has been sourced and the young person is due to start school the week following the inspection. In the meantime, the young person has visited the school and the manager has met with the headteacher to ensure a smooth transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is in good health because the manager and staff have worked closely with healthcare professionals. As a result, the young person now receives medication for a condition that was previously undiagnosed. In addition to this, the staff team works closely with a clinical psychologist. This means that its members have a good understanding of how his diagnosis affects his behaviour. This is regularly discussed in staff meetings and different strategies are explored. Therefore, staff work consistently with the young person and consequently he has made good progress. A professional said, ‘The change in him is remarkable. He is really settled and this is reflected in his Inspection report children’s home: SC063498 4 behaviour.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person enjoys playing in the park, riding his bicycle and playing with his toys. He attends gymnastics and has received several certificates for his accomplishments. The manager is currently looking for a local football team and fishing centre for the young person to join. This will broaden his social interaction and give him new opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person lives a good distance away from his home town. The staff support him to remain in contact with people who are important to him. Staff have listened to his views, wishes and feelings and have pursued contact with his sister. Due to their diligence, letter contact has now been established. If this continues to go well, a meeting will be arranged for later in the year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records and plans for the young person are detailed and they set out his needs and the progress he has made. The young person does not always like to make a written comment in his records, but staff record his verbal responses. This means that his views are captured and acted on should there be any changes to his plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. The young person proudly displays his certificates of achievement in the dining room. He has chosen a Marvel wallpaper for his bedroom that expresses his interests in comic characters.

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

The young person said that he was happy, safe and well cared for at this home. The manager and staff help the young person to understand risk and how to keep himself safe. Good risk assessments show the young person’s vulnerabilities, and the agreed strategies and actions the staff need to take if an incident was to occur. This helps the young person to be safe and feel safe inside and outside of the home.

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

The young person has warm and trusting relationships with staff. He said that he could approach any one of the staff and that they would listen, do what they can or pass his concerns on, for example letting his social worker know that he wished to see his sister.

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

The staff have a positive approach to behaviour management. Input from a clinical psychologist informs their approach. Alongside this, the staff team has studied research on ‘Trauma and the impact on the brain’ to help its members to understand how this may manifest itself in negative or harmful behaviour. As a result, they have a well- informed view that allows them to provide good continuity of care. Further to this, there has been a significant reduction in the young person being held for his own or others’ safety. When this does happen, the manager reviews the intervention and debriefs the young person and staff. This means that everybody can reflect on the incident and take learning from it. Overall, the young person is settled in the home and is making progress.

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

The young person has flourished because there are very good reward and incentive Inspection report children’s home: SC063498 5 systems in the home. The young person has maintained 100% attendance in education and is saving his reward money for a remote-controlled car. He has an incentive chart to improve his day-to-day routines, such as making his bed. He strives to achieve his full allocation of points. This approach has had a positive impact on the young person’s behaviour.

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

The young person has not been reported missing from this home. Similarly, there have been no safeguarding incidents to report. Staff receive regular training in these areas. Therefore, staff confidently discussed their roles and responsibilities in these areas with the inspector.

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

The company follows the safer recruitment guidance. All checks are completed and verified to ensure that members of staff are suitable to work with young people. Regular health and safety checks mean that the home is physically safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is passionate about her work and has high aspirations for the staff team and the young person. As part of her development, she has enrolled on several independent training courses to widen her knowledge. For example, she is undertaking an online course in special educational needs and development. She is hoping to use this information to enhance her and the staff’s understanding in this area, to work closely with educational professionals and to support the young person in educational activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work collaboratively with a range of agencies and professionals who are involved in the young person’s care. When services have been slow or not available, the manager has challenged these shortfalls effectively. This means that the young person has received additional services to meet his emerging needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good staffing levels are maintained at the home. There is one bank member of staff. He has been working at the home for a significant period and this helps to ensure consistency of care as and when needed. Staff hold, or are working towards, a relevant childcare qualification. All staff complete mandatory training as part of their induction, and this is refreshed accordingly. This means that staff have the knowledge, skills and experience to care for the young person well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team members receive regular supervision and appraisals, and they have monthly staff meetings. This means that they receive support and continuous development opportunities, and have regular discussions about their practice. This helps them to develop and provide the best possible care to the young person. Feedback from stakeholders is positive. The independent reviewing officer said, ‘The progress he has made is down to the staff’s commitment to him.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and review systems at the home are generally of good quality. The manager uses the points of improvement, raised by the independent visitor, to improve and develop the service. However, the external monitoring could be further enhanced by Inspection report children’s home: SC063498 6 including the views of the young person at the home, and the manager could draw upon consultation with the wider network to inform the development of the service.

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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: SC063498 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Leeds LS5 3BT

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Inspector

Pam Nuckley: social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063498 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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