Children's Home run by St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in St Helens

Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 1 SC063550 Registered provider: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides accommodation, care, support and assistance for up to four young people who are unable to stay with their own families.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2012.

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/10/2017 Full Good 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 2

p.1

Recommendations

 Expectations of standards of behaviour should be high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. Staff should understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11; page 47, paragraph 9.39) In particular, ensure that there are clear plans in place that detail individual behaviour management strategies.  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

p.2

Recommendations

65, paragraph 15.5) In particular, ensure that regular consultation takes place with young people, parents and professionals.  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should: detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications.) The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and be used to record the on-going training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The information set out in the statement of purpose is an essential part of the

p.2

Recommendations

process of agreement between the registered person and the placing authority that a placement in the home is the right one for that child, and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. Ofsted should be provided with a copy of the statement of purpose as and when it is updated. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15 paragraph 3.6) In particular, the statement of purpose should include details of the experience and qualifications of all staff working at the home.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role that they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 3

p.2

Recommendations

10.11) In particular, staff should receive training on current safeguarding issues that may impact on young people, including child criminal exploitation, gang and knife crime and ‘county lines’.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, placement plans should include up-to-date information. Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the needs of each young person living at the home and provide them with a high level of care and support. Consequently, this helps to improve the overall experience and progress for young people. A professional said, ‘The manager and staff are amazing’, and another professional said, ‘The manager and staff do all that they can to help young people and go above and beyond what is expected.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff prioritise the education needs of the young people. One young person did not have suitable education provision in place when he moved into the home, so the manager challenged education professionals effectively to secure interim education arrangements. Staff helped one young person who was studying for her GCSEs to plan and prioritise her revision. The staff also ensured that she had a quiet place to revise and offered her encouragement and support in preparation for her exams. The staff also recognised the importance of the young person attending her prom. The young person was extremely happy that staff helped her to prepare by choosing a dress with her and by spending time with her doing her hair, nails and make- up. This meant that she had a memorable experience with her school friends.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help young people to adopt healthy lifestyles by encouraging them to eat healthily and to engage in physical exercise. Young people are well supported with their individual health needs and have good access to routine and specialist health services when they need them. Healthcare plans are incorporated into young people’s placement plans. However, these are not regularly updated as changes occur.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and nurture young people’s relationships with their friends and family. Young people have regular contact with people who are important to them. Staff work well with family members and others to ensure that contact is meaningful and safe. Staff value the views of family members and involve them in the young people’s care.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between the staff and young people are good. The manager and staff prioritise consultation with the young people to ensure that young people can share their views about the care provided to them. Young people say that they value this and feel listened to. The home environment is warm and welcoming, and improvements are continually being made to the decoration and furnishings. It feels like a family home, with photographs of the young people around the home. Young people are supported and encouraged to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy as part of building their independence skills. The home’s cook and cleaner are very much a part of the staff team, and they help to maintain good standards and provide a good quality of care to the young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 5

p.4

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. Young people say that they feel safe and that staff do all that they can to help and protect them. Risk assessments for young people include details of the risks that they face and the strategies in place to manage and reduce risks. Consequently, risks for young people have been reduced.

p.5

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

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the statutory guidance for children who are missing from home and implement this through their practice. When young people are missing from home, staff take effective action to locate them to ensure that they return safe and well at the earliest opportunity. Young people always have an independent return home interview when they return from being missing. This helps to identify the reasons why they were missing and any risks that they may have faced during the time that they were missing. The frequency and length of time that young people are missing have been reduced.

p.5

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

Young people who have a history of substance misuse are encouraged and supported to address this misuse by engaging with a specialist young persons’ drug and alcohol service. A worker from this service said, ‘The substance misuse for one young person has significantly reduced and another young person is now engaging in harm reduction work in relation to his substance misuse.’ Staff have strategies in place to support and monitor young people, when it is believed that they may be under the influence of an illegal substance, to help to ensure that young people’s health is prioritised.

p.5

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

The manager and staff regularly consult safeguarding professionals, including the police, missing from home and sexual health professionals and the young people’s drug and alcohol service. This approach helps staff to share and gather information, which ensures that there is a multi-agency approach to keeping young people safe. This assists the manager in completing the home’s location review. The location review is detailed and evaluative, and it outlines all known risks in the community. The strategies in place to manage the risks are clear and help to keep the young people safe from harm when they are out in the community.

p.5

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

Behaviour management strategies used in the home support the young people to present with age-appropriate, positive and safe behaviour. However, not all young people have individual positive behaviour support plans in place. Therefore, the records in the home do not sufficiently demonstrate how the staff are to provide a consistent approach to every young person, so that they can promote positive behaviour and manage poor behaviour.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively and efficiently by a very experienced and suitably qualified manager and deputy manager. The manager and deputy manager have a very good understanding of the young people’s needs and are fully involved in their care. They are well supported by a highly committed and competent staff team that shares Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 6 their motivation for achieving the best possible outcomes for the young people. Staff feel supported by their managers and receive regular supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the young people. Monthly team meetings allow the staff to discuss and share good practice and information to enhance their knowledge and skills.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff value the importance of regular training and development opportunities to enhance their practice and the quality of care that they provide to young people. Although all the staff have completed mandatory training and some further training, they have not undertaken specific training on issues that may be relevant and affect the current young people, such as exposure to child criminal exploitation, involvement in gangs and knife crime and ‘county lines’. Consequently, staff are not fully equipped to safeguard young people from the risks that they are vulnerable to.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose is child focused, and it sets out the home’s ethos and how the manager and staff will meet the needs of the young people whom they care for. However, the statement of purpose does not include the individual details, experience and qualifications of the staff working at the home. Consequently, the statement of purpose does not demonstrate that the staff team has the necessary knowledge and skills to provide a good quality of care that meets the needs of the young people.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and review systems at the home help the manager to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home and the staff team. Action is quickly taken to address shortfalls identified and to build on the strengths. However, these systems could be further improved if the independent monitoring report included regular consultation with the young people, their families and professionals and if it highlighted recommended actions for improvement.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is clear about her plans to develop the home, and this is incorporated in a detailed and evaluative service plan. However, there is no workforce plan in place that fulfils the workforce-related requirements of the regulations for children’s homes. However, most of this information is recorded in other documents at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 7

p.6

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 difference 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.7

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: SC063550 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Children & Young People Services, Atlas House, 2 Corporation Street, St Helen’s, Merseyside WA9 1LD

p.8

Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063550 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

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 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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9