Children's home run by New Start in Sefton

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people. The primary purpose of the home is to offer supportive and individualised care packages for young people with complex behaviours which restrict their opportunities and negatively impact their development. The manager was registered with Ofsted in January 2018.

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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: 15 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 3

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Statutory requirement

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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that the individual is of integrity and good character, the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(3)(a)(b)(d)) 03/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that records are kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31) In particular, the records should show the actions taken by staff and the support provided to young people on their return home.  Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the needs of each young person living at the home. They provide the young people with a good quality of care to ensure that their needs are met well. Consequently, the young people generally have positive experiences and their outcomes improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have structured routines that encourage them to attend school regularly, which they struggled with prior to moving into the home. Staff equip young people to participate fully in their education at school and to complete revision and homework. Young people have access to resources, such as a computer and the internet, that help to support their educational progress. One young person is currently undertaking his GCSEs after several years of non-engagement in education prior to moving into the home. The young person is keen to achieve. When offered a place on a first aid course, he said, ‘I would love to attend that course as it will be really good to have on my CV.’ When young people do not have suitable education provision the manager takes action to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff promote physical and emotional health on a day-to-day basis through diet, physical activity and therapeutic support. The company’s psychotherapist visits the home regularly to meet with young people and staff to better understand the young person’s needs and to ensure that young people receive the most effective interventions and care. All young people are registered with local health professionals, such as a general practitioner, dentist and optician. The looked after children’s nurse also offers staff and young people health-related advice and guidance when necessary. The health and development needs of young people are met well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have good relationships with the manager and staff and regularly share their views, wishes and feelings about their care. For example, during regular key- and direct-work sessions, young people’s meetings and day-to-day discussions with staff. However, records and plans for young people do not always demonstrate this by including their voice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming and is a safe place for young people to live. Systems are in place to monitor the conditions in young people’s bedrooms to make sure that they are maintained to a suitable standard. The company’s maintenance team prioritises repairs and maintenance to ensure that good standards are maintained. For example, during the inspection, a leak occurred and the maintenance team responded immediately to address the problem.

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

Safeguarding practice at the home is good and helps to keep young people safe from harm. The manager and staff have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 5 identify, manage and reduce the risks to the young people. Furthermore, young people understand the strategies in place to help to keep them safe from harm.

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

Detailed and effective risk assessments are in place for young people. They identify the strategies to manage and reduce the risks and are regularly reviewed and updated. This helps staff to help and protect the young people.

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

The manager and staff are alert to the current risks that some young people face in relation to gang affiliation, criminal exploitation and knife crime. Keeping safe work has been sourced and undertaken with the young people to build their awareness of the risks of becoming involved in such activities. In addition, regular multi-agency meetings take place with a range of professionals to share information and implement interventions and strategies to help and protect the young people from these risks.

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

Behaviour management at the home has improved. The manager and staff are now proactive rather than reactive in managing young people’s poor and risk-taking behaviours. For example, staff quickly identified low-level bullying of a young person in the home and took immediate action to combat this. Rewards and incentives have also helped young people to regulate their behaviour, resulting in fewer, more manageable incidents.

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

Records demonstrate that room searches are only ever undertaken where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the young people’s safety and well-being, for example when it is thought that a young person may have a weapon or an illegal substance. Room searches have resulted in items being removed to safeguard everyone living and working at the home.

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

The manager and staff take appropriate action to locate young people when they are missing from the home. However, when young people return, young people do not always receive an independent return home interview in line with statutory guidance. Consequently, young people are not able to share details that may uncover information that can help to protect them from going missing again as well as from risks that they may have been exposed to while missing or from risk factors at their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced to undertake her role. However, she is currently having some time off. The home is being managed effectively during her absence by the deputy manager, with the support of the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Collaborative working is a strong feature of the home and this helps to ensure that the needs of young people are met well and that they are receiving the most appropriate help and intervention to meet their needs and to keep them safe. A safeguarding professional said, ‘The home is a very responsive and responsible provision that works very well with me and other professionals to safeguard young people.’ Weekly progress reports are completed for each young person and provided to relevant professionals. Inspection report children’s home: SC409738 6 When necessary, professionals are appropriately challenged to ensure that young people receive the most appropriate help and support to meet their needs, for example when they are not in full-time education or when the placement is unable to keep a young person safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager regularly reviews the quality of the care provided by the home and the impact that the care is having on outcomes for young people. The monthly independent monitoring provides an impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the young people. The manager takes effective action to address any shortfalls identified through the monitoring and review systems, which helps the continued development of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel valued and supported by the registered manager and responsible individual. A member of staff said, ‘This is a great company to work for. We have lots of support and opportunities to develop. Our focus is on making sure that everything we do is in the best interests of the young people.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although staff receive regular supervision, the records do not demonstrate that they make use of supervision to reflect on their practice and the needs of the young people in their care. However, staff do receive regular training and development opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills, which helps them to continue to provide young people with a good quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment practice at the home needs to be strengthened to make certain that only the most suitable staff work there. The manager has failed to secure the necessary information required by regulation. For example, for a new member of staff their references have not been verified. Neither had a full employment history, proof of address or photographic identification and proof of qualifications been obtained. This represents an unnecessary risk that is easily avoided by more rigorous checking.

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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: SC409738 7

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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 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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